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What is in a Name?

I don't know why, but lately, I've been contemplating the names that people are given.  It's probably becuase I often hear names that don't seem well thought out. When I was pregnant with my first child, I remember feeling like I had been tasked with the monumental responsibility of just naming her, and it actually increased with each child.  Names trend, and I did what a lot of moms have done in the past, by purchasing a baby name book.  I'm sure that is no longer a popular practice, but that book stayed with me during all of my pregnancies.  I love it because I could look up a name, and it would tell me where it was derived from and what it meant.  Over the years, I've looked at every name in that book at least twice.  If I liked a name, but didn't like what it meant, it didn't make my list.   Naming a child is so important, and though I know most people put a lot of thought into it, I always wonder, and often ask people the origin of their name...
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Continuing the Mission

 It's been just over a week since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and since then, there has been a lot of finger-pointing and conspiracy theories.  When things like this happen, I think we may need to accept that we won't find out the full truth, but understand that whoever, or whatever, is behind it is evil.  My first reaction was shock and sadness, as I have followed Charlie Kirk for a while and was interested in seeing how far he would go.  I honestly felt a sense of relief that he was out there fighting for freedom and truth.  Once it was confirmed that he had died, my reaction turned to anger.   Anger can be sinful depending on how we react to it, but in this case, since I've now had some time to reflect on it, I believe anger was an appropriate response.  I never met him and likely never would have, but I have grieved over his loss.  It is a loss for us all.  Anger is a part of grief, and therefore, I'm not unfamiliar with it as par...
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The Price of Love

 I've always heard that the price of love is grief.  While that may be true sometimes, I'm not sure we can really put a price on love.  What I get out of love is loving and being loved.   Last week, my dog of 14 years died.  In her last three weeks, we knew she was fading fast as her behavior began to change, and she did things that she'd never really done, like not eating.  She had always been healthy with only a handful of visits to the vet her entire life, but a few months ago, we began to suspect that she had cancer, too.  So, one morning, I woke up to a message from a neighbor that she had gone to her house and seemed to be stuck and couldn't get back home.  She was a beagle, and even when she could barely walk anymore, she still had the urge to wander.  She loved her freedom.  So, my husband went over to get her, and she seemed to have lost the ability to use her hind legs.  That's when we knew. It was time.   T...
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Happy Reader, Amazing Life

As my mom has told me, I learned to read at a fairly young age.  I'm not sure what my earliest memory is exactly, but I can remember being able to read in all of my memories, and for me, it was a rather natural process.  She read to me each night before going to bed, and I was able to pick up much of it from that.  Once I started school, I learned there, but could already read some on my own.    When I was in elementary school, I fell in love with The Babysitters Club  series and somehow, probably through school book fairs, came to own the first several books in the series.  I read and reread them all.  I enjoyed many books and different kinds of stories, but that series is what I credit with making me a reader.  I still have all those books, and my daughter has read the graphic novel versions of the same series.  She owns those and though she has outgrown them, won't part with them.  It's also what made her a reader.  We are h...
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Homesteader's Gift Guide

  What kind of homesteader would I be if I didn’t have homesteading gift ideas for you?  I want to normalize giving gifts to lots of people but giving the kinds of gifts that don’t cause you to go into debt.  And I know that not everyone would agree, but these types of gifts, the ones that show thoughtfulness and creativity, are the best kind to get.  They far surpass any other gift that can be bought from a store.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not past shopping.  Sometimes I enjoy it!  If I see something in a store that makes me think of you, and it’s within my budget to purchase, I’ll probably get it for you.  That shows thoughtfulness as well.  But there is something extra special about making a gift by hand and putting your own creativity into it.  These are the types of gifts I love to give and receive.  I think giving gifts at any time of year is something we should do for various reasons, but of course, with the Christm...
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The Season of Advent

 To me, Christmas truly is a season and not just a holiday for one day.  Once I became a mom, I wanted Christmas Day to be spent at home with my children instead of running around from house to house.  Within two years of becoming a mom, and after having two children, I got my wish.  Unfortunately, it was due to the deaths of some precious family members, which we all know, can change the trajectory of how things begin to play out within a family.  Still, although I miss them all very much, I would not change what we do.  I love being home with my children on Christmas Day, grazing on "finger foods," watching Christmas movies, and playing with their new toys or trying on new clothes.  Leading up to Christmas Day, however, is when we really make the most memories.  Many years ago, I started to do "The 12 Days of Christmas" activities with my children as part of our celebration.  I would purchase small gifts and put them in their stocking and e...
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Catching Fireflies

 A couple of weeks ago, I was working in the garden and noticed a firefly (or lightning bug if you prefer).  It was the first one I had seen of the season, and I couldn't wait to go tell Ean.  He loves to catch them and put them in a jar, or whatever we can find.  We usually try to build an entire habitat to make sure the firefly has food and even water, and sometimes, we catch multiples so they don't get lonely.  Catching fireflies as a child is a good memory for me.  Not all of my childhood memories are good ones.  Is anyone's?  In fact, a lot of my childhood memories aren't great.  Or the ones I can actually remember anyway.  I have vague memories of some things that were unpleasant, but fortunately, the memory often works in my favor.  I just can't always remember the bad stuff. Fireflies though, I remember.  I remember being at Grandma and Grandpa's and catching them in the yard on warm summer nights.  Sometimes, we'd...
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