tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89507063016372974592024-02-20T23:14:28.361-05:00the terpblogKatie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.comBlogger673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-87149875044623278952014-07-19T09:13:00.000-04:002014-07-19T09:13:58.400-04:0040 Bags :: Halfway there!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7egs_yxz0CCFgSCO29eZFSZ1sPcXL1m8G_Bjh-jJLXnKQ09XL_2-2r0kL2A1ezEgzIS1ucNU9AJwfC5lAvrSpfLoxb-QV7EPvFMJk9sWdDKZ0jkE8YLQQfwPSRnaJGDuFNmCzO54f6whj/s1600/2014-07-08+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7egs_yxz0CCFgSCO29eZFSZ1sPcXL1m8G_Bjh-jJLXnKQ09XL_2-2r0kL2A1ezEgzIS1ucNU9AJwfC5lAvrSpfLoxb-QV7EPvFMJk9sWdDKZ0jkE8YLQQfwPSRnaJGDuFNmCzO54f6whj/+004.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's week six of our <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20Bags%20%7BSummer%20Edition%7D" target="_blank">40 Bags {summer edition}</a> challenge and we are officially halfway there. We've enjoyed (?!) some cool, rainy days lately which seems to be perfect purging weather. We're even running a little ahead of schedule around these parts, anticipating a busy second half of our summer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZi9_EOBxTFXYew-76mOf1SyhbhyncK4qTb16459kG0KIO6IU2U3ebJkyKi6A61d2s7-Lgib5vl8HoaJrHRpPWxWNZJoxle9n_jIgolQJwKAl2eFSB4VdIwzVa4RaSPT2YN_Zzq3A9wDf/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZi9_EOBxTFXYew-76mOf1SyhbhyncK4qTb16459kG0KIO6IU2U3ebJkyKi6A61d2s7-Lgib5vl8HoaJrHRpPWxWNZJoxle9n_jIgolQJwKAl2eFSB4VdIwzVa4RaSPT2YN_Zzq3A9wDf/+Collage.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are a few more spaces I've checked off my list recently:</div>
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Main floor closets (three total!)<br />
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Master bedroom dresser<br />
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DVD's / electronics<br />
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In addition:<br />
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Mudroom<br />
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Dylan's room<br />
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Dylan's clothes<br />
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Paper / magazine piles</div>
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Our sell / donate pile continues to grow. We dropped off another load this week and I'll leave you with this gem that I spotted at the local thrift shop (and yes, hopped back out of the van to snap a picture of...)</div>
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Quit clowning around. Start decluttering!</div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-3452210658531214752014-07-02T11:00:00.000-04:002014-07-02T11:00:01.628-04:0040 Bags :: Catching Up<div style="text-align: justify;">
So it turns out I'm loving <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20Bags%20%7BSummer%20Edition%7D" target="_blank">the purging process</a> this summer, but not so much loving the blogging that goes along with it. I committed to it at the beginning because I knew it would keep me accountable, but I have been kept plenty accountable by the <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/40-bags-progress-printables.html" target="_blank">lovely ladies</a> in our private Facebook group. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiULiIukkJdaU168lGmn2thsFCxtCzpAk6PxzirYHd38Y7gF7IFawlBYV3vYvSjGBNpr21yajU1T6CN_BmROk_WLZmsiPumtHO9wny_DWFYZurEX4lcHOOrMXz65yQ4jtm79Ynn6H1g75J/s1600/2014-06-29+001+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiULiIukkJdaU168lGmn2thsFCxtCzpAk6PxzirYHd38Y7gF7IFawlBYV3vYvSjGBNpr21yajU1T6CN_BmROk_WLZmsiPumtHO9wny_DWFYZurEX4lcHOOrMXz65yQ4jtm79Ynn6H1g75J/s1600/2014-06-29+001+(2).JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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{Our group recently did something new and fun -- we put everyone's name into a hat who had completed 10 spaces, which is where we should be at at the end of Week 3, and drew for a Starbucks gift card. 15 of us have made it to that mark!}</div>
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In an effort to get caught up here on the blog, I'm going to quickly touch on the spaces I've been working through. 12 more spaces total crossed off the list.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLisORt8od_G4FJUVznvGU3hU1b_XKuZtojrrBsyB1T-FYI69I0nuRgT6v_eNyBYGW5eVoxZ51QpfT7J0Gzm0tZ8-gFOZy3y_HpJcQKu6UsV8tzN9WVfgz5NRURe8yfVMkHq8ODc0Mqf-L/+Collage+garage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLisORt8od_G4FJUVznvGU3hU1b_XKuZtojrrBsyB1T-FYI69I0nuRgT6v_eNyBYGW5eVoxZ51QpfT7J0Gzm0tZ8-gFOZy3y_HpJcQKu6UsV8tzN9WVfgz5NRURe8yfVMkHq8ODc0Mqf-L/+Collage+garage.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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The garage. Mady is officially a two-wheeler as of this summer, so good-bye tricycle and toddler garage toys. I also returned a ladder, a sign, a table, and a bin to their rightful owners. Check out the way the sunlight is shining down on our overflowing trash can!?!</div>
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The bathrooms and upstairs linen closet. Our master bath was the worst -- the drawers all needed a good cleaning -- but all 3 1/2 baths got some TLC. More than anything, I am committed to using up our bathroom goods (shampoo, body wash, detangler, etc.) before buying anything more! I also, unrelated to 40 Bags, freshened things up with some new bath mats, towels, and the like. It feels downright spa-like these days.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJqguooulp11pd8v8SfWHdlcfL-ZWKjfpUAGScIGpU46_8_W8jLkGhB9Y50oMKLNVeTgTsnDQxs-o-_3OfJHHEzch82xtu6S_3ptK_FgTkkEr3ndjI9sL1GYyVRKSH0Gc82kuIBhtCC_f/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+Ella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJqguooulp11pd8v8SfWHdlcfL-ZWKjfpUAGScIGpU46_8_W8jLkGhB9Y50oMKLNVeTgTsnDQxs-o-_3OfJHHEzch82xtu6S_3ptK_FgTkkEr3ndjI9sL1GYyVRKSH0Gc82kuIBhtCC_f/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+Ella.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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The girls' rooms. I spent one day on their clothes (closet and dresser) and one day on the rest of the stuff in their rooms. Our girls are hoarders, no doubt about it. I debated working on Ella's room while she was at day camp last week but as a 7 year old, going on 13, I wasn't sure how much she would appreciate that. Luckily, she went into organizing mode herself without me saying anything (maybe it's contagious?!) and she did a great job doing most of the work herself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gSdJx8ZnjTdu4PldjVQ981-oxyZYpwZsprwVYwQsGuY1psETV39IfZAoJJZis1oCg-pNbpehrJ7nMW4hWCsIYnYSwR-Bf5COZm17vlhgFAv04J3FNZDoNQzSGZ2skxEt1LJhuhOi09xT/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+Mady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gSdJx8ZnjTdu4PldjVQ981-oxyZYpwZsprwVYwQsGuY1psETV39IfZAoJJZis1oCg-pNbpehrJ7nMW4hWCsIYnYSwR-Bf5COZm17vlhgFAv04J3FNZDoNQzSGZ2skxEt1LJhuhOi09xT/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+Mady.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mady's room. Top left: a purge in process. Top right: little girls are all lip gloss and plastic jewelry. Bottom left: all the 4T's are out the door. When did <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Mady" target="_blank">my baby</a> get so big? Bottom right: the after!</div>
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And the rest of it: the laundry room cupboards (before & after, above), the kids' craft supplies (yes, I did spend an entire afternoon testing markers and recycling old coloring books), and our nightstands/built-in drawers (Matt's boxers and my jewelry reside in the same drawer. It makes perfect sense to us).</div>
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23 spaces down, 17 to go. I'm ahead of pace but once I get going it's hard to stop. Love the feeling of being surrounded by all of these purged, un-cluttered spaces; love sending all these bags packing. </div>
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-14910273697496116842014-07-01T22:21:00.001-04:002014-07-01T22:51:08.163-04:0040 Bags :: "just in case"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GNQKiBA9L4IayOwQlIkw16-yiNDnDz4EEDi2Jbds-CjE5XFQbbtUfVU4Xy_tspBLmtLMV7aD79Pi27834d5Ipi5JBgjzl5iXjBQwFI3dQVpuSyfRP5EUw9oOA7MCgNBXCyuY9kxKfOuX/s1600/2014-05-03+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GNQKiBA9L4IayOwQlIkw16-yiNDnDz4EEDi2Jbds-CjE5XFQbbtUfVU4Xy_tspBLmtLMV7aD79Pi27834d5Ipi5JBgjzl5iXjBQwFI3dQVpuSyfRP5EUw9oOA7MCgNBXCyuY9kxKfOuX/+002.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">"Unless it’s near impossible to replace, and unless you use it all the time, there’s really no need to hold on to something just in case—especially when that “just in case” almost never actually happens." </span><a href="http://theartofsimple.net/thrift-store-storage-unit/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">-- Tsh Oxenreider, <i>The Art of Simple</i></a></span></blockquote>
