Stone Dropper

I have been a bad blogger. Instead of writing about how bad I am I'm just gonna make it up to myself. Welcome myself back with open arms. Dive back in with my head first. I've been missed and the hugs feel good.



As you know, I look at life like a hike. A long journey with hills and valleys, mountains and streams. On my hikes in life and on the trail I pick up things. Stones, nuts, pretty things that I stick in my pocket to remind me of beauty. In life I may pick up inspiration, wisdom, friends. These things I stick in my heart. I carry it all right there but sometimes things and people get heavy.

I'm beginning to understand (especially in the past several months) the necessity of having to drop things. My time away from this, my most 2nd favorite past-time - blogging, has been spent learning how to drop things and leave them where they lie. This includes the souvenirs I have picked up over the years and people. How do you sort through all this stuff, especially when at one time this stuff was important to me?

It's not easy. It hurts. It's a decision to keep only the things you really love. It's a decision to keep only the people who really love you. It's deciding what's cluttering up your corners and what is adding beauty to the space.
It's deciding what is really important. It's looking yourself in the face and deciding if you want to be clutter in the corner or If you want to be the one adding beauty to the space.

It's really about me and how I feel about myself. It's about letting go and letting it be. It's the realization that, Yes, I am the master of me and no one or thing can weigh me down unless I let it.
So, here is another stone that I am letting drop from my pocket. . .

A Wintery Rundown of the Past Six Months (in no particular order)

Last Days of Summer.

Trip to North Idaho.

Clean sheets : )

Thanksgiving Day Nap.

Leaf tom-foolery.

Fall Front Yard Tree Climbing.

Myrtle Beach-Beach bum.

Camping in the Cherokee National Forest.

I Found It On Some Junk Mail

"They are beautiful in their peace, they are wise in their silence. They will stand until after we are dust. They teach us and we tend them."

- Galeainip Alteiem Macdunelmor

Walnut Street Bridge

Lookout Mountain and downtown Chattanooga

Delta Queen

Tennessee Aquarium

Coolidge Park

Market Street

Views from the Walnut Street Bridge.

Walnut Street Bridge

Lookout Mountain and downtown Chattanooga

Delta Queen

Tennessee Aquarium

Coolidge Park

Market Street

Views from the Walnut Street Bridge.

Words of Wisdom

Upon receiving only one sucker today after school instead of two. " You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit"
Willow Whisler

Spring Fever

This has been one crazy spring. We have been working and hiking and playing and everything in between. Mostly, we've been getting ready for the end of the school year. Kindergartners are not exempt from the crunch; unfortunately, but we are taking it in stride. Willow has a firm grasp of the kindergarten curriculum and is ready to move on to first grade material. Brandy and I are very proud of her. She is modest at home and doesn't flaunt her skills to others, Brandy will have that taken care of in no time I'm sure.

We have planted tomatoes and sweet peppers in our garden again this year. We had some luck with our plants last year and I can't wait. We have also planted some new herbs to accompany the thyme, rosemary and chives that are blooming right now. The garden smells wonderful already. The garden belongs to the kids as well, they had a hand in every planting and even planted some of their own. Willow planted Black-Eyed-Susans and Hayden had a hand in the Zinnia's. The garden is our family project and it is a great way for us to spend quality time together.

We have also been visiting the YMCA here quite regularly as a family and our thing is swimming. Willow is a swimmer now and Hayden isn't too far behind her. I enjoy dragging the kids around as fast as I can and Brandy has been seen doing laps. Family time at the Y has really been a great way to spend time together as well and is great excersize to boot. I have also used Y time as a reward for Willow when she does well at school, so of course, we just about go everyday. We have missed a week or two because of some visits from my family and Easter week the kids went to Memphis to stay with my parents. They had a great time and are now asking when we'll be back in the pool.

We have been doing our hiking at hotspots around town. The Chattanooga Nature Center is our favorite right now and I could spend an entire year writing about all the trails there. I'm sure here in the next few weeks I'll have some great hikes to write about. It's a wonderful place to visit even if you don't want to hike.

I'll keep you guys posted but for now it's all about school and yard work. Fun, fun, fun and I mean that.