I'm just trying to walk myself home.
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Camping Trip to Porcupine Mountain State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula So for our family vacation this summer, in addition to spending some time in the Shenandoah, we went camping for a long weekend in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Porcupine Mountain State Park. Our connection to Porcupine Mountain began the summer Simon was …
It’s been a little over six weeks since we boarded a plane in Switzerland to come back to the US. Back home. Taido is teaching for the fall at Lyon College, a small liberal arts school that is about ninety minutes up the road from where I spent most of my childhood. It’s a …
November 15, 2016 Dear Grace, Emily, Wilson, Campbell and Phineas, Now that it’s been a few months since we all went camping together in Colorado, I have almost forgotten about the rain and the mosquitos. I almost don’t remember the days of washing and drying a gajillion wet tents and sleeping bags that had mildewed …
A Walk from Aboyne, Scotland A light drizzle was falling on us as we made the drive to Aboyne, Scotland. It was a Saturday morning in March. Nearly Easter. We were headed to meet our friends Patrick and Nicola for a walk with our kids and theirs. Soon we were standing around in the car …
Beware of feeling entitled to my good gifts. Receive blessings from me thankfully, yet be willing to release them back to be — without growing resentful. When I read these words, out of Sarah Young’s Jesus Today this week I realized that I was holding onto the good gifts of my summer. When I arrived in Arkansas in …
My mama has now been to Scotland to see us four times in three years!
A collection of my favorite memories from this year’s Christmas in Scotland.
#CarveAHeart As a little something different this year, Simon and I carved hearts into our pumpkins in partnership with World Vision. Because Halloween is a night of “scary fun,” for my kiddos, it’s an easy time to talk about what it’s like for children all over the world to be in fear. Simon is really …
Our second week of walking new trails in Scotland was on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland. My sister and her husband, Robert, and their three kiddos were in town in July for two weeks. The first week we spent in and around Aberdeen, and then we rented a second car and headed west. We stayed …
My Mama Polly Stone-cold sober, she was more free in spirit than most people are three sheets to the wind. I won’t be able to be at her memorial service today, but as my family has gathered photos and stories back home, I have been thinking about all my grandmother has given to me over …
So, York. Last week I mentioned that I took my mama to Berwick-Upon-Tweed on a little train journey + YHA adventure. Our next stop was York. We spent two nights in York, again arriving late. We ate dinner on the train on Friday evening, walked to the hostel, had drinks in the common room (ale …
My mom was here for three weeks in April and May and I really wanted her to have at least a little taste of seeing somewhere besides Aberdeen. I love train travel, so I spent a little time trying to find places that we could get to relatively easily via train and towns that could …
She’s Calling For Me There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who like to talk on the phone and those who don’t. I am one of the latter. Seriously, when text messaging was invented, I was like, “Where have you been all my life?” But my sister Anna? Well, she’s a phone …
Our first walk in Switzerland was to a waterfall. All the signs said “Wasservall” so we kept saying we were walking to a “Wasservall.” Which reminded us of The Willoughbys. The Willoughbys is a favorite book of ours that we’ve listened to over and over again, and a little boy in the book pretends he …
In celebration of the fact that we have now been in Scotland for one year, here’ s a quick look back at the last twelve months of life at the Chino House.
She made me a scarf at Christmas. Crocheted by her little hands, the same hands my grandmother had and that I have. Sky blue cozy yarn. To match my eyes and to keep me warm. All through the long cold Scottish winter. I wore it double wrapped around my neck for all of January and …
A Story about Simon Simon is growing up so fast that sometimes I forget how much he still has to learn. Being the youngest means he is constantly trying to keep up with the older three. In fact, even though he is almost eight, he has just discovered all the Disney movies. He fell in …
A Story about Mary Polly The summer that my only daughter turned nine we had been on the road in a camper for almost three months. Mary Polly has never been one for a big party, and we often celebrate her birthday with just one or two friends. This girl loves her down time, and …
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Q0uBidqM3Qs/UpyA6oMLtFI/AAAAAAAAE7E/1nnNKvUECBk/s144-c-o/DSCF0247.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/GlenTanarAberdeenshireScotland20131202#5952774552186238034″ caption=”Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0247.JPG” ] Cold weather makes for lonelier walking paths and on our latest foray into the woods, on the first weekend of Advent, I let the boys get ahead of me on the trail. Autumn is now almost gone. The bare branches of the trees and the …
Today’s my dad’s birthday, in honor of which, I’ve made a list of 10 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From My Dad. And really, the list could be titled 10 Life Lessons Anyone Could Learn From My Dad. I’ve left off ones that are snarky, but true, such as How To Be Sarcastic or How To …