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I came across this quote a week and half into this round of <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20Bags%20%7BSummer%20Edition%7D" target="_blank">40 Bags</a> and it resonated with me. Originally, I thought this time around I would start with some "easy" spaces and tackle the bigger ones after I had found some momentum, but with this quote as my guide, I have been able to cross a couple of the harder spaces early on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JCsrlGuu3H0A6SYM_4bzJqkzn3DR-pwOYOAY_2GdmDJI0aAgz1VjFsCjM0qoV3tSNQoQjufQy6ZTDnGplZuD7XW_iC3MW1fHLBTAggpbLgu27PMS4ZWk5fOdavRLvPFQe0WLN0a4qVMF/s1600/2014-06-18+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JCsrlGuu3H0A6SYM_4bzJqkzn3DR-pwOYOAY_2GdmDJI0aAgz1VjFsCjM0qoV3tSNQoQjufQy6ZTDnGplZuD7XW_iC3MW1fHLBTAggpbLgu27PMS4ZWk5fOdavRLvPFQe0WLN0a4qVMF/+014.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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First up: the storage room. We have <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/basement" target="_blank">basements</a> in Michigan and everything that doesn't have a real home ends up here. We don't have tons and tons of extras but this space is a clutter magnet and I cringe a little whenever I have to walk into this room. This time through, I tried to be ruthless: if it didn't have a use or a spot somewhere else in the house, and it wasn't seasonal, why continue to hold onto it "just in case"? </div>
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Within about 15 minutes, I had a pretty big pile. Within an hour, I had some empty shelves...in the <i>storage </i>room. Some of it I sent straight to the donate pile, some of it I snapped quick photos of and posted on a local Facebook garage sale site (most of it sold quickly...a little extra cash never hurts...and what didn't sell within a week went out the door to be donated).</div>
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Wherever the stuff ended up, I really don't care, because the "after" space looks like <i>this</i> and that's good enough for me. Good-bye leftover picture frames, outdated home decor, beaten up bags.</div>
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As an added bonus, I found a new home for my gift wrap (I love gift wrap!) outside of the sad, dark (although now clutter-free) storage room in a nearly empty hall closet just around the corner.</div>
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Sending our "just in case" items out the door -- either to a new home or to a local thrift shop -- and the junk into the trash or recycling bin is exactly what the 40 Bags Challenge is about. It's like lifting a weight off my shoulders, each time I clear out a space, to know I'm no longer in charge of managing/maintaining/storing stuff we don't really use or need.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"There is indescribable freedom to owning only what you truly, really, honestly need. I’ll take that beauty over the risk of “but what if?” any day." <a href="http://theartofsimple.net/thrift-store-storage-unit/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">-- Tsh Oxenreider, <i>The Art of Simple</i></a></span></blockquote>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-47268005785060774302014-06-19T18:47:00.003-04:002014-06-19T18:47:51.544-04:0040 Bags :: Kitchen Chaos<div style="text-align: justify;">
We are two weeks into our <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20Bags%20%7BSummer%20Edition%7D" target="_blank">summer edition</a> of the 40 Bags challenge and I'm ready to share some spaces! </div>
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I started in my kitchen because it was literally<i> right</i> in front of me. And because kitchens are the heart of the home, or something like that. Right??</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love every mug I kept and they finally all fit!</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I broke my kitchen up into quite a few spaces / days so it wouldn't seem so overwhelming. I also took the time to wipe everything down really well, inside and out. </span><br />
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(Side note: there is an amazing cleaner found at most dollar stores called LA's Totally Awesome cleaner. I am quite sure there are many horrible chemicals involved but this stuff <i>works</i>. Desperate times -- such as the icky plastic shelves in my corner lazy susan -- call for desperate measures.)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally Awesome.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">For those of you keeping track at home, my kitchen spaces included our upper cabinets, lower cabinets, drawers, spice cabinet, under the kitchen sink, the desk area, pantries, fridge, and freezer for a total of nine spaces.</span><br />
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The kitchen is an area that I do try to keep pared down -- we have a nice sized kitchen but it's not huge, so I have to make good use of the space we have -- but it seems like I can always find some things we just aren't using. Purge items included sippy cups (Mady<i> is</i> 4 1/2), baby silverware, coffee mugs (I bet the average American family owns at least 37 and uses three), and some pretty dishes that are nice (mostly very thoughtful gifts) but never get used.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BORVgYtrpWkpyevIKaN5xB4Zzpypa5oM-i_giX3VvbwOKetm0tUJA6jsbsxCN9Vavua_8Xfr0nw4g3r93BjrSOoAAgIxh7GP35V1h90VmIyuBrg6ORXEgNLBmsQ4PRMyEByHvEuFE0LG/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BORVgYtrpWkpyevIKaN5xB4Zzpypa5oM-i_giX3VvbwOKetm0tUJA6jsbsxCN9Vavua_8Xfr0nw4g3r93BjrSOoAAgIxh7GP35V1h90VmIyuBrg6ORXEgNLBmsQ4PRMyEByHvEuFE0LG/+Collage+kitchen.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desk area | Happy spatulas | Shiny silverware | A place for everything</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">In the pantry / fridge / freezer areas, I ended up with a couple small bags of toss items and a grocery bag full to donate. The main thing I took out of those spaces, however, was packaging. So. Many. Empty. Boxes.</span><br />
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Our recycling bin is a happy camper these days.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzapX2g3vEfnv2yRbLcXf93sJL9EttuAfXpgF3eyij7f6f5KUJD71tby2bT_SSWJewjRHVTKtnD9dF_V0U9xoT0cXQY8L3D-pOm5mB-1QLTzxwr0Be5OUm6GoRF__f6r3peqvhwKPDUyo/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+kitchen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzapX2g3vEfnv2yRbLcXf93sJL9EttuAfXpgF3eyij7f6f5KUJD71tby2bT_SSWJewjRHVTKtnD9dF_V0U9xoT0cXQY8L3D-pOm5mB-1QLTzxwr0Be5OUm6GoRF__f6r3peqvhwKPDUyo/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage+kitchen2.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fridge <i>after</i> | My new <a href="http://www.storyhopetees.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">favorite tee</a> | Boxes, boxes boxes | A full pantry is a blessing indeed</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">As I worked through the kitchen, I thought a lot about what a blessing it is to open up a full refrigerator or strain to find the back of a cupboard. In addition, our pantry and fridge are filled to the brim with (mostly) good, healthy food. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">We don't know what it means to go hungry or to have to choose between cheap, unhealthy options and the more expensive, wholesome ones.</span><br />
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Working through our stockpiles of food also helps me to be a more informed meal planner, smarter shopper, and better steward of our resources (no more buying too much of something we don't really need). It's a good way to re-ground myself and practice gratitude.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI6gKt-ywUp7wv0wpDMl1GA1GEslVs7xFxMR6mR1ZTZU1n-HIKZaWyz6mT6fCZXpW93xN8yQ26Rx5Nz7WCx2wX1_l_3eCg2QDicchLEYY6fCxkwBm0zRh-GERd6aieA39LTIuLS0jHX1Y/s1600/2014-06-10+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI6gKt-ywUp7wv0wpDMl1GA1GEslVs7xFxMR6mR1ZTZU1n-HIKZaWyz6mT6fCZXpW93xN8yQ26Rx5Nz7WCx2wX1_l_3eCg2QDicchLEYY6fCxkwBm0zRh-GERd6aieA39LTIuLS0jHX1Y/+018.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't go wrong with color in the kitchen.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">And lastly, my favorite consequence of the kitchen purge? Emptying the dishwasher (into clutter-free cabinets!) has never been so much fun.</span><br />
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-88984299559553335902014-06-16T09:00:00.000-04:002014-06-16T09:00:05.411-04:0040 Bags :: Progress & Printables!<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's only <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/40-bags-in-40-days-summer-edition_8.html" target="_blank">Week One</a> and bags are already flying out the door.</div>
