Category: Home

where the family tree don’t fork

Posted in Home, New JerseyTagged , , , , , , 7 Comments

I live in New Jersey.  Now I know what you’re picturing when you hear “New Jersey”: big cities, lots and lots of people, gangs, the Thruway, garbage, the mafia, etc.  This is not the New Jersey I live in.  I live in rural New Jersey.  No, this is not an oxymoron, it really exists!  Way up in the Northwest corner of the state is farmland and mountains and lakes and…people without teeth!??  You see, while the rest of the country laughs at New Jersey, New Jersians laugh at us!  According to them, my county has more cows than people, family trees that don’t fork, and the dirt roads are full of lifted pick-ups with gun racks and dead deer hanging out the back.  In other words, we are a bunch of rednecks! Continue reading “where the family tree don’t fork” →

hurricane…nor’easter….what’s next… locust?

Posted in Home, New JerseyTagged , , , , 2 Comments

Today I drove down a road that cut through a large section of pine trees.  At least 75% of the trees lay on the ground, snapped by the winds from Hurricane Sandy.  Electrical wires were everywhere, entwined in the branches.  It was a very strong reminder that we have a long way to go.  “Normal” is a long way off.

Snow covers the ground today.  Snow!  A Nor’easter a week after a hurricane.  I heard someone joke that next week is the plague of locust.  It can feel that way.  Many many people still do not have power.  Gas lines are still long.  Schools are still closed.  Yet I have witnessed a lot more positive than negative. Continue reading “hurricane…nor’easter….what’s next… locust?” →

life after sandy

Posted in Home, New JerseyTagged , , , , , 5 Comments

Hurricane Sandy and I now have a one week relationship.  It started last Wednesday down in the Dominican Republic.  We were touring a school that the mission I was down there with ran when the rains came.  Monsoon like white sheets of driving rain.  The noise was deafening on the metal roof and the streets were almost instantly flooded.  We spent the next day and a half trapped in our hotel  due to flooding, wind, downed trees, and overflowing septics. Continue reading “life after sandy” →

purposely lost

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“Mommy, I think we’re going to have to live here!”,  my daughter cried as we realized that we had been in this spot already.  We were lost!  Not only were we lost but we appeared to be walking in circles.  My son pointed out a rock that we had passed two previous times.  I looked up at the sky.  The once blue sky had grown cloudy and threatened rain.  I wondered just how many hours had passed as we wandered, heads to the ground, hoping to find our way.  Our map was useless.  Huge parts of it were missing, providing us only pieces of where we were and needed to go.  We came to a fork, the path split in three different ways.  My two older kids fought over which path to take.  I was pretty sure one of the trails looked familiar.  We had traveled on it during some of our wanderings.  My husband ended the argument by stating that we would take the third option.  Skirting a mud puddle, we continued our journey.   “This is crazy”  I thought and yelled up to the girl sitting on the deck high above us,  “Hey, can you give us a clue?” Continue reading “purposely lost” →

why I love kindergarten soccer: a list

Posted in HomeTagged , , , , 5 Comments
soccer, parenting, family, adventure

It’s fall, time for kids soccer.  Time for the intense competition.  Time for the intricate footwork.  Time for teamwork and one goal after another.   Okay, who am I kidding, this is kindergarten soccer after all.  The one thing I am guaranteed is entertainment!  It’s an age where kids have absolutely no idea what there are doing, but have fun doing it!  They don’t care and that is what makes kindergarten soccer so great and so much fun to watch.  The following is a list of what happened during one of my son’s soccer games.  Seriously, it all happened during one game.

Continue reading “why I love kindergarten soccer: a list” →

fall in the adirondacks

Posted in Home, New YorkTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

There’s a tree a little ways down the road from where we live.  It’s a huge oak tree that stands alone in the middle of a field.  A couple weeks ago I noticed that the tree’s leaves had started to turn; a few brilliant red and orange leaves on the very top of the full green tree.  I thought of how summer was definitely over and fall was coming.  This morning I looked at that same oak tree as I drove by and was shocked to see that the whole top half of the tree was bare!  The leaves had not only turned but fallen off.  All it’s going to take is a good wind storm to blow off the rest.  Where has fall gone?

I love this time of year, but it is so busy.  The move from the lazy, hedonistic days of summer to the fast paced craziness of autumn is always a jolt.  There’s usually not even time to mourn the end of summer!  We are off in a never ending stream of work, school, activities, homework, meetings,and events.  I want to notice that oak tree, but it’s so hard to do as I zoom by at 50mph.  That’s why I cherish our annual fall weekend in the Adirondacks in New York state.  We abandon all activities and commitments in order to head north and gather as a family and just relax…. Continue reading “fall in the adirondacks” →

bermuda’s beaches

Posted in Home, IslandsTagged , , 2 Comments

A couple weeks ago my husband and I went to Bermuda for five days.  We went alone without any children, our first vacation like that in seven years!  We had a great time!  I have never really thought about  going to Bermuda on a vacation (this was a trip that I won with work) but was so glad that we did.  The weather was perfect, sunny and in the 80’s, the island is beautiful, our flight was only 1 hour 45minutes, and you can’t beat the beaches!

bermuda, beach, adventure

Continue reading “bermuda’s beaches” →

truly alive

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“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

  —  Theodore Roosevelt
I love this quote!  To really feel alive we need to step out of our comfort zones and dare to do the difficult.  My greatest fear is that I will get lost in the mundaneness of life, the “gray twilight”.  Sure it’s easier to live a safe and comfortable life, but where does that take you?  Only through challenges and struggles and difficulties and successes do we grow and truly feel alive!

adventure in Bermuda’s caves

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Laying there with the warm afternoon sun hitting me and the sound of waves crashing onto the shore, I did not want to open an eye.  It is very easy to become lazy in Bermuda.  I could spend hours staring out at the turquoise water, pink sands, lava rock formations, and bright blue skies.  But it was our last full day on the island and I wanted an adventure!  So, we peeled ourselves off of our beach chairs and were off! Continue reading “adventure in Bermuda’s caves” →

amish country lessons

Posted in Home, PennsylvaniaTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Lancaster County PA, aka Amish Country.  This summer we went on a long weekend to visit the area.  I have to say I struggled with planning for this trip and struggled with our activities while we were there.  It was just not my normal vacation.  But, I do feel like the trip taught me some lessons about myself and how I operate! Continue reading “amish country lessons” →