Whitby Beach Walk England, Walking with Children, #48walks
travel walks

Whitby Beach Walk {England} (14/48)

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mt12xOuzhL0/U1USHW18QcI/AAAAAAAALZI/wPl-kdTQZ64/s144-c-o/DSCF0973-PANO.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/BeachWalkInWhitbyEngland#6004725595768635842″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0973-PANO.jpg” ] I mentioned last week that we ended a day of exploring North Yorkshire by playing in the North Sea in Whitby. [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TMOt3vgfLuI/U1USHRH-f0I/AAAAAAAALZg/jL1JV6XLH18/s144-c-o/DSCF0955.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/BeachWalkInWhitbyEngland#6004725594233667394″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0955.JPG” ] The kids love to play in the sand no matter what the temperatures are, so I wandered around taking pictures …

Roseberry Topping Walk, Walking with Children, North Yorkshire, North York Moors
raising chinos travel walks

Roseberry Topping Walk (13/48)

Climbing Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire, England for #13 of #48walks I noticed a subtle difference between walking in North Yorkshire and walking in Aberdeenshire. The air was just a few degrees warmer and the fields a slightly brighter shade of green. The kids and I found this walk that was just a few miles …

Ireland, Green, Donegal
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In The Pipeline

We had a great week in North Yorkshire and now we’re off to Ireland. We have lists full of wonderful recommendations for our trip to Killarney! Also, I have already been reminded of how wonderful Irish hospitality is by our house hosts. When they heard how late we will be arriving, they offered to have …

Roseberry Topping, Snapshots of England, North Yorkshire, North York Moors
travel

Snapshots of North Yorkshire, England

We’ve been in North Yorkshire this week because Taido was presenting and attending a conference in Durham. Cole’s at camp, so I’ve just had three in tow as we explored on our own. Our favorite day was spent in North York Moors National Park. We went for a walk in the morning up a big …

In The Pipeline, Taido and Alison Chino, Scotland
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In The Pipeline

Taido and I have taken turns playing tour guide this week, and on Friday we teamed up for our friend’s last day in town and went to a local castle. This photo captures what the weather has been like all week. Mist + Rain + More Rain. I went to my first European football game …

A Story about Cole, Walking with Children
raising chinos stories

A Story about Cole

 A Story about Cole Hello, Mom? I’m in trouble and I need you to come pick me up. As a mom, you know you might get this phone call one day, but it still surprises you that first time it happens. Cole is my first child. I have strong memories of his nights as a …

scotland travel walks

Balmedie Beach Walk (12/48)

Often there is such a long string of gray days in Aberdeen that I actually forget that the sky and sea can be this lovely. When the cold mist clears, it’s as though someone has taken a paintbrush to the city or like a black and white film has turned to color. Just north of …

Butternut Squash Hummus, Homemade Piita Chips, Vegetarian
recipes

Butternut Squash Hummus

Looking for something healthy + inexpensive to take as an appetizer to a party this weekend? I’ve got you covered. Butternut Squash Hummus. We have been cooking all year out of Jamie Oliver’s Save with Jamie, as a way to both save money on groceries and use recipes for which we can find the ingredients …

Matisor, A Story about Spring, Romania, Tradition
spring stories

A (Short) Story about Spring

A (Short) Story about Spring When she came through the door, she handed me a small wooden charm. It was a colorful shamrock shape, tied with red and white striped string. “We wear these in my country when we are waiting for spring to come.” “What a lovely tradition!” I said, as I took it …

Aberdeenshire Walk, Shire, Noth o' Tap, #48walks
projects walks

Time for Some Long Walks

Y’all! I am beyond excited to announce that I am going to be going on a couple of long walks times this year with Macs Adventure. In just a few weeks I am going to walk St Cuthbert’s Way in Scotland with my sister! This path wanders through several ancient abbeys, beginning with Melrose Abbey …

Aberdeenshire Walk, Shire, Noth o' Tap, #48walks
scotland walks

Aberdeenshire Walk (10/48)

I promise to make up for all my winter whining about the weather by being ridiculously happy about all the days full of skies this blue. Yesterday at church, Simon’s sweet teacher told us we needed to enjoy days like these because they are so few and far between, so we spent every possible minute …

London Eye
expat stories

Expat Story: London

Today’s Expat Story is from Stephanie who lives in what I think is one of the greatest cities in the world! LONDON! I’ll be taking a few of her tips with me for the next time I go. photo by Stuart Holdsworth  Expat Story: London Tell us a little bit about where you’re living and …

A Story about Music, let me tell you a story
faith, hope & love stories

A Story about Music

One of the wonderful surprises about art is how the forms reach out and speak to those who have no official knowledge or learning about the art form itself. You don’t have to be a painter to love a painting. And while it is almost certain that if I had some experience as a painter, …

#48walks, Collieston, Scotland, North Sea
scotland travel walks

Scottish Coastal Walk (9/48)

We walked the Eastern Scottish Coast on Saturday afternoon and it was crazy windy. The walk took us along a cliff above the sea and I was a weensy bit worried one of us was going to blow away. The wind was blowing all this sea foam into piles on the shore and after we …

In The Pipeline, Railway Man, Pot of Tea
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In The Pipeline

Have you had a good week? And more importantly, are you looking forward to the weekend? Mine will probably be pretty low key. I’m in the middle of reading The Railway Man and hoping to finish it up. Also, I am making a cake for a bake-off that Mary Polly and her friends at church …

travel

Snapshots of a Concert

Back in January, I mentioned that we gave the kids tickets to events this year for Christmas presents. (Which is making Christmas last all year!) When I took Ben and Simon to Edinburgh to see The Lion King, we made a day of it, enjoying the city and taking loads of photos. We even had …

A Story about Lent, Walking in the Light
faith, hope & love stories

A Story about Lent

Giving Things Up: A Story about Lent The thing about giving up something for Lent is that it is sometimes hard, especially for children, to not make the thing you’ve given up the focus of one’s attention. I think the point of giving something up during this season is to make more space for God. …

In The Pipeline, #48walks
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In The Pipeline + #48walks

Hello Friday! I cannot tell you how glad I am going to be to see February (and winter) in my rear view mirror. I know I still have lots of gray weather in the days ahead but the evenings are stretching out longer. It just feels better. Like moving forward. Into the light. For February …

IG Travel Thursday Snapshots of Arkansas
arkansas travel

Snapshots of Arkansas

Y’all can I be honest for a second? I love to see new places in the world. And I really love Scotland. But over half of my Instagram feed is made up of pictures of the little corner of the world that is my home state of Arkansas. Because in addition to the fact that …