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I started in our kitchen, and I've worked through most of our cabinets and drawers. Pantry and fridge/freezer (and pictures!) coming soon.</div>
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If you're not someone who loves to clean and declutter, this might not sound like much fun to you, but even for the reluctant, once you get started, you just want to keep going. (Hello, snowball effect.)</div>
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Enthusiasm is contagious and I am loving the 40 Bags gang who is joining me this time around. Here's a quick peek into the spaces (and bags) they've been sharing in our Facebook group. Each picture below shows the amount of stuff leaving just ONE space. Can you imagine the end result after 40 spaces?!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF_Fsz_-5_6p1T2ehr_8efp-viM8i74zOiF92_2TZlBLXjF1h3xVznu64r4KMQe7nE22TmBkGXtPdJp2pOFziBYKGd2CRdumpovK-2DLaLmqN_wWI8ZwzyMpmAuvaMiwavLFzm9LOEBFi/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF_Fsz_-5_6p1T2ehr_8efp-viM8i74zOiF92_2TZlBLXjF1h3xVznu64r4KMQe7nE22TmBkGXtPdJp2pOFziBYKGd2CRdumpovK-2DLaLmqN_wWI8ZwzyMpmAuvaMiwavLFzm9LOEBFi/+Collage1.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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And some of their lovely, uncluttered spaces...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteUab9ExZjOobA0Es5XMwudaAA0kmO-TQ_lk9RW2pEIICWub-Tl3S0CPr9FNR7q2rMcqlt6uaymWxFbqYSPXBdwAt68jhYWXPGf9g0CmDmi3S0j_pld_elcnT_YzLe9NygYqrI1YYjmU6/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteUab9ExZjOobA0Es5XMwudaAA0kmO-TQ_lk9RW2pEIICWub-Tl3S0CPr9FNR7q2rMcqlt6uaymWxFbqYSPXBdwAt68jhYWXPGf9g0CmDmi3S0j_pld_elcnT_YzLe9NygYqrI1YYjmU6/+Collage2.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the things I love about the 40 Bags challenge is that it's not about fancy organization or perfect looking spaces. It's simply <i>your</i> house without all the <i>extra</i> stuff. Peering inside a cleared out closet or spacious cupboard just feels better. Less stuff = less stress.</div>
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Whether you're working on your 40 Bags list this summer or waiting until a different season to tackle it, here are some lovely {free} printables courtesy of <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Missie @ LostBumblebee</a>. I am a big fan of Missie and her work (I first stumbled upon her <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/2013/11/christmas-advent-calendar.html" target="_blank">Advent calendar</a> last December) and I am thrilled she put these together for us.</div>
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These would be lovely to display in your home as a daily reminder to keep it simple and live with less. If you pop over to <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Missie's blog</a>, you can grab <i>all</i> the <i>simply</i>-themed printables in all the sizes (8x10, 5x7, 4x6). </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy!</span> (And check out the rest of Missie's work while you're there!)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VaAYgZb9vsdIWlLd8a2jH_sDS9IVhDPEhe9VDKhOZDuJwkp0ZxyRteJdnXqVUW1sklQ3lwIznwOTn4b-r-CvodaGsPkEfjKYAv8LayREVBSyLMNfNisuC_efPfjlWUP8fFOKyoOhBe6Q/s1600/40in40LBG14-beautiful-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VaAYgZb9vsdIWlLd8a2jH_sDS9IVhDPEhe9VDKhOZDuJwkp0ZxyRteJdnXqVUW1sklQ3lwIznwOTn4b-r-CvodaGsPkEfjKYAv8LayREVBSyLMNfNisuC_efPfjlWUP8fFOKyoOhBe6Q/" height="640" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{Printable credit: <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">LostBumblebee</a>}</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeUpdqiXdagPSfBKgTu8Yvhs2uwJnHOaFEiwI-TTDnqEEAjKfLVMZgFlF-yVuWLeEH6Lf20R2_SFZWjxgJ3xDWmJjsj5dva5l_2IDmwcBEt0226myv7CZMo9K2pcsKyO6x8Pg8MDJBdHhj/s1600/40in40LBG14-Less+is+More-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeUpdqiXdagPSfBKgTu8Yvhs2uwJnHOaFEiwI-TTDnqEEAjKfLVMZgFlF-yVuWLeEH6Lf20R2_SFZWjxgJ3xDWmJjsj5dva5l_2IDmwcBEt0226myv7CZMo9K2pcsKyO6x8Pg8MDJBdHhj/+is+More-03.jpg" height="640" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{Printable credit: <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">LostBumblebee</a>}</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RAXrYeGvWgASGoskPgzFr-yiNTHSCCw2HkioYprIx93rH7sf9mB3VURrzbuOowuS6zAsv_dud9pGiyEsnOIyUIEfufY-wGGKYOKcMO6sxDUTX0Nj3AyHawLalTYHH3Ij9mX5wtyip5EU/s1600/40in40LBG14-Ghandi-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RAXrYeGvWgASGoskPgzFr-yiNTHSCCw2HkioYprIx93rH7sf9mB3VURrzbuOowuS6zAsv_dud9pGiyEsnOIyUIEfufY-wGGKYOKcMO6sxDUTX0Nj3AyHawLalTYHH3Ij9mX5wtyip5EU/s1600/40in40LBG14-Ghandi-03.jpg" height="640" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{Printable credit: <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">LostBumblebee</a>}</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm1CiD8qNqKwT5RNZtgrinSYjy4jSpz25h0D_sLrnSj8xehzuXD-OljaQdwFnvR857h5exMZmoWEKMKBZoOx8bCXZDe_zc-oSgVIiArYh8TsOgK4Q7sLDFovfXhE-aJ5J63T849fqf4MR/s1600/40in40LBG14-breathe-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm1CiD8qNqKwT5RNZtgrinSYjy4jSpz25h0D_sLrnSj8xehzuXD-OljaQdwFnvR857h5exMZmoWEKMKBZoOx8bCXZDe_zc-oSgVIiArYh8TsOgK4Q7sLDFovfXhE-aJ5J63T849fqf4MR/s1600/40in40LBG14-breathe-03.jpg" height="640" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{Printable credit: <a href="http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">LostBumblebee</a>}</td></tr>
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-13644111710954242832014-06-08T17:45:00.000-04:002014-06-12T13:24:11.479-04:0040 Bags in 40 Days {Summer Edition}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
It's been awhile, friends.</div>
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School's out, summer's here, and a new season is ahead.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDAoHsJD9LlglPm3sFKzt8ZCsYdVPI8nKyynAeeWPPHdI-uhQbtEUHtX7coPHfA9DQcbozOs1yMAEog6iR4n9d83jSGpPnT6mxm5gqeOGfueKvW8AWKlXqwer47FnKsICsg9PWFqwcKsx/s1600/2014-06-06+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDAoHsJD9LlglPm3sFKzt8ZCsYdVPI8nKyynAeeWPPHdI-uhQbtEUHtX7coPHfA9DQcbozOs1yMAEog6iR4n9d83jSGpPnT6mxm5gqeOGfueKvW8AWKlXqwer47FnKsICsg9PWFqwcKsx/+006.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's been over two years since my last <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20bags" target="_blank">40 Bags</a> journey. I loved the entire experience -- the simplicity, the freedom, the community. I think our family is better than we were in the past -- better at not buying so much or holding on to so much -- but still we accumulate. </div>
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I'm reminded that less is more and that I have better things to do with my time and energy than manage, store, organize, and clean unnecessary <i>stuff</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Printable Credit: <a href="http://www.thepolkadotposie.com/2014/03/40-bags40-days-declutter-charity.html" target="_blank">The Polka Dot Posie</a></td></tr>
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I posted my plan on Facebook last week and 22 friends responded with 22 I'm in's! I was blown away with the response and I'm encouraged that I'm not alone in this.</div>
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The plan is to work steadily through this list in the coming 12 weeks, but not at the same space-a-day pace we did last time, during the Lenten season. This time we're leaving plenty of time in our schedules to ride bikes, run through the sprinklers, hit the beach, and visit the ice cream shop. (Because, seriously, we survived The Worst Winter Ever and now it's time to play.)</div>
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This will be a more relaxed, more flexible challenge, <i>a summer edition</i> after all, but the goal is the same: clear out the clutter, the junk, the excess. Rediscover simplicity, clarity, freedom.</div>
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My list is made and I'm ready (starting tomorrow!) to pull out the junk drawers, swing open the closet doors, and send some stuff packing, <i>one bag at a time</i>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20bags" target="_blank">Previous 40 Bags Posts</a> :: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/kterpstra/40-bags-in-40-days/" target="_blank">Our 40 Bags Pinboard</a></span></div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-26135124130652316252014-01-13T15:06:00.001-05:002014-01-13T15:06:12.446-05:00One Word 365 {exhale}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgFw2Aa-uimNONdMEqgw1uqM2D6IdFYnJc1OD8HhG36V_U9_ExojNx_7B7OPw7jILYbMt0SRM-74yDRpjSgxATaW1lFOqRniUietMxfJO3KYLQKqnO39PCNGgfOl2oVauWTcHmpH1OwZE/s1600/2014-01-11+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgFw2Aa-uimNONdMEqgw1uqM2D6IdFYnJc1OD8HhG36V_U9_ExojNx_7B7OPw7jILYbMt0SRM-74yDRpjSgxATaW1lFOqRniUietMxfJO3KYLQKqnO39PCNGgfOl2oVauWTcHmpH1OwZE/+006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">ex·hale</span> / verb / 1. to breathe out in a deliberate manner.<br />
