Tennessee

 We are back home safe from time spent in Tennessee.

This was our second trip to the Great Smokies, but what a blessing it was this time to vacation with extended family. 

My brother and I each have four kids, so all eight cousins got to spend the week together. I remember how much I loved spending time with my cousins growing up, so I'm sure life-long memories were made. I couldn't be happier for them!

 We would line all eight of them up for photos any chance we got...

Aren't they a great looking group?

Their ages range from five to seventeen. 

We marvel at how well they all get along. 

They are a delight!

In an effort to get some of my favorite photos altogether in one organized place, the following is a small sampling of a few highlights from our trip.

 The girls winning prizes in Dollywood...

My parents in Anakeesta...

My kids in Anakeesta...

Me with my sister-in-law (after our husbands roped us into a pretty treacherous UTV tour...)

The guys!

Our two families...

There are so many interesting side quests to explore in the area... This little town tucked back behind the main road is called The Island...

And this one, called the Village, had a European feel. It reminded me of the medieval streets we walked in Paris...

Isn't it charming?

One more of my growing kids in Dollywood...

Have you ever seen the interviews of Dolly Parton talking about her vision for Dollywood and how it got its name? There's a cute one that looks like it's from the 1980s. You can tell she's so proud of her hometown and how beautifully it's been built up through the years. 

We certainly felt a bright and positive vibe there, and remarked that even though it was lavishly decorated for fall, none of the decorations were creepy or spooky. 

I've heard that if you visit Disney World around Halloween, there are strolling performers dressed in scary costumes, and Disney villains creepily wandering Main Street. I don't know if that's true, but we surely appreciated how family friendly Dollywood was, and noticed the bright and uplifting atmosphere, even though it was fully decorated for fall.

 (As a mother, I always hated it when my children got scared, and never thought fear was cute or harmless. In fact, God says, "I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7. But I suppose that's a topic for another day. 😉)

🍁

~ Courtney 

Back Home from Guatemala

Micah and Nola just returned home from spending ten days in Antigua, Guatemala. I enjoyed receiving their daily updates and photos...

Doesn't this landscape look like something straight out of a storybook?  

I thought I'd better park a few of them here, for safekeeping, since I like to think of this blog as a way to record for my family. 

I tell them, if something happens to me you'll have over ten years worth of posts with photos that tell the story of our life: the places we've been, the way I've homeschooled, and my thoughts and beliefs on various things.

They worked with a missionary group at an orphanage for a week. Nola's great with little kids, so this was a good fit for her...

Micah told me the missionaries' kids had grown up together and were a tight-knit group of friends, but they welcomed Nola right in.

Nola said she thinks she's made lifelong connections with some of them, and plans to keep in touch as well as hopefully go back!

I'm so glad it was a good experience for her.

(I love this one! 😂)

They were able to tour the small town of Antigua during their downtime. In one of the open air markets, Micah purchased this watercolor from a local artist. 

I can't wait to find a frame for it! I'm fond of homes that show that the family's been well-traveled.

It's one of the many sacrifices of a mother to spend years training children to be good, honest, hard workers, then send them out to be a blessing in the world. 

I couldn't be more proud. 😊

~ Courtney 

Back Home From Miami

 We've arrived safely home from our beach vacation in Miami, Florida.

(Micah with our four growing children...)

Did you know that leaving North East Wisconsin at 8:00am and driving straight through the night gets you to Miami by around mid-morning the next day? It sure was a long haul, (48 hours round trip!) but worth it to enjoy several days of salty waves and sunshine. 

We rented a small house a block away from the beach. The interiors were painted bright white, and the floors throughout were a white and light grey tile that resembled cold marble. With blinds on every window to keep out the heat, it all worked together to produce a very cool effect.

(The view from the upstairs balcony.)

We found a grocery store close by the first evening we were there and purchased some essentials. Eating most meals "at home" helped to save a lot of money for our family of six. 

I gave each of my children a travel journal at the beginning of the trip. It was fun to watch them jot down interesting tidbits that were unique to them.

Things we saw, places we went... they scribbled away here and there as the week went on...

The culture in Miami, I observed, was mostly deeply tanned retired couples, sipping Margaritas, lounging in beach chairs for hours. Those who were young were big into fitness. The boardwalk between our house and the water was constantly filled with runners, and the shoreline filled with Yoga practitioners... everyone just trying to live their best Miami life. It's always so fun to people-watch, isn't it? And aside from a few sketchy looking beach bums, who mainly kept to themselves, I wondered, who is local here? It all had a very laid-back, Spring Break vibe. 

We set up our little spot in the sand and settled ourselves in...

Over the course of our stay, our beach neighbors consisted of a French-speaking couple, a young Spanish-speaking family, and group of friends with strong Boston accents. But it took walking past a cluster of young German-speaking men for it to dawn on me how Miami attracts visitors from all over the world. 

Even us fair-complected Northerners...

