Slice of Life | where you live

What is the best thing about where you live?

It's quiet.

When we first moved here, I remember thinking it felt like Grampie and Grammie's camp.

Just the birds singing and the soft creak of a screen door.

Slice of Life

Slice of Life | 10 Minutes about Today

Saw - a full tank of gas when I got in the car which meant Jim had noticed the empty tank and then dropped by during school

Heard - encouraging words from an intern on the way to my car

Tasted - toast and milk for breakfast

Felt - sad about more waiting

Appreciated - being invited over to a friends' house tonight even though we couldn't go

Thought about - how wonderful (and fun) Mom and Dad are

Decided to - wait until tomorrow to decorate the tree and had a nap on the couch while Ethan played video games and Jim helped someone with the volleyball set up

Slice of Life

Counting Blessings

morning gratitude

before you begin your day, list ten things you're grateful for

1. cozy bed

2. toast and milk

3. electricity

4. running water

5. quiet

6. washing machine

7. computer

8. books

9. heat

10. pencils and paper

akr inspired | 101

Three favorite candies -

1. blue whale gummies

2. grape shoestring licorice

3. maple candy

@missamykr | Instagram | Project 1,2,3

akr inspired | 100

akr inspired | 99

My cousin, Glenda, was home this week, and she learned something about our great grandmother while out shopping with my mom. I asked if I could share her story here.

........................................................................

During a recent visit to the Mission Thrift Store, I purchased a pencil case, handmade by a person with the last name “Horsman”.  Later that day, my aunt, who was shopping with me, recognized a couple she knew in the parking lot of another store, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Horsman.  This led to a conversation about the pencil case and its possible origin.

As they conversed, I shared that our great grandmother was Viola Horsman, wife of Noble Lutes. Mrs. Gordon Horsman, realized she knew her as “Mrs. Noble” and proceeded to share this beautiful story:

Mrs. Gordon Horsman’s father was the pastor of a local Baptist church. She remembers our great

grandmother and her sister, Hazel, always sitting in the last pew. As a young girl, Mrs. Horsman was very conscious of a “crooked” front tooth and didn’t like to show it. One Sunday morning, when she was leaving the sanctuary, which meant passing by the sisters, “Mrs. Noble" said to her, "You have the smile of an angel."

Mrs. Horsman then spoke these words, smiling unabashedly, "It’s amazing how a few words can change a person’s life."

Textbook | History

Sunday's Photograph | Eliza and Pearl

Today was Christmas tree day!

Counting Blessings

family

having a family

being with family

Song | Smile

Madeleine Peyroux

akr inspired | 98

a mom + a sister + a cousin + a delicious dinner  = a wonderful time

Textbook | Math

akr inspired | 97

Amy Krouse Rosenthal: A Beauty Salon

at the Carrie Secrist Gallery

Chicago, Illinois

July 18 - August 12, 2017

Let's Celebrate! Amy Krouse Rosenthal: A Beauty Salon
reflections from a visit to the exhibit
Jen Vincent
Writer. Blogger. Educator. Speaker.

Quote | Freedom

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please,
but as the opportunity to do what is right.
- Peter Marshall


Little House on the Ridge

something I read | about opinions

On Instagram, someone shared a photo of this tweet by @avogues. It said,

My friend just used the phrase, "if they can't fix it in 10 seconds (acne, weight, hair color) don't point it out" and I LOVE that.

It's good advice to know the time and place to share an opinion, and to know whether you are even to give it. Social media, between friends or strangers, is a place where this skill is especially lost.

I am reminded of some old quotes from my journal.

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. - Benjamin Franklin

Just because you think something doesn't give you the right to say it. - Author Unknown

I regret often that I have spoken; never that I have been silent. - Syrus 

I think I would change the second quote, because we all have "the right" to say what we think. Instead, I would say,

Just because you think something doesn't [mean you should] say it.

Sunday's Photograph | Red Snowsuit

Annie

Counting Blessings

Being finished report cards

Meeting with parents about their precious little ones

Having marvelous co-workers