Tag: kids

an unlikely adventure

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If you have kids I’m sure you know how quickly you can reach that moment; that moment when things suddenly cross the line.

The other day I was home with my kids and things were going well.  The girls had dressed up and were having a tea party and the boys were building robots and swords.  I was curled up reading a book when I heard a sniff next to me.

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I looked up to see my son standing there crying because his brother had made him (made him??) eat a rubber ball and the girls were “being mean”.  I got up at went into the other room to find my youngest daughter holding our 17-year-old cat upside down while her sister had managed to find every single nail polish bottle we own.  My other son meanwhile had decided that the family room was a good place to eat chips.  The room was trashed!   I mean stuff was everywhere.

We had reached the line!

“That’s it” I yelled, “it’s time to get out of here.  It’s time for an adventure.” Continue reading “an unlikely adventure” →

forty days of water

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Today I started the day, as always, with a steaming cup of coffee.  There’s nothing better than that first sip of coffee early in the morning.  Clutching a hot cup of coffee just makes me happy!

Tomorrow I will not have my morning cup of coffee.  In fact, I will not have it again for 40 days!  That’s because tomorrow I am starting the Forty Days of Water.  It is a fundraiser during the Lenten season for blood:water mission, which will build clean water projects for communities in Uganda.  During this time I will drink only tap water and donate the money I save by not purchasing drinks to blood:water mission. Continue reading “forty days of water” →

how to make the winter pass quickly

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It’s cold in Northern New Jersey.  In fact, we are right in the middle of a snow storm as I write this!  This time of year can seemingly last forever.  Short days, snow and ice, dirty cars, steel grey skies, and fly away static-y hair (my own personal pet peeve) make it feel like winter will never end!  But there is a bright spot for our family.  It’s what makes the winter pass quickly…basketball!

Right now we are smack in the middle of basketball season.  Three of my four kids play it.  My 6th grade son plays for his school and my 4th grade daughter and Kindergartener son play for Upward, an excellent basketball program run by our church.  My husband coaches my daughter’s team.  I am also considered a coach but I basically hang out on the bench with the girls during the games.  We are often at basketball practices and games 4-5 times a week!  But, I love every minute of it!

So, in honor of our winter pastime, I created a Basketball Top Ten.  The top ten reasons why I like basketball… Continue reading “how to make the winter pass quickly” →

slow fade

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On a warm spring day this past year we went on a short hike to explore another forgotten building.  We hiked up an old rutted road that was slowly being reclaimed by the forest.   The road climbed and twisted and soon we found ourselves staring up at a whitewashed tree with a huge white owl on a branch!  Had we wandered into a magical wonderland?  No, we had found Outlook Lodge! Continue reading “slow fade” →

snow day

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Can you still remember that feeling?  It was the main topic of conversation at school all day.  You actually watched the evening news so you could see the weather report.  Homework was more difficult than usual to focus on because you were sure that it wasn’t going to matter because, rumor had it, that the next day would be a snow day! Continue reading “snow day” →

hidden places

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I’ll admit it, I’m slightly obsessed with caves.  It’s the adventure of it.  Traveling deep into the earth, not knowing what you will find.  Often these caves are hidden in plain sight.  Exploring them is like being let in on a secret not known by many.  So, when a friend of ours offered to take us to one of these hidden caves we jumped at the chance.

 

 

My family met up with our friend and his son, jumped in a car together, and drove the short distance to a pull off along the road.  It’s a busy road, connecting two major roads in our county.  I drive on the road quite often, zipping past homes, lakes, restaurants, and a school never realizing there is a large cave  just out of sight.  The trees are dense here, but this time of year, with the leaves all long gone you can peer back into the woods and spot tall cliffs.  In front of the cliffs the ground heaves up creating small berms and rocky rolling hills.  These berms hide the secret of what lays beyond the road and forest. Continue reading “hidden places” →

amish country lessons

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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” →

parenting after 9/11

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This morning as I drove my children to school, I looked back at them in the rear view mirror.  They were all decked out in red, white, and blue as requested by their school.  They were going to spend some time in prayer and remembrance today, September 11th.  My eleven year old caught me looking and I smiled at him remembering that chubby 6 month old child that he was that day.    I decided to share with them, my memories of 9/11. Continue reading “parenting after 9/11” →

all the way! (with cranky kids)

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What!  We have not hiked the Adirondacks most popular hike!  How can that be?

We were taking my oldest son to summer camp in the Adirondacks and decided to stay for a long weekend after we dropped him off.  If you have read other posts of mine such as conquering the mountain, you know that the Adirondacks are my favorite place visit.  It’s beautiful, rugged, rural, and there is so much to do!  I began to plan what we would do this time and I came across Blue Mountain in the town of Blue Mountain Lake.  We have been to the town a number of times but have never hiked the 2 mile trail to the top of the mountain which many websites stated was the most popular hike in the Adirondacks.  Guess it was about time that we hike it! Continue reading “all the way! (with cranky kids)” →

lessons learned on the delaware

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There’s no better place to be on a hot July day then on the water.  It’s been a hot summer so far and we have spent many days in swimming pools and lakes, swimming the day away.  My (spoiled) kids were beginning to become bored with swimming, so we decided to try something different- a trip down the Delaware River.  We decided to go on a 6 mile float down the Delaware with some friends.   The trip taught us some valuable lessons that I figured I would share. Continue reading “lessons learned on the delaware” →