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Furthermore, to pause.<br />
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To relax.<br />
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To let it go.<br />
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To breathe deeply, and with intention.<br />
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To start again.<br />
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To begin <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/10/when-youre-missing-feeling-loved-how-to-practice-the-presence-of-god-pt-2/" target="_blank">a conversation</a>.<br />
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To create space.<br />
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To find a place.<br />
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To lean into the physical, the human, the most basic parts.<br />
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To root into the present.<br />
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To get one's bearings.<br />
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To take care, to sustain.<br />
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To connect. To reconnect.<br />
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To let it out.<br />
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To feel relief.<br />
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To remember:<br />
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It's all going be OK.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mBqYallXEdiwuf3KlRldFwdNWpWiqFyIIPzbQrJONvJkU07uCQzOfW-Ekb0cVfri9Oah1jel2cgpPyu3JunO3cbE6JTR3BlzXLcjA3PLg45jLoeN918v0yBzT8XkjAK13lT4Kfb223Va/s1600/2014-01-11+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mBqYallXEdiwuf3KlRldFwdNWpWiqFyIIPzbQrJONvJkU07uCQzOfW-Ekb0cVfri9Oah1jel2cgpPyu3JunO3cbE6JTR3BlzXLcjA3PLg45jLoeN918v0yBzT8XkjAK13lT4Kfb223Va/+004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/one%20word%20365" target="_blank">My other words</a> // <a href="http://oneword365.com/" target="_blank">One Word 365</a><br />
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-53215353372568977622014-01-12T15:58:00.001-05:002014-01-12T15:58:30.421-05:00ten year bahama-versary.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfazyTCpw8BP7ranN1UAYTsXg-_R2k9lqICZAc_AmlYG1zaiDCjkcNDR3uVh37b_yFvmCYtfWQ3R_3ARs63ga3adJSdxIhG5k8dBz42vjgaOlIBdW7M5sJgKglw_IeCNZex5SFPiA4ppU1/s1600/2014-01-06+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfazyTCpw8BP7ranN1UAYTsXg-_R2k9lqICZAc_AmlYG1zaiDCjkcNDR3uVh37b_yFvmCYtfWQ3R_3ARs63ga3adJSdxIhG5k8dBz42vjgaOlIBdW7M5sJgKglw_IeCNZex5SFPiA4ppU1/+014.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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For ten years, we've been returning each winter to the same <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/project-52-week-two-new.html" target="_blank">vacation spot</a>. </div>
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There's something to be said for traditions, for familiar places. We know just what to pack, just where to go. Each year we bring back a slightly different version of ourselves, another year older, sometimes wiser. It's become the place where we close out one year and look forward to a new one.</div>
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And now, after ten trips, I love how there are memories around each corner. We point out, we retrace, we remember.</div>
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This is the place where Dylan took his first steps with a giant, impossibly blue aquarium as the backdrop. </div>
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The place where Ella <i>finally</i> stopped crying after months of colic, took a look around at her warm surroundings and relaxed, I believe, for the first time in her little life. </div>
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The place where newborn Mady first traveled, along with her exhausted mama, one week old passport picture and all.</div>
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This year, it became the place where Ella caught her first lizard by the tail, where the big kids met some dolphin-y friends, where Dylan and Daddy played an epic series of beach football with Nicko and Uncle Kyle, where Mady suddenly seemed like a big kid, no daily nap required.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX82IPT-OppxCA3PkKkm81-bQIFjkFHb_x9LzM8uaJ4424r6jD__9XhNb90LiNYOme5egnZnHEcHeCNLfyjUQhkit-2h-a5QYtlbfvMgMURn4_aSjHIEpxhIo-z9gvhyphenhyphenUDE_pjJIf5kAP0/s1600/Picture+028edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX82IPT-OppxCA3PkKkm81-bQIFjkFHb_x9LzM8uaJ4424r6jD__9XhNb90LiNYOme5egnZnHEcHeCNLfyjUQhkit-2h-a5QYtlbfvMgMURn4_aSjHIEpxhIo-z9gvhyphenhyphenUDE_pjJIf5kAP0/+028edit.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then...2005.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0Jqga436KeISjaKNY54PwlaLHYJc_TOZslLPveSKzO-ocedOFFhO8fmCd-P1d8DJCXwubW1_Q7eqTy2kVx6XaZTti3lv0QKo1BsRIZPkD8_F7sIrspLynjr0nFwkBGxuktYnJtYtX6Fr/s1600/2014-01-11+012edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0Jqga436KeISjaKNY54PwlaLHYJc_TOZslLPveSKzO-ocedOFFhO8fmCd-P1d8DJCXwubW1_Q7eqTy2kVx6XaZTti3lv0QKo1BsRIZPkD8_F7sIrspLynjr0nFwkBGxuktYnJtYtX6Fr/+012edit.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And now...2014.</span></td></tr>
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In ten more years, Dylan will be in college, Ella will be driving, and Mady will be a teenager. And through all the changes the next decade will bring, we will have this place -- a place to rest, to pause, to take a deep breath and get ready to take on whatever's next.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMndtrE6y15Per0aXtfppHB21JXFYVR-ghL4DF-z45A-xjoMDfmwGOVdFT3Lw21SRgpE8bYd2vunf2_a6GSj9wVCdiKotm2bhl9WaQ3vox3_r1CDMolmUeriBv882xagnnilEyCKzN4Z_/s1600/2014-01-06+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMndtrE6y15Per0aXtfppHB21JXFYVR-ghL4DF-z45A-xjoMDfmwGOVdFT3Lw21SRgpE8bYd2vunf2_a6GSj9wVCdiKotm2bhl9WaQ3vox3_r1CDMolmUeriBv882xagnnilEyCKzN4Z_/+005.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-51132501361970669512013-12-30T19:11:00.002-05:002013-12-30T19:11:13.001-05:00twenty.thirteen: looking back.<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">2013</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> was a different sort of year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a year of changing and stretching, readjusting and redefining.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a year of growing up and letting go.</span></div>
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It was hard year. It was an unexpected year.</div>
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It was a good year.<br />
<br />
I've always been a memory-keeping, record-writing, photo-capturing sort of girl. This <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/looking%20back" target="_blank">yearly blog post</a> is one of the ways I like to remember, reflect,<br />
and say good-bye to another year. </div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-large;">January</b></div>
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Something new: <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%2052" target="_blank">Project 52</a>.</div>
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We made a fresh set of memories in a <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/project-52-week-two-new.html" target="_blank">familiar place</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I chose my <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/one%20word%20365" target="_blank">one word</a> (or perhaps more accurately, it chose me).</div>
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We wrapped up our <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-mudroom-for-masses.html" target="_blank">mudroom</a> and <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/living-it-up-down-in-basement-ville.html" target="_blank">basement</a> projects.</div>
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We ran out of <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/marriage-is-no-joke.html" target="_blank">eggs</a>.</div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-large;">February</b></div>
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We became acquainted with <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-club-daring-greatly.html" target="_blank">Brene</a>.</div>
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We set out to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/love-project-52.html" target="_blank">potty train</a> #3.</div>
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We narrowly survived a <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/02/21913.html" target="_blank">very snowy</a>, very grey sort of winter.</div>
