Before I met my man I knew nothing about hunting. OK, I knew a few things. You know the Bugs Bunny episodes when Elmer Fudd “hunts” the rabbit? That was the extent of my knowledge. Hunters talk to themselves and wear black and red jackets! So I had a few things to learn. Since you, my lovely readers, have been digging deep the past few weeks, examining your priorities and looking for ways to strengthen your families, I thought we should have some fun on this post! So I’m sharing all my wisdom and experience here to create a bride’s guide to marrying a country boy! Feel free to share…just don’t judge me!! 🙂 [Read more…]
Pursuing Your Passion while Achieving Your Priorities
Several years after college, I interned at the Albert B. Sabin archive in Cincinnati. At the time, I was a single mom working full-time as a flight attendant pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Science (I know, crazy, right? I’ll come back to that). Albert B. Sabin was one of the men credited for eradicating polio with his oral polio vaccine, in this country and around the world. We are talking huge accomplishment. But as I combed through his life I saw all his time spent away from his family. There were several broken relationships in his personal life. It made me wonder. At the end of our life what will really matter? Does accomplishing a great goal or dream outweigh the cost to our personal life? Is it possible to pursue your passion while achieving your priorities? [Read more…]
10 Healthy Habits to Strengthen Your Family Bond
When my kids were younger I felt like I had more time to devote to each little step forward. As they grew life seemed to go faster and faster! It felt harder to keep an eye on the big picture of what I wanted for my children when I was just focusing on what had to be done for that day! As a blended family, Country Boy and I knew we were going to have to make strengthening our family bond a priority. Otherwise we were in real danger of acting separately from one another and not as a cohesive group. And at the end of the day, what matters most to us is not the to do list, but the relationships within our family and the character of our children. Here are 10 healthy habits to strengthen your family bond that we found benefited our family. [Read more…]
Calving Season at Hickory Hollow
Big News! It calving season at Hickory Hollow.
After waiting all summer the calves finally began to arrive Monday evening!
Resolving to Think Like a Survivor
Much of America is currently trying to survive overwhelming natural disasters. Two category 4 hurricanes have hit land causing incomprehensible damage and as I’m writing this our country is remembering the attacks of September 11th. How do you think like a survivor? What is the difference between people who seem to fade away under the crush of overwhelming circumstances and those that seem to only grow stronger? This question that has always intrigued me. How do we resolve to think like a survivor? [Read more…]
Create Calm and Cut Chaos in Your Life
While I appreciate to do lists and tend to have one lying around somewhere at all times, being very detailed is something I have resisted. I like to leave a little space for spontaneity. Even the words “stricter schedule” makes me want to rip up my to do list and go gallivanting outside! However, my spontaneity often leads to taking care of the phone calls or texts and forgetting my main goals. Anyone relating? So here are a couple of ideas that I have recently tried and found helpful. Create calm and cut chaos in your life as you consider and implement a few of these ideas. And you know what? You might even have some fun!
[Read more…]
3 Lies Holding You Back from Self Care
Sometimes, we tell ourselves half-truths for so long its hard to distinguish the truth from a lie. Today we are going to examine 3 lies holding you back from self-care. Most of us are good at “treating” ourselves. However, is that really what your soul craves? Are we calling it self-care when all we are doing is reaching for what is most comfortable or familiar? What is it that you really need today? And are lies holding you back from reaching for it? [Read more…]
Should You Limit Teen’s Friend Time?
Parenting is such a balancing act. It starts off with the dilemma whether to schedule or not schedule? Pacifier or no pacifier? And quickly moves on to other burning questions from the toddlers years to the teen years. One big question is should you limit teen’s friend time? And though it is discussed way less online than say how to limit tech time or dealing with teen disrespect, it an issue that will impact many other areas of a kid’s life. Witnessing the various outcomes of limiting or offering unlimited friend time with families and reading a life changing book radically impacted the way I view the question, “Should You Limit Teen’s friend time?” [Read more…]
Overcoming Heartache and Emotional Pain
“Mom, why are you taking a picture of your arm?”, my daughter asked. I was sitting on the couch capturing a photo of the huge bruise on my arm. My arm was black and blue from an unexpected surgery I had gone through the week before. ” It will help me as I recover emotionally to remember that I have gone through this surgery,” I tried to explain. I knew, that soon the bruises would fade, but the emotional pain and heartache I (and my family) had gone through would last much longer. [Read more…]
Signs You Live in the Country
Since laughter really is the best medicine, I have to include some “just for fun” posts. No vibrant life is complete without a healthy does of laughter. It is one of the things I love about my Country Boy. We LOVE to laugh together. And as a city girl transported to the country, there is typically lots to laugh about at my expense! So if you ever wondered about life in the country here are some signs you live in the country. [Read more…]
