Literacy Learning Zone

PEACE More than two-thirds through this year (thank God!) ... And as I was walking the other day, I started reflecting on my one little word for the year:  PEACE. We were vacationing in the beautiful state of New Hampshire as the new year began. I was enjoying some precious alone time riding up to the top of the green run at Crotched Mountain. (All the others were aiming for higher elevations.) Through the repeated quiet rides up, enjoying the crisp winter beauty, PEACE called to me. I wanted PEACE this year. I needed, required, desperately craved PEACE -- to slow my pace of life and enjoy some quiet, down time. And then take time to treasure these moments. Image Credit: @PositivelyPresent Well. Did God ever provide me with the biggest opportunity of PEACE , or what?!? Yes, there were many moments of chaos and stress, but I still held tightly to PEACE in my heart and in my home. The gift that we were given to be together for over two months as a family of four. To focus on PEAC...

This summer, as with anything in 2020, has been anything but usual. Days at the pool non-existent. Playdates with friends on hold. Camps delayed. One vacation delayed a year. Another vacation postponed until deemed safer.  But, thankfully, we did get away as a family for a week.  We are so blessed to have a family cabin in the woods in the middle of Wisconsin. We packed the mini-van FULL with AnythingAndEverything we may need (or want). Here there seems like there is nothing to do. Here we just get to be in the slow moment of time... We stayed up late and slept in until we stretched out of bed.  I stole moments to sit in the quiet and read.  We noticed the beautiful Monarch butterflies fluttering in the breeze.  I was in awe of the bright blue sky and puffy white clouds.  We hung out in bright pink flamingo tubes cooling off in the lake.  I enjoyed lots of walks with the dog on a new dirt road.  We bounced around in a UTV on the trails splashing i...

Image from Unsplash: Photo Credit Jordan McQueen Right now, we {should have} been ... Enjoying the Hawaiian Islands A trip of a lifetime with family Celebrating 50 years of marriage and family Soaking up the sun on the beautiful beaches Sight seeing and observing island life Relaxing, laughing, sipping something good Flipping through the tourist books Balancing the busy hustle and the resting calm Making memories and taking lots of photos All this will happen. Just not this year. Not right now.  But Summer 2021. Watch out. We are coming for you. For right now, we are home. Dreaming about what {should have} been.

Run happy I'm not a runner. Well, that's what I tell myself anyway. My girls were signed up to participate in Girls on the Run (GOTR) through their school. It is a wonderful program that promotes girl empowerment by teaching life skills through lessons and running. The goal is to run a 5K and celebrate their accomplishments. Both the girls' dad and I agreed to be their running buddies. So we all had some work to do to be ready. Then the world stopped. We decided to train at home during this stay-at-home order. We had the time. We had places to run. The fresh air was good. No excuses. Maybe a few grumbles. As a family, we ran. Sometimes a mile. Sometimes a mile and a half. Sometimes two. It wasn't ever easy. Or fun. What mattered was that we did it together and the running made a difference (more for us than them). We ran in the morning, sometimes lunchtime, or after all our school work was done. We ran in the cold, the rain, and the sun all through the e...

Tomorrow. May first. They turn ten years old. Ten years ago, my twin baby girls came into this world. God blessed us with so much when He gifted them to us. When I found out we were having twins, it was a big surprise. One is never really ready for a newborn, let alone two!! They have changed my life. Made me who I am today. Created me into the mother I didn't know I could be -- it is a scary, unknown role. But, every day, they make me a better person. Not perfect. But always reflecting and progressing. Lots of hugs ... and plenty of apologies. These two, though, bring us so much joy. They are similar, but yet so different. Sweet, stubborn, silly, kind, sassy, loving, funny, creative, special, determined, thoughtful, smart, beautiful inside and out. These girls are growing up before my eyes. In a blink. Ten years. A decade. Double digits. 10. I'm extra thankful for this time together now -- to savor every moment of every day. Before another ten ...