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I finished the 30-Day <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/opposites-project-52.html" target="_blank">Green Smoothie</a> Challenge.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">March</span></b></div>
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We joined<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/fragile-project-52.html" target="_blank"> Jori's Fight Club</a>.</div>
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Dylan fell in love with <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/03/31013.html" target="_blank">card collecting</a>.</div>
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I discovered <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/03/31713.html" target="_blank">Downton</a>.<br />
<a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/03/31213.html" target="_blank">Bunko</a> is back!</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">April</span></b></div>
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We <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/walk-for-water-2013.html" target="_blank">walked for water</a>.</div>
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Mady strode through her first <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/04/42813.html" target="_blank">bike race</a>.</div>
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We assembled a <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/04/42313.html" target="_blank">basketball hoop</a>.<br />
Ella was featured in her first <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/04/42413.html" target="_blank">art show</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">May</span></b></div>
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Our <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/dear-finley-grace.html" target="_blank">garage sale</a> went viral.</div>
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We welcomed <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/05/52113.html" target="_blank">baby Jensen</a> to the fam!</div>
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Matt started his <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/05/52413.html" target="_blank">new position</a> as used car manager at Grand.<br />
I fell in love with <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/05/5213.html" target="_blank">Teavana</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">June</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We tried to figure out how to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/surviving%20summer" target="_blank">survive summer</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ella finished up another year of <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/06/62413.html" target="_blank">'nastics</a>.</div>
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We became a bunch of <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/06/62813.html" target="_blank">bike riding</a> fools.<br />
I cleaned out <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/pantry-love.html" target="_blank">the pantry</a>.<br />
We enjoyed Nana and Papa's new <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/06/62113.html" target="_blank">neighborhood pool</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">July</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We welcomed <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/07/7813.html" target="_blank">Mason James</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We channeled our inner <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/cooking-club.html" target="_blank">Shauna</a>.</div>
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The kids completed <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/07/7913.html" target="_blank">swimming lessons</a> (including Mady!)</div>
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We rode a <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/07/71113.html" target="_blank">camel</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">August</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We ventured back up the <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-homestead.html" target="_blank">North Woods</a>.</div>
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I completed Year 3 of my <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/story-project-52.html" target="_blank">picture-a-day</a> project.</div>
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My dear friends ran into <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/08/81713.html" target="_blank">Year 34</a> alongside me.</div>
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Ella learned to <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/08/82013.html" target="_blank">text</a>.</div>
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We got away from it all during <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/cottage-week-13.html" target="_blank">Cottage Week '13</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">September</span></b></div>
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Dylan played his first season of <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/09/9713.html" target="_blank">football</a>.</div>
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Ella <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/09/91413.html" target="_blank">cheered</a> her first game.</div>
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Mady started <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/09/9513.html" target="_blank">preschool</a>!</div>
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I <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/09/92713.html" target="_blank">co-chaired</a> my first school committee.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">October</span></b></div>
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Ella shopped her way through her first <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/10/101813.html" target="_blank">Birch Run</a> weekend.</div>
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We welcomed our third new baby cousin this year, Evelyn Lynae.</div>
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Dylan and Ella finished their first <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/10/102813.html" target="_blank">Turkey Trot</a>.<br />
We got close enough to see <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/10/102313.html" target="_blank">Needtobreathe's socks</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">November</span></b></div>
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We cheered on our <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/11/11213.html" target="_blank">Spartans</a> towards a Rose Bowl berth.</div>
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We celebrated <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/nine.html" target="_blank">nine</a>, <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/seven.html" target="_blank">seven</a>, and <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/four.html" target="_blank">four</a>.</div>
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Ella got her ears pierced!</div>
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We hosted our first 'friend' <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/11/111513.html" target="_blank">birthday party</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">December</span></b></div>
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My boys started their first <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/12/12513.html" target="_blank">basketball season</a> together.</div>
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We continued to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/working-it-out.html" target="_blank">work it out</a>.<br />
We celebrated a healthy <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/12/122413.html" target="_blank">holiday season</a>.</div>
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We said farewell to 2013!</div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-33486630798951162892013-12-05T21:04:00.001-05:002013-12-06T09:01:25.687-05:00Working it out.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/lets-take-work-out-of-work-out.html" target="_blank">Three years ago</a>, on a cold winter night, some friends and I made a decision to workout regularly, five times a week, 15 minutes minimum.<br />
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We were done with the dormant, exhausted by the idle, over the blah.<br />
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We set up a secret Facebook page called "<i>just because our husbands think we can't...</i>". We logged in, and workout by workout, recorded the days, posted our activities, checked off the weeks.<br />
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(Our husbands are actually quite supportive folk, but at the time, even we couldn't imagine keeping this up for more than 3 weeks, much less 3 years.)<br />
