“Not Again!” I thought as, Jake, our middle son was admitted to the hospital again because of SMAS. The first time we faced this was nine years ago. SMAS is, in layman’s terms, is when a person can’t keep food and liquids down because of a crimped small intestine caused by rapid weight loss. The first time we went through this we were on vacation in St. Augustine, FL. Jake was ...
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My daughter, Kailey, just got a golden retriever puppy named Tilly. Tilly is a sweet, soft, fluffy ball of furr and energy. Kailey got Tilly in Calhoun, Ga, and earlier this week I drove Kailey and Tilly back down to Orlando where Kailey lives. Tilly came from a big litter, so she was used to being surrounded when she slept at night. At Kailey’s house, Tilly is sleeping in a ...
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Ecclesiastes 3:1-8There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under heaven… There are lots of reasons to LOVE Fall…Pumpkin Spice everything, football, the leaves changing color, sweaters…bugs go away to wherever they go for the winter!! Every season offers us the opportunity to experience things a little differently, like the crisp coolness of a Fall morning…And life can be like that too, with all of it’s seasons giving ...
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What does September mean to you? The anticipation of all things Fall is upon all. Don't you love the moment you can smell Fall?? When football is back and we plan our trips to the pumpkin patches, corn mazes and apple orchards. A few years ago, during our annual Pumpkin Farm outing my Husband was leading us through the corn maze. I always hand the map directly over to him, because if I ...
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I'm really good at worrying. Nope, not proud to admit that. But it seems like there are so many things to get anxious about. Whether it's poverty, wars, gas prices, inflation, that awful health diagnosis, or a friend grieving the loss of a parent, there's a lot to worry about. When someone I love is in crisis – one of my parents, a friend, or one of my 11 nieces ...
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I got sticker shock at the grocery store. There I was buying the same things I usually fill my pantry with, like bone broth, organic ground turkey, sweet potatoes, ice cream, and cha-ching, the cost increased so much that I put the ice cream back. I could have afforded it, but the principle bugged me. As much as I expected to pay more during this season of inflation, I still ...
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Ever think life would be easier if we could pick and choose our relationships? Just spend time with the people we like, and who like us? Handpicked, no stress- no drama people. That would be Utopian, right? The Good and Bad news is, that’s pretty much impossible to do if we truly are followers of Christ. That person or people who rub you the wrong way are placed in your life ...
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The accounts of the days following Easter are very interesting in the Gospels; Jesus keeps popping up and surprising people over and over. Two of his disciples mistake him for a fellow traveler on the road to Emmaus. Mary Magdalene, who knew him very well, thought he was a gardener. It makes me wonder, if the people who walked and talked with him, ate and traveled all over Judea with him, ...
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We’ve just wrapped up a pretty major renovation at the Ratcliffe house (Shout out to Platinum Kitchens and Hill Brothers Flooring!). My wife, Kathy, and I now fully understand why families usually move out of their houses during renovations on the shows we watch on HGTV. Living through a renovation can be trying to say the least with dust from old flooring being torn up, sawdust and drywall mud dust ...
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Going to high school back in Corvallis, Oregon, I remember the girls I knew and went to school with. They all seem to have a solid plan for their future. Many of them were looking forward to starting their own families after they met the right guy. They seemed to know what career direction they wanted to pursue in college as well. I had no plans or even dreams of starting a family. My plan ...
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