The snow still falls. The flakes are tiny, barely even flakes at all, and yet they multiply before they even hit the ground, becoming a sheer, white blanket. This morning we woke up with motivation. Biscuits in the oven, eggs scrambling in the skillet, Eliot sweeping the floor and giving Isaiah toys to chew on. After eating, we sat facing each other; Travis sprawled on the couch as I scrunched into the recliner, teal journal in hand. We decided to... Read more
“We must always have old memories and young hopes.” I’ve written this quote by Arsene Houssaye down again, because the words still weigh heavy and pierce so deep. After filing taxes, we went to eat at Hunan Manor– of course, to celebrate that in a month we will have some money. This piece of paper slipped out of Trav’s fortune cookie, and he handed it straight to me: This, in 9 simple words, reflects my life right now. These next... Read more
We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout… Okay, now, I am not totally sure what a pepper sprout is, but we definitely got married in a fever, Love. We had our big husky, who you found on a rock in the Arkansas Ozarks. You lured him into the car with an orange, and you brought him home to me– our wedding gift from God. We dreamt of Ugandan soil, and that was just the beginning. We... Read more
It would be an understatement to say that we process things differently. I digest quietly, the gears turning inside my head as I wash the dishes and stare out the window. It could be hours before I’m able to verbally express. Travis is a bubbling brook; his thoughts flow out of his mouth here and there, dreams and convictions, new scenarios at every turn. Every single day we are checking emails and each application’s status, hoping for news one way... Read more
Sunday was reserved for rest. Our friends have a cabin in the woods, about 20 minutes outside Fayetteville. We lovingly call it The Farm, and it’s hosted many special occasions with close friends. Sunday we wanted that place to give us rest. We woke up and, while getting ready for church, explained to Eliot that we were going to the farm– wrong move, right there. “Uncle Donald, Uncle Donald house!!”…. after various attempts to explain that it wasn’t that kind of farm,... Read more
Yesterday I wrote about the unknown of this soon-coming adventure, this mystery season that’s creeping up on our family of four (six, counting the puppies). We drove the back-road, the little, windy highway to the school where Trav will teach this semester. The boys dozed in the back, their heads bobbing with the road’s twist here and turn there. We talked about dreams, and feelings we have and how God might be speaking. “I don’t really know why, I just really... Read more
And so it begins. Spring 2014 semester, and we look ahead to classes and syllabi, power points and grading. We long for the green and bright bloom, and we long for adventure. Our family theme song for this current season has been Brett Dennen’s Only Want You, which is ironic, because it’s about longing for a relationship that doesn’t exist anymore. Nevertheless, there are lines that we sing to each other in the car or at the kitchen counter while we... Read more
From Carmina Gadelica– A Christmas Carol: HAIL King! hail King! blessed is He! blessed is He! Hail King! hail King! blessed is He! blessed is He! Hail King! hail King! blessed is He, the King of whom we sing, All hail! let there be joy! This night is the eve of the great Nativity, Born is the Son of Mary the Virgin, The soles of His feet have reached the earth, The Son of glory down from on high, Heaven and... Read more
I lie in bed, holding the hand of my 3-month old, Isaiah. His breathing pulses and lulls his small body to sleep. Just six months ago, I stood at the kitchen sink, wondering how to go about this, how to fill my life with the gift of music– how to make it work in the midst of motherhood, in the midst of busy life. There, in front of dirty dishes, I made a petition, and my tiny voice shook the... Read more
For the holiday season, we’ve decided to take a television fast. We packed the 22-inch TV under the bed and put books where it once stood. On Eliot’s 2nd birthday, we decided to rent two movies- Little Nemo and Monsters, Inc. It had been coming to a head for a few weeks– a little show here, a little movie there…it was almost always an event to be shared, and it was Little Mozart or the Babies documentary or a Sesame... Read more
Stories - with Kaitlin B. Curtice
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