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This week marks the end of Week 154. (Somewhere along the way, we lost two weeks...probably, I'm guessing, to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-christmas-flu-bah-humbug.html" target="_blank">the Christmas Flu of 2012</a>.)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/workout%20challenge" target="_blank">770 workouts</a>. Swims, runs, walks, bike rides, yoga classes, living room sweatfests, along with the slightly more obscure <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/adventure-continues.html" target="_blank">paddleboarding</a>, <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/shoes-project-52.html" target="_blank">snow shoeing</a>, water aerobics, rock climbing.<br />
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Yes, this is a story of physical health -- of muscles and sweat -- and a story of girl power -- of accountability and accomplishment.<br />
<br />
But that's just the beginning.<br />
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We are fully engaged in the middle of the story now -- and it's getting good. The challenge continues on, but the rules are less rigid, the options are more accessible, the invitation is always on the table.<br />
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This story, <i>this middle</i> is about finding rest and seeking balance. It's about community and belonging and showing up. It's about health -- not the way the world defines health (i.e., by the way your pants fit) -- it's about the way your heart feels, the way your mind eases, the way your spirit soars...and calms.<br />
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And grace, it's about grace. For you, and for me. It's about asking and extending and receiving and accepting.<br />
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For three years, we've been working it out. We've practiced and participated, experienced and engaged. We've used all the parts that have been given to us: mind, body, heart.<br />
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From our laps in the pool, we've learned to breathe.<br />
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<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/running" target="_blank">From our runs</a>, both long and short, we've learned to put one foot in front of the other.<br />
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From the hills, we've learned to take short, steady steps.<br />
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From our long bike rides down country roads, we've learned what it means to be a kid again.<br />
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From our workout DVD's in our living rooms, we've learned it isn't always glamorous, sometimes you simply buckle down and do the work.<br />
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From our walks, we've learned to slow down and take in the scenery. We've learned there's beauty all around us if we take the time to look.<br />
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From spinning our wheels in spin class, we've learned that we can, in fact, do very, <i>very </i>hard things.<br />
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From our time on our <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/yoga" target="_blank">yoga mats</a>, we've learned to listen to and honor our bodies. (We've learned to be kind.)<br />
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From all the times we've walked into a new class, a new activity, a new situation, we've learned that's it OK to try, (and OK to fail), OK to say yes...and OK to say no.<br />
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So to the friends and family, instructors and acquaintances, and to the 84 year old woman who stubbornly, yet freely, swims lap after early morning lap in Lane One, <i>thank you</i> for the encouragement, the teaching, the inspiration, and the countless hours logged working it out alongside us.<br />
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<br />
We recently changed the name of our Facebook group.<br />
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<i>Just keep swimming.</i><br />
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Appropriate, wouldn't you say?<br />
<br />
We can't wait to see where this story takes us next.<br />
<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-12711388541136542582013-11-17T07:00:00.000-05:002013-11-17T07:00:02.253-05:00four.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekp1ziJu6hcjDMluDgL9TkztV34LEyCrT6y5drIcLKnCeNkRxbOcl74Jph1q_8p_ZyK_1TP3T742YH2QsujQ-m6r19jYeUUMgoaAY64a44wOf2IA3oCJsK7sFRRJyM8wrNNmedPgTMcc3/s1600/32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekp1ziJu6hcjDMluDgL9TkztV34LEyCrT6y5drIcLKnCeNkRxbOcl74Jph1q_8p_ZyK_1TP3T742YH2QsujQ-m6r19jYeUUMgoaAY64a44wOf2IA3oCJsK7sFRRJyM8wrNNmedPgTMcc3/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Dear Mady Mae,<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You are turning four today! We can hardly believe it. We're wondering if it's time to stop calling you our baby, but you're the youngest, and well, our baby, and I guess even turning four won't change that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You make us laugh, Mady, every single day. You may be the littlest Terp but you pack a powerful punch. You are sweet and smart, just like your big brother and sister, but you've got your own thing going on too.<br />
<br />
You march to your own beat and aren't afraid to speak your mind. You can command the attention of everyone in a room and know how to hold your own.<br />
<br />
You have carefully considered the pros and cons of thumb sucking and have decided, for you, at this time, because it is also your favorite way to hold your blanket, you are going to continue on. (Mommy almost fell over the other week when you looked straight into the kind orthodontist's eyes and stated boldly, "I don't even care.")<br />
<br />
You are learning how to stand up for yourself as the baby of the family, how to put big brother and sister in their places. They no longer defer to you as the baby -- they've embraced you as one of them. You've learned most of sister's cheers (and performed them in front of bleachers full of people, at sister's games), and you can run a football past big brother faster than a preschooler in rain boots has any right to.<br />
<br />
You love going to preschool and you know all the songs and all the motions. Some mornings you sing your way into school, Daddy by your side, some days you play it shy. You don't buy into the mundane idea that certain colors of construction paper can only go on certain parts of <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/10/102413.html" target="_blank">your bird</a>.<br />
<br />
You very clearly stated this year that you would like your own birthday cake that reads, "Dear Mady, Have a nice day, it's your birthday."<br />
<br />
That's the thing about you, Mady Mae, you are your own person and you aren't easily swayed. (Sometimes that makes Mommy and Daddy feel a little crazy, but mostly we know it will serve you well as you grow.)<br />
<br />
We pray you never stop thinking for yourself, that you don't easily give into the world around you, that you fiercely defend the opinions, ideas, and people you believe to be good and true.<br />
<br />
You were a game changer for us, baby girl, for our family. You challenge us and push us and add a sweetness and a richness to our life that was not here before you arrived on the scene.<br />
<br />
You are the icing on our cake, the cherry on top, this family's <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/one.html" target="_blank">grand finale</a>. You were fearfully and wonderfully made in His own image. We are in awe of the unique person He made you to be.<br />
<br />
We love you dearly. We are honored to be your parents.<br />
<br />
Happy birthday, Madelyn Mae. You're FOUR!<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mommy & Daddy<br />
<br /></div>
Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-41743118270209874192013-11-13T07:00:00.000-05:002013-11-13T07:00:02.802-05:00nine.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Dear Dylan,<br />
<br />
Late this summer, just before you started 3rd grade, I read you <a href="http://momastery.com/blog/2011/08/28/dear-chase-2/" target="_blank">this letter </a>written by a <a href="http://momastery.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a> I follow. Her son was also about to start 3rd grade and in the letter she urges him to be aware of those moments when his heart aches for someone else and to understand that ache is compassion, and it is God’s signal to do something.<br />
<br />
She goes on to tell him, "We don’t send you to school to become the best at anything at all. We already love you as much as we possibly could. You do not have to earn our love or pride and you can’t lose it. That’s done.