Walks I've always enjoyed my extra daily walks ever since adopting our Harley dog two years ago. Quiet, alone time to think and pray walks. Or listen to a podcast, a book, or music kind-of-walks. But THEN it was always a chore to check off the to-do list. Quick. Let's go. C'mon. I've got to get back and ... {fill in the blank with any number of chores.} But TODAY the three-times-a-day walks happen as a family. Our walks together provide us with opportunities to talk, notice, wonder, surprise, question, wait-and-watch in awe, share memories, make memories, and take more pictures. Each walk brings something new -- A group of little yellow birds A family of ducks with five newly hatched ducklings All the trees sprouting buds and flowers and little green leaves A big white bird diving into the pond for a fishy snack A bunch of spring flowers blossoming The sun and clouds or bright clear blue sky, depending on the day Walks get us outside, away from the ...

  Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Every evening, we take our Harley-dog for a family walk. The girls are never too excited about just walking the neighborhood. Thankfully, they are creative and fun, and figure out a way to manage the boring walk. Some days they decide to hop on their scooters. Some days they create a game along the way full of hops, steps, and jumps -- worth points. Some days they ride their new bikes. Some days they guess and then count the number of steps until the next shade tree. Some days they roller blade. But, tonight, they grabbed a bag of c...

  Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ I knew I always wanted to be a mom.  Jon and I were married almost seven years before we were blessed with our twin daughters. I remember the day vividly when I found out I was officially pregnant with twins. It was a shock at first. I remember asking, "How does that happen?" The nurse just laughed. And, in what seems like a blink, the girls are eight. Eight. Eight!  I can't even believe it. They are growing up to be amazing little people. They are sweet and caring a...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Every night for years, my almost (in ONE week) eight year old daughters and I snuggle up in our big bed before bedtime and read. Some days, it's picture books from our library. Or new books from a Scholastic book order. Or even books the girls checked out from their school library. Or an old favorite we have read and read and read again.  The book selections and options are endless and always growing. Bedtime reading is one of my favorite moments of my day. Over the last year, ...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ The girls love shoes. It's the shopping part of it that makes it difficult. When they were little, it was so easy to buy online. I found cute, reasonable, practical shoes. And I bought two pairs in a click. Now, shoe shopping with almost eight year old twin girls has it's challenges. And they have strong opinions that usually differ as well. We bring our patience and try to have fun ... They look for style.  "What about this one? It's cute." Wrinkled nose. Shake of the he...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ My birthday is over, but I am so thankful for all the birthday wishes and reflecting back on all that I believe in . I also love to reflect back on my year of writing. However, I rarely take the time to click through my own blog. I have something even better . You see, my parents give me the best gift of all: My slices and blog posts from each year published in my very own book. This week I received volume 13. Over 100 pages -- from January's first post {Sigh.} to my last post of 2017 in mid-November, my interview with my friend/educator/momma/writer Ruth Ayres . I guess I took a break from writing in Dece...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Last December, my friend Jen invited me to check out a new Orange Theory Fitness that was opening in the area. I told her I'd think about it. The next day, I received a flyer in the mail about this new Orange Theory studio. Now I really started to think about it. This is my year. My one little word: BELIEVE. I need to believe in myself that I can lose weight and grow stronger. But in order to do this, I need to do something different. Orange Theory it is. I signed up, but had to wait a month before it opened. Which then turned into two months and then three months. A little frustrating, but timing worked o...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Every morning ... "Good morning! Rise and shine! " I softly say as I flip on the light switch, turn off the globe that is used as a nightlight, and push the off button to quiet the sound of rain. I touch her leg to start the wake up process. Then I repeat all of this in another bedroom with my other daughter. I sit on her bed, usually chatting about the day ahead or about the weather, so she knows how to dress for the day. I may hear some groans. There is major stretching. One eye opens slowly. Then the other. Squinting at me in the bright light. Then I repeat all of this in the other bedroom with my othe...