Tuesday, August 11, 2015

(Re-)Introductions

Blow Spout at Thor's Well, Oregon Coast
"Once upon a time in the land way up north there lived a little family: a loving daddy and mama, a courageous boy and a charming baby girl. Their adventure begins when..."


Though the adjectives change, this is how we often start the stories I make up for my children.  We are a family of four from Fox, Alaska, just relocated to Eugene, Oregon, who love learning and adventures of all sorts: outdoor, indoor and imaginary!  I'm always striving for useful, practical projects and using what we have in new creative ways. Though a terribly sentimental person, I find that if I’m going to put the time and effort into anything, it needs to be of worth!  Time is so precious and fleeting, people so intricately fascinating and things so inconsequential and frail, I desire do the best we can with what we have and be good stewards of the resources we are given.  I’m l earning everything ought to have a purpose, whether to be useful, practical, bring beauty and life, or to teach us about God.  



     Okay, so as those few faithful followers have already realized, I’ve been gone from this particular blog for a while. After this long blogging sabbatical, the timing is right for me to return to the blogging world.  Though I considered creating an entirely new blog with slightly new direction, I decided not to reinvent the wheel and majorly update this one instead.  Through the new name I hope to bring focus to my ramblings which will include the joy of bringing the outdoors into our growing lives through adventure, exploration, creation, and reflection. 


My goal is to create a post at least weekly, though I’ll strive for twice.  I’m still trying to figure out our rhythm in this new place, so that is subject to change.  I desire a couple things for this blog.  First is to spark your creativity.  Being a person who rarely follows patterns, instructions or recipes to the letter, I still thrive on the creativity and ideas of others.  Though I’ll never do something the exact same way, the ideas of others are often the launching point of my own branch of creativity.  How can you make these ideas fit your life right now?  I also look forward to this becoming a glossary of ideas I may (or may never!) repeat with my children again down the road; a log of adventures.  And the potential to contribute to our family financially is an eventual possibility.  As life settles, this blog will be linked with my Etsy page.


As for a brief history: I was born and raised in Sedro-Woolley, WA.  It was a small logging town at the time with plenty of wilderness for exploring and adventures.  I loved my childhood and hope my children can say the same when they’re grown.  Josh and I were married after our junior year of college, then we moved a LOT!  (He has a bit of a gypsy soul like that)  We’ve managed to stay in Fairbanks for six years where we’ve welcomed our wee hooligans.  We just finished our move to the outskirts of Springfield, OR where we are attempting to get settled and get comfortable with the area.


Now you know  =)  Though I’m sure we’ll get to know each other more through future posts, I always love getting questions and hearing the creative ways you find to live life to the fullest!


I'm so grateful to our Father in heaven that He created us in His image; specifically that he gave us a desire to create and imagine and explore His beautiful world!  What wonders and discoveries lie around the bend?  I can't wait to share ours with you and learn from your experiences as well!  What adventures have you had this week, (be they big or small)?

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Wild Mountains



 
God's wild side revealed in the rugged mountains, unrelenting wind, and bitter temperatures.   This stirs my heart and inspires my soul.  Grateful for a safe journey to and from Anchorage this week.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Small Home

Small Homes - 11x14" - Birthday gift

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95688975/small-homes-11x14-birthday-gift

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Friday, January 18, 2013

www.getoutthebox.org
http://spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com/post/9346700599/www-getoutthebox-org

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Fynn's Year and a Half

The little man is actually already 19 and a half months!  Wow!  He is all about talking and learning new words right now.  He often just mimics the last word of every sentence we say; SO cute!

Favorites
Toys: Bears (Baows) Mater (Mae Mae) and anything with wheels (trucks {"tuck"--which I may add also means duck and stuck}, trains{"rains"}, tractors, trike, cars*, airplanes*, strollers etc.)












Foods: eggs*, ham*, fruit (au-puls, grapes*, orange*, ango), carrots, milk, candy ("Dandy", yeah, he got some at Christmas)










Words:  More than I can count, but I hear uh-oh, dog, vroom, up, down, out, WOW, and water (blater) often.
Winter activities: the ice slides, play dough, catching snowflakes on his tongue, painting, helping cook, dancing and singing.

 What a joyous miracle this child is!  He makes every day brighter, sharp as a tack, and so content with his little life, he is my inspiration!  I want to be like him when I grow up: full of wonder and excitement.  I hope he can be some measure of encouragement to others as he is to me.

Note: * means word he says pretty close to as they should be said.