I'm just trying to walk myself home.
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Lots of mixed feelings this week, closing up the house and saying goodbye to our life on Cedar Street. Reprinted below is the text of an actual letter I wrote to my sweet neighborhood to say goodbye. An Open Letter To My Neighbors, Upon Saying Goodbye Dear Neighbor, My family and I have moved everything …
2 families, 4 days, 3 nights, 15 miles, 3,000 feet of elevation gain. I had a revelation along the way last week in the mountains. Well, several actually, but the first one was this. I really love backpacking.
Today would have been my precious Grandmother’s 90th birthday. In memory of her, I wanted to share this fun story I wrote about her 20 years ago. She had just remarried her high school sweetheart after being reunited with him at her 50th high school reunion. She had been a widow for 16 years, so …
Last week we played hooky one day to spend some time in one of the most idyllic settings in Arkansas, P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm. The kids were excited because they had heard me talk all about the farm after I went to Bean 2 Blog out there last spring. It was a very …
Having Compassion on Mother’s Day Mother’s Day always sneaks up on me, but it slapped me hard across the face this week when my mom said something about how my Grandmother always would take us all out for pizza on Mother’s Day. While she was talking, I realized that this will be the first …
photo by Jacob Slaton Do you remember the first time you ever flew on an airplane? When you first felt the now everyday miracle of accelerating down the runway and then the nose of the aircraft lifting up into the air? Just like that. All of a sudden, you are flying. Houses below you become …
Today I am super excited, because we are introducing our first Chino House Family Video: Family Cycling The Story Behind Our Video Simon and I frequently watch a sweet series of videos that Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom introduced of her family called Olive Us. (If you’ve never seen one, watch How To Visit A …
Last week, I flew to Chicago, where I had the wonderful privilege of spending a few days working with my sister, Anna, in her new restaurant, Blackberry Market. Anna and her husband, Robert, opened Blackberry in December. I spent a harried couple of days there in January and just got a small glimpse of the …
After we made our and ate our yummy gumbo for our fun family photo shoot with Whitney, we made cookies! These are my kids’ favorite sugar cookies! And we made them in the shape of our favorite state! Arkansas sugar cookies with Razorback red icing! Yum! I can remember when the kids were really little, …
Making Gumbo Together As A Family I’m continuing today with our family photos that I started posting last week. After we bought our groceries at Argenta Market, our family took our photo shoot to our house, where we made dinner together. Ben is cutting up some Petit Jean Smoked Sausage for Gumbo! I love how …
I mentioned this week that I LOVE that when Whitney Loibner takes our pictures, she takes some of just us. (Taido and me) And some of just them. (The Kids) True story: Before Whitney started taking our pictures, I never liked photos of myself. I also had exactly ZERO framed pictures of Taido and me …
This year we went to Argenta Market for our family photos. Argenta is the Main Street District of our town and has been undergoing some revitalization for a number of years. One of the most fun developments was the addition of this darling local market. We pass this market every day on our way to …
Happy Easter! Today we will miss my sweet Grandmother so much. She always met us at the door at church to say HE IS RISEN! and then waited for our reply, HE IS RISEN INDEED! She (on the left) and my other grandmother wore silly Easter bonnets last year that they made at Woodland …
We’re always sad to drive away from the mountains, but we made so many wonderful memories last week at Snowcamp in Taos! I am posting loads of pictures so I can remember our Spring Break in detail in the years to come! Here’s a rare moment at the top of a lift with Taido. Sometimes …
We take family pictures at least once a year with our family photographer, Whitney Loibner. This year we took our pictures in the fall in a very fun setting, a local market. I am going to share lots of them next week, but today for a special edition of What I Wore Wednesday, I asked …
We have had an amazing week in the mountains here at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico. I love being in the mountains at any time of the year, but this week’s spring sunshine on the snow has been just about perfect. This is our first year to go skiing that I have not had …
Arkansas Hiking Trails: Tollantusky Trail A couple of weekends ago we were looking for a day hike close to home and we stumbled upon the Tollantusky Trail near Conway, Arkansas. The trailhead is at the Cadron Settlement Park, which is located on AR-319 W off of Highway 64. This park is also home to restored …
I haven’t done a What I Wore Wednesday post since before my Grandmother died at the beginning of December. I think that might partly be because my Grandmother was one of the only people in the world who cared whether or not I showed up for all of life in jeans and a t-shirt. Actually …
My beautiful grandmother went home home to be with Jesus last Saturday. And though I earnestly prayed all last week that she might be released from her earthly body, I have found that with each day that dawns, the world seems darker without her in it. Today we will bury her and say goodbye. We …
Thanksgiving is my very most favorite holiday. To me, it is full of everything a holiday should be. Quiet, gratefulness, stores closed and homes open, family, friends, cold weather, kids piled in spare rooms and basements, couches full to busting, and of course, food. Lots of it. A beautiful table, prepared by hands that have …