<i>We send you to school to practice being brave and kind</i>."<br />
<br />
Dylan, as you turn <i>nine</i> this year (Mommy can hardly believe it, I swear you were just my little brown eyed baby boy), your Daddy's and Mommy's hearts are bursting at the seams because we see those traits growing in you.<br />
<br />
You tried <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/09/9713.html" target="_blank">something new</a> this fall, buddy, completely new to all of us. You strapped on pads and put on a helmet and walked onto a brand new sort of playing field. There were kids you didn't know and rules you had to learn and really hard things to face for a conservative, cautious kid like yourself. It was hard and you were scared. And you did it anyway.<br />
<br />
And in countless little moments throughout the season, you didn't just practice football, your practiced being <i>brave</i>. You made a choice to keep showing up, to keep trying, in spite of feeling uncomfortable, stretched, and at times, not able. In this space between being a boy and a man you are learning how to be brave, one small moment at a time, and to learn this is to learn what it means to grow up.<br />
<br />
<i>Be brave.</i><br />
<br />
For years now, your teachers have told Mommy and Daddy over and over again what a sweet, sensitive, caring guy you are in the classroom. You have a way of making the kids in your class feel known and valued. You come home with the True Friend award year after year.<br />
<br />
You are not in the business of leaving people out or trying to climb the social ladder or doing things you shouldn't just to fit in. And you're not just nice to the other nice kids or the popular kids or the smart kids. You've learned to look for the kids who need a little extra kindness in their lives - the new kids, the naughty kids, the kids who don't go home to a warm, safe house at night.<br />
<br />
<i>Be kind.</i><br />
<br />
You're growing up, Dilly Man, and we can see it more in this past year than ever before. Almost all the traces of the little boy are gone and in his place is a bigger, stronger, braver boy. We are proud of so many things about you - you truly are our pride and joy - but most of all we are proud of your heart. God created you to be someone very special and to do some unique things in this world, and we pray that you continue to grow into that calling just as you continue to grow into being a man.<br />
<br />
Nine. Halfway to 18. (Takes my breath away a bit.)<br />
<br />
It is an honor and a privilege to be your mom.<br />
<br />
Happy birthday. We love you, Dylan!<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mommy (& Daddy too)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
{<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven.html" target="_blank">seven</a> | <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/six.html" target="_blank">six</a> | <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-birthday-dylan.html" target="_blank">four</a>}</div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-30164997358860209422013-11-12T07:00:00.000-05:002013-11-12T07:00:11.231-05:00seven.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynJkIXpaquLgdyIJIzYkjtqGSPUHTAJ2A92xxzKFLfpzGv13s-MTqb8iBSsHG-PfwlnNRKbUejQMAT6IvPyY9UpW_Ct9IVFu2QJJSHWyKVc36s_kYXSJ_6dNWsL6Iz_fc3YO88t-X4szo/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynJkIXpaquLgdyIJIzYkjtqGSPUHTAJ2A92xxzKFLfpzGv13s-MTqb8iBSsHG-PfwlnNRKbUejQMAT6IvPyY9UpW_Ct9IVFu2QJJSHWyKVc36s_kYXSJ_6dNWsL6Iz_fc3YO88t-X4szo/" width="640" /></a></div>
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Dear Ella,<br />
<br />
Today you turn seven. From the moment you entered the world in a wild, loud, (and to be perfectly honest) slightly traumatic fashion, you have blown us away.<br />
<br />
A baby girl. Blue-eyed and fussy, at first. And then bright-eyed and sunny as a one year old, two year old, three year old. Sassy and funny and so, so smart as a preschooler, preK-er, Kindergartner.<br />
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Now, as a 1st grader, there are moments when I still have glimpses of that little round-headed girl, and then there are other moments when I see the next decade of our lives together stretched out before us. All lip gloss and jean jackets and <a href="http://terpblog365.blogspot.com/2013/10/101713.html" target="_blank">cheerleading skirts</a> and social outings. Wildly smart. Fiercely independent.<br />
<br />
And then those moments fade again and you're my little girl, curled up next to me on the couch (we watch HGTV together, these days). We are in the middle, you and I. A mother and a daughter figuring out what it means to grow up, to stretch, to dance.<br />
<br />
We are different in so many ways - I have brown hair and love all things neat and orderly. You have blonde hair and embrace the loud and the messy. I think with my head, you follow your heart.<br />
<br />
But really, none of our differences matter - those are just the details. What matters is that you are my daughter and I am your mom. We belong to each other. We always will.<br />
<br />
It is a profound privilege to raise a daughter, and I am so glad God chose us to help raise you. You are sunshine, joy, laughter personified and sent straight from God's heart, into our home.<br />
<br />
As you turn seven, you are learning what it means to be a true friend, that the mean girls are really just sad inside, and that there is a bigger, hurting world beyond our little culdesac. You are learning how to be a sister, how to be gracious even when the other person doesn't deserve it, how to be responsible, confident, and kind.<br />
<br />
When you were a tiny little girl, all snuggled into your big bed, you used to pray out loud, "Thank you God for making me just the way I am."<br />
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Amen, baby girl, amen.<br />
<br />
We will never stop thanking God for you. You were an unexpected gift, the one we didn't see coming. A beautiful girl (beyond our wildest dreams) inside and out.<br />
<br />
In short, Ella Jeanne, you knock our socks off.<br />
<br />
Happy birthday, sweet girl. We love you.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mommy (& Daddy too)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
{<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/five.html" target="_blank">five</a> | <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/four.html" target="_blank">four</a> | <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-birthday-ella.html" target="_blank">two</a>}</div>
<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-37986049725614638982013-11-09T14:54:00.001-05:002013-12-06T09:00:54.550-05:00lately.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have mixed feelings about fall.<br />
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On one hand, I understand the bits about crisp, cool days and school supplies and football games and pumpkins and warm apple cider.<br />
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But on the other, falls feels an awful lot like change. And sometimes change feels hard.<br />
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It's like just as soon as you start to believe the long, warm summer days will never end, suddenly there are amber leaves crashing down around your feet.<br />
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The earth itself feels a little unsettled, leaves ablaze, branches groaning, one day unbearably hot, the next day unbelievably cold.<br />
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Slow, lazy routines are exchanged for sharp, rigid schedules.<br />
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We stretch and settle and find our footing once again, just in time for the fullness of the trees to abandon us, leaving behind stark, grey skies.<br />