On Sunday, we drove the 20-something minutes to Ft. Lauderdale to attend Sunday School and service at First Baptist Church.

It was a large and beautiful church, with an extremely welcoming congregation. One after one, they approached us to shake hands and offer a warm hello. We even received advice from a lady, originally from the gulf side, informing us that the Tampa/Clearwater area has better, more beautiful beaches than Ft. Lauderdale. I nodded, then whispered to Micah afterward, "Maybe next year?"

 They made us feel at home. 

It was a joy to worship there and learn from their teachers and pastor. I love when I'm reminded that God keeps a remnant of His people in all places. 

As fun and exciting as it was to visit a new place and soak up the heat and humidity, it feels even better to be back at home. 

I must admit, we got a little sick of feeling slightly tender from sunburn, and constantly gritty from sand.

Not to mention, did you know these roam freely in the wild?....

(Don't worry, we were safe inside our vehicle.) 

Ahh... yes, home sweet home.

🐊🌴🐚

~ Courtney 

Easter Eve

 An Easter Eve family dinner...

Just the six of us tonight.

Nola requested chicken/ tortellini soup, so I made a pot of that.

But I am currently inspired by the book I'm reading to "go the extra mile" with food.

So I also made two salads - one savory and one sweet.

Along with some cheeses, summer sausage and nuts.

The book isn't about food; it's actually an English couple's account of moving to France in their retirement years. But the French make such a ritual out of meal times that it's only natural for that to shine through the author's writing, and it's quite inspiring!

"One of the characteristics which we liked and even admired about the French was their willingness to support good cooking, no matter how remote the kitchen may be. The quality of the food is more important than convenience, and they will happily drive for an hour or more, salivating en route, in order to eat well."

A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle

Before my trip to Paris I showed you these two books I selected for the occasion...

I read The Lost Bookshop on the flights there and home, finishing the final chapter during a layover in Canada.

I enjoyed it. It was a cute story, but sad in some spots. The main character gets her start in the world of book dealing when she lands a job at the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Paris. 

So you can imagine my delight to have visited it in person... It is charming!

(This is what the inside looks like. Can you think of a more lovely way to spend an afternoon in Paris?)

Having attracted historical figures like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, the bookstore is considered legendary today, and is a popular stop for tourists, as you can see from these lines!

I picked up A Year in Provence upon arriving home, and am now almost done with it. The author is really funny, and I would recommend it as a light, quick, entertaining read. And as I mentioned, he somehow makes plates of sausages, cheeses, salads and roasted tomatoes sound like the most delectable thing in the world!

And for the moment, I am inspired to grocery shop in the specialty cheese section to enhance our family dinners.

(Quick, kids! Eat well while you can before your mother reverts back to her true nature of frozen pizzas and the All-American drive-thru!)

I hope you have a blessed Easter.

(...enjoy and eat well!)

💐

~ Courtney 

Back Home

 Integrating back into family life after international travel is like jumping back onto a merry-go-round (that you never should have gotten off of in the first place), and trying to steady yourself as it continues its endless loops.

We arrived home in the middle of the night, exhausted from having been up for 24 hours. (There's no way around it - that trans-Atlantic haul is a doozy!) I was in desperate need of a hot shower and my own bed. But after just a few hours of deep sleep, it was morning and time to hit the ground running again.

We are winding down with school for the year. Elsa completed her 5th grade Language Arts course...

She can write a research paper, recite poetry, and diagram sentences like a pro.

A diligent year always pays off!

Another highlight from this month has been Soren's 13th birthday.

(Photo by big brother Roman)

I am now the mother of three teenagers! I made him his favorite breakfast: Scrambled eggs with peppers and mushrooms, alongside homemade cinnamon rolls.

It feels great to be back in the rhythm again. Paris was a beautiful adventure, but there's no place like home.

I was able to bring a little French flair back home with me.

The shops there sell authentic Made in France pillow covers that had me swooning!

In Versailles, the gift shop had a small selection of Marie Antoinette inspired pieces. I chose this embroidered pillow cover for my bed...

(Notice the M for Marie! 🌸)

Her style was famously lavish, and she loved florals. This was her bedroom in her smaller, more private chateau...

I could move right in, couldn't you?! 

😉

I also purchased, in another shop, these whimsical pillow covers for my couch...

I am just tickled over them!

To justify the purchase to Micah I tried pointing out how hard it is to find genuine decor in America. 

The pillows here are printed transfers, I explained. So you understand my urgency in buying these while I have the opportunity, right?

One could not argue with such clear logic.

It still feels like we were just there, navigating the metro... taking in the sights... (with a cafe creme in hand), but I couldn't shake the thought that, as fun as it is to visit, I wouldn't want to live there.

'Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down

Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,

To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the kings -

But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things.

So it's home again, and home again, America for me!

My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be.

Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air,

And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair;

And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome;

But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.

"America for Me," by Henry Van Dyke

It's good to be home.

💐

~ Courtney