Happy last day of May! Can you believe that summer is here already? I recently read something that made me a little sad, but also very motivated. As parents, we only get 18 summers with our children and this is one of them. That means I am on number 13 with my oldest daughter and only have 5 childhood summers left with her. That breaks my...

When we last touched base at the end of March, I promised to start sending a newsletter each month, beginning in April. I had every intention of sending one out on April 15th (yeah, tax day!). Well, a lot of life has happened between then and now and that last blog post feels like a lifetime ago. This newsletter is going to be very different from...

Back when I was competing in the Miss America Pageant, I joked that once I had "aged-out" (the pageant term for being too old to compete), I was going to start a club for fellow former competitors called Has Been Beauty Queens or HBBQs so we could share our experiences and support each other through pageant withdrawal. I loved this white dress! I...

I hope you have been enjoying your weekend so far. I had a wonderful coffee date with a friend from church this morning. It reminded me how important it is for us to take time out for ourselves and how nice it is to talk to someone face to face instead of through a screen. Look how beautiful this coffee shop is! I cannot believe that it sat as...

Hi Friends! It has been almost two weeks since this column was published in the Free Lance-Star, but what a busy two weeks it has been! My husband was out of town and it seemed like I just couldn't find a few moments to sit down with my computer to type this post. But I didn't want to skip sharing this one with you because I believe it is an...

In this week's Saying Grace column in Fredericksburg's Free Lance-Star, I shared my heart in regards to the death of my great uncle, a man I was never given the chance to know because of the life choices of my grandfather, Kenneth, also a man I never knew. You can read that column here. My grandfather, Kenneth, was essentially absent from my...

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart.” ------Winnie the Pooh In response to the recent late-term abortion bill that was passed in New York, I heard many well-meaning, but misinformed people claiming that this legislation was intended to protect the health of the mother. As one of those mothers, I decided...

In a recent Free Lance-Star column, I shared what I learned about caring for my soul from an old cast iron pan. You can read that Saying Grace column here. I love how God can use seemingly mundane things to teach us profound lessons. All we need to do is approach life with an open heart and mind. As a lover of all things vintage, I decided to...