I'm on a Journey

 Recently, my family went on a hike to Marquarite Falls. It was a breath of fresh air. I definitely needed it. There is something so peaceful about being in nature.  Marquerite Falls Trailhead Phillip fishing  Enoch- The Waterfall Corrie & John - Love this pic❤️ REST  Also, I went  to a  women's  retreat. IF GATHERING-  I attended a women's retreat the weekend of the 13th. We watched the replay of the IF Gathering together. It was a much-needed break! I connected with women, ate yummy food, and learned so much! I decided to go at the last minute. ( Literally an hour before) And I’m so glad that I did!! This is something I have been praying about and have needed a break for months. Wow! What a gift! IF Gathering Retreat 🫶🏻 Amos Mills in Rogersville  Soccer season is in full swing here. Both of my younger boys play. Enoch has practice on Monday and Thursday, and Phillip has practice on Tuesday and Friday. With games on Saturday, it definitely keeps us busy, but I also like

 Happy Easter, ✝️St. Patrick’s Day, ☘️and the first day of Spring! 🌷There is so much to celebrate and so much to grieve. This month has been challenging but also good in so many ways! I’ve walked through some difficulties in my health this month, with an earache, some challenging parenting issues, and some pain with a ministry we were involved in for many years. The GOOD things? Well, my brother got married!! Yay! It was a beautiful wedding in downtown Knoxville, TN, (at the courthouse) to celebrate Shaun and Kristin. I was so happy to celebrate with them! It was a super SPECIAL morning with Family!!                       My family 🩵 Me, Shaun, Kristin & my brother Chris  Me & my husband 🩵 Something I’m reading :  I haven’t finished any books this month but am in the middle of several good ones. I will let you know my thoughts after I finish them. "The Cost of Control" This book by Sharon Hodde Miller is really opening my eyes to the control issues I have or the o

 Happy Valentine’s Day!  And Happy February too!  This month has been a challenging one for me. I’ve had a double ear infection that’s lasted longer than expected. (Over a month) It’s been painful to walk through. And I got a flu bug that lasted only a day. At the Knoxville Zoo with goats.❤️ Some fun things we got to do this month. I celebrated Valentine’s Day with my husband (who actually proposed to me on Valentine’s Day 25 years ago. ) with a date to Panda Express. And later, we watched “Sleepless in Seattle.” A truly romantic kinda movie. At Panda Express  Also, Super Bowl fun! 🤩  Me & Lily (Asaph’s girlfriend)🫶🏻 Asaph, Lily & Enoch  We went to the zoo. I love animals!! And spending time with animals & family was truly a gift to my heart. Also, we went to Winter Jam. (A huge concert in our area.) I haven’t been to one in years. I loved hearing David Crowder. My husband & I first saw him (we were engaged) at a Passion One Day Event with Louie Giglio. I think back

I can’t believe it’s already 2024! Can you? Do you pick a word for the year? My word for this year is BELOVED. I felt my word for this coming year would be BELOVED in August. What is your word of the year? In the middle of January, we got hit with a BIG snowstorm!! (11 inches of snow) It was a huge front that hit several states, including Tennessee. Besides the snow, it was FREEZING, and I do not like COLD! However, I love snow & we had a lot of fun sledding!!! {It reminded me of when I was a little girl growing up in Illinois.} It was so fun making memories with my family! On one of the snow days, we got snowed in and couldn’t drive anywhere. The snow lasted for several days, with some ice mixed in too. Did you have any snow where you live? What do you like to do when it snows? Now, I’m ready for the snow to leave and return to our normal winter temperatures. A Book I’ve finished recently:  “ 1225 Christmas Tree Lane ” by Debbie Macomber You will like this book if you love adorabl

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas spending time with your family. I love Christmas! And I love spending time with family and friends. I watched eleven Christmas Hallmark Movies this year. I love a good Hallmark movie.   I don’t know about you, but I procrastinate when preparing for Christmas. However, this year, I finished my shopping early..before Christmas Eve.😉 But I always put it off til the last minute every single year. You would think I’d learn. Ugh!  This Christmas was so much fun! My son Joel came to town for several days for leave for the Army. We went to church on Christmas Eve. Later that afternoon, we opened presents with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. So fun! One thing I enjoyed about this year was that the kids bought their own presents for everyone. It was so much fun to see them give gifts to everyone.   On Christmas Day, we opened more presents from my husband’s parents. Then, my favorite part is opening stocking stuffers & my gifts to my

 Happy November! This month has been quite challenging for us! Our family got hit with sickness pretty hard. Several of my kids had fevers and coughs. We spent Thanksgiving as a family, but had to cancel our plans with extended family. However, even with sickness, I’m grateful we got to be together as a family. Panther Creek State Park Thanksgiving decorations  We also decorated for Christmas early this year. I usually wait til the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday). This year, my son & his girlfriend Lily wanted to set it up earlier. It's been so beautiful & peaceful to look at every day. Christmas Decorations  3 books I've finished recently :  Last month, I finished one book. This month, I have three books to share with you. Our dog Ginger  “ We Were The Lucky Ones ” by Georgia Hunter This is the THEE best book I've ever read on the Holocaust! I learned so much about this period because of the author's notes about the war at the beginning of each chapter. T

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are October’s.” L.M. Montgomery  I love Fall! It’s my favorite time of the year. I love cooler temps, cozy blankets, pumpkins, mums, pumpkin patches, fall leaves, pumpkin pie, sweaters, pumpkin spice and everything nice. Does   anyone else love fall as much as me??? Speaking of cozy. I love reading a good book. If you want to follow me, I also write reviews on Good Reads. A book I’ve finished recently..  “ The Masterpiece” by Francine Rivers Wow! This book was epic! If you loved "Redeeming Love," you'll love this book. Words don't adequately describe how I felt. There was so much depth to this book. The characters had complicated stories. Francine Rivers did not sugarcoat the character's lives in any way. When you read a book, the author sometimes glosses over how complicated people's lives are. Healing doesn't happen overnight. The person takes responsibility for their healing, which takes time to process and un