Lest I Forget

You know that moment in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" where Cameron goes berserk? Well, Thursday was that moment for us. We were all...unsettled. Restless. When I awoke this morning, I knew we had to do something. Something away from the house and the walls that were closing in. A day trip, because we had evening obligations. We have been longing (well, most of us anyway) to go camping all spring. With the State Parks closed until recently, I decided to update the inside of the camper. I am not done, but I have it to a point where we could go camping in it. Sadly, all the park's playgrounds and inside exhibits are still closed, along with boat rentals. Really, you cannot do much more than hike. We want to wait a while longer to spend several days in one spot. So I planned a three-park spree for today. They were all in a row along I-26. We visited Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, Givhans Ferry State Park, and Colleton State Park. We packed a picnic lunch and ate...

I've always wondered why God loves me. I mean, I mess up all the time. I am constantly frustrated with my humanness. My inclination towards choosing to do the wrong thing. Most days, I feel unlovable. Today, God gave me a little insight into His love for me. I am God's little weed. Weeds are unwanted, undesirable plants that most people try to eliminate from their yards. Most people see no beauty or worth in them. Yet didn't God create weeds along with all the other plants that people cultivate and nurture to make their yards appealing? He did! And God created me, along with all the other bigger, better plants out there. But He cares for all His creations, from the tiniest little bird to the largest mountains. He loves them all. And He loves the weeds too! I am all right with being a weed. Especially since that is what He led me to today. That small, tiny plant on the side of the road that captured my eye with its delicate purple flowers. No one planted it there, yet i...

The battle between me and the kiddos is screen time. I don't want them on a screen and they do everything in their power to find a way to get screen time. I find this illogical because I see what they do when the mom is winning the battle and they head out the back door. This week, they have been working on creating a fort. It is next to our giant fire pit, so maybe they need to protect our "fire power". Remember the evil tree people who took out my two favorite trees? They never came back like they promised to remove the downed trees. So Tony has been spending his days making a wood pile for our giant fire pit. Did I mention it is so big our minivan would fit inside? The kids have been joining him down by the pit, creating their own space. We also continue in our quest to catch a fish out of the lake. We have been planting seeds in our tomato pots from last year. We watch the geese and their new babies. I take walks, while the kids ride their bikes around me. Some of u...

Baby blankets have been the theme lately. Crocheting rather than knitting since my sister requested this specific blanket, and it was written in British terms to boot, I stepped up to the challenge. I made it 6 rows in when I discovered some major errors in the pattern I paid for. When I buy a pattern, I expect one that is well-written, with good photos and explanations. This one was disappointing in every way. Thankfully, I had a friend who helped me navigate Ravelry and find the corrections that were buried deeply in a "crochet-a-long". Then, blanket finished and delivered before the delivery date, I had one more blanket to make for a family member . She had seen my in-progress pictures of the blanket on this blog and said she really liked it. I actually was ok with making a second one since all the problems had been worked out already. I used different colors though, using colors from the blankets I had made for her other children. Now that both the blankets are finis...

Hello friends! I thought I'd take you on a walk around the block with me since we all have to keep our distance these days. The city of Columbia announced this morning that starting Sunday we would be housebound. The state came back and said they didn't have the right to make that call, so we shall see what transpires. Either way, our neighborhood is not in the city limits, praise the Lord! The other piece of news before we begin is that the SC state parks are officially closing tomorrow through the end of April. That means no camping trip for Spring Break for us :( Now, as we depart the driveway, let me introduce you to my current nemesis. Oh, he may look nice enough, but the pollen he produces is wreaking havoc on the camper and tow vehicle, which are parked beneath him. Oh, and I know it is not nice to point this out, but he smells something awful! Just around the corner, for we live on the corner of our street, is this lovely dogwood tree. They happen to be my fa...

I had pretty much decided that Saturday would be "organizational day". That is, go through all the accumulated messes throughout the house and get things back to a state of "somewhat tidy". Being the optimist that I am, I foolishly thought it would take a day. I am not even through the first room! Holy moly, are we an untidy people! Then, I looked out the window and saw a truck in our yard. And then I remembered a brief conversation with the president of the lake association months ago about wanting to remove some trees from our property that are leaning toward the lake. I personally think they are the most beautiful trees and I often photograph them. Poor trees. The treemen set to work preparing to fell my beloved trees when they realized their truck had sunk into the mud and they were stuck. Hoping that divine providence was on my side, I waited to see what would transpire. What transpired was the calling in of a tow truck. Now there were two trucks i...