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(All this to say, it's been two months since I've posted on this blog. I feel like I owe an explanation, or maybe not.)<br />
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This fall brings with it another layer of change as Mady began preschool and I find myself with more space and freedom than I have in all my nine years of motherhood. My last baby and I, we take long walks, we watch way too much Curious George, we clean up the kitchen <i>before</i> we leave the house (when we leave the house...mostly we are happy to stay home, in the calm).<br />
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It's been a time that lends itself to sitting and reflection and being still.<br />
<br />
While the days have been quiet and spacious, the evenings have been busy and full. Dylan played football this fall and Ella cheered and some weeks we were running around four days a week plus Saturday games. Granola bars flung here, equipment thrown there, always rushing -- rushing to get there, rushing to come home.<br />
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The kids were happy and healthy though and I'm glad we did it.<br />
<br />
In the midst of some chaos, and in the company of reclaimed freedom, I have been learning to create white space, in big ways and small. I'm trying to fill my days with less in order to find <i>more</i> in which to move and grow and breathe.<br />
<br />
Less distraction, less stuff, less full.<i> Less is more.</i><br />
<br />
I'm leaning into something new to me -- a yoga practice. I've gone to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/holy-retreat-ing.html" target="_blank">yoga</a> classes before, and found something valuable there, but have never fit it into my routine, long-term. I finally found a class, at 5:45am, no less, that fits into my schedule, and Theresa and I have been taking turns driving our minivans to class, dragging our tired bones and our yoga mats out of the house before the sun rises.<br />
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I love that it's called a practice because that's really what it is. There is no push to achieve or arrive or accomplish. It's simply an invitation to show up, to engage, to be aware.<br />
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In much the same way that I suddenly believed myself to be a <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/running" target="_blank">runner</a> (you deny it for a long time, but it sneaks up you), I'm realizing that this practice of yoga is becoming a part of me. I'm stronger and longer and more settled than I've been in a long time.<br />
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And now we're starting to settle into these short, dark days. We are fully in the midst of the change, there's nothing left to do but embrace it. It's the beginning of birthday week and we're planning to celebrate until we drop. We're finding tangible ways to count our blessings as we look forward to Thanksgiving. We're padding around in our slippers, slurping up soup, and pulling the covers up to our chins.<br />
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Welcome, fall, after all.<br />
<br />
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-63242586307367310992013-09-03T15:48:00.002-04:002013-09-03T15:48:54.209-04:00Cottage Week '13Cottage Week is one of the most highly anticipated weeks of the year.<br />
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Months ahead of time, we scour vacation rental websites for a cottage that is <i>just right</i>.<br />
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Weeks before, we plot and plan activities, outings, and meals.<br />
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When the big day finally arrives, we pile our vehicles high with snacks, sleeping bags, and tackle boxes, coolers, duffle bags, boats, and bikes.<br />
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We drive straight north in search of our beloved time away, until the road beneath us turns to gravel, and a cool lake breeze blows through the air.<br />
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And then we all pile out, arms full, hearts full. We race from room to room. We run to the end of the dock. We sink into the sofa.<br />
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We smile. We relax. We exhale.<br />
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Because we have arrived.<br />
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Because Cottage Week is like no other week of the year.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Check your troubles at the door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pile on in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lose control.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Live, play, eat, <i>rest</i> -- all in community.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5rjZYrwQfTfodMEQRwieCHENMeBXVx7u8Uf6Y5D_B16Yq9w4QZwaV9e5oNotnUeDo6eOP1qv6WiecgmMuhFweazZnID2z0ypukYf4YQSTeffnrWcK3jGfeo0FJe0Chb5pzHfbmlM7cTa/s1600/three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5rjZYrwQfTfodMEQRwieCHENMeBXVx7u8Uf6Y5D_B16Yq9w4QZwaV9e5oNotnUeDo6eOP1qv6WiecgmMuhFweazZnID2z0ypukYf4YQSTeffnrWcK3jGfeo0FJe0Chb5pzHfbmlM7cTa/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hold close the ones you love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hit the open road.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqiOpA9AF9BCOg8gja-j0hti5g4C5ECNfvlFnreo9IaE6eP_7sGr1WTwoH1RbbC9oSUVmpEbXN9dMsUAh_wOn_jYBUKjsVljHNap_apWXsK4FUUlTDsnBMOGJ2rd_imlXiBH4TvF5CFHT/s1600/six.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqiOpA9AF9BCOg8gja-j0hti5g4C5ECNfvlFnreo9IaE6eP_7sGr1WTwoH1RbbC9oSUVmpEbXN9dMsUAh_wOn_jYBUKjsVljHNap_apWXsK4FUUlTDsnBMOGJ2rd_imlXiBH4TvF5CFHT/" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Take it all in.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGBobOP7FLlr3aFYwWd34HhU4zL7n7QiTL2cjEcVOHdB-_0j1PNWQ2KUMWzChhMH6Onc1eyBNGKKq8xUgkDabbgV1_oaIwewdGFjiJOXeQCbNBTxsSpgttsSX78Ry92YWap8PX_WskQKa/s1600/seven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGBobOP7FLlr3aFYwWd34HhU4zL7n7QiTL2cjEcVOHdB-_0j1PNWQ2KUMWzChhMH6Onc1eyBNGKKq8xUgkDabbgV1_oaIwewdGFjiJOXeQCbNBTxsSpgttsSX78Ry92YWap8PX_WskQKa/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Crack open a cold one.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir80wsNVbMg5xYCkCBeYpAYD4wSOmw1Jn8gYqOP3Te2N3nif5wBfoawkFBOTbx1VxnOe8xx_XywCI0uXPF2EFRlzHeix6kH0rjvIR4vre6jYkUHFv398fOsuXKwz07AAPoIy6uuxXqQw-1/s1600/eight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir80wsNVbMg5xYCkCBeYpAYD4wSOmw1Jn8gYqOP3Te2N3nif5wBfoawkFBOTbx1VxnOe8xx_XywCI0uXPF2EFRlzHeix6kH0rjvIR4vre6jYkUHFv398fOsuXKwz07AAPoIy6uuxXqQw-1/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grab a towel -- and a friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hunt for treasure.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfqMUGf-WOTNn724jMpzYXXMEO1tDomiD-5qNwFiWHOQCDKl1k52HGTVHAw8uF54Ci5Y3rChJYJqxpmp4gBfU7bfUW4OUpnl9TpmnlZhDL8URN4zR-NlTi8Nqpruxj-XL1oKFWY4ERg1D/s1600/ten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfqMUGf-WOTNn724jMpzYXXMEO1tDomiD-5qNwFiWHOQCDKl1k52HGTVHAw8uF54Ci5Y3rChJYJqxpmp4gBfU7bfUW4OUpnl9TpmnlZhDL8URN4zR-NlTi8Nqpruxj-XL1oKFWY4ERg1D/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Leave no stone unturned.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m9Xl7JCB0tpbXjpGVc0ELqGWXLfxOpC4TVwRl4aPffJuNT9U_0POP9IBDC0S9jNn0Du7Mj52NF05iv3qxm07lbGW8KZCWejH-LT_1sq-XrhHuOKxoQrZJPzFwYTI_b4f7lFRIfbQr5ZE/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m9Xl7JCB0tpbXjpGVc0ELqGWXLfxOpC4TVwRl4aPffJuNT9U_0POP9IBDC0S9jNn0Du7Mj52NF05iv3qxm07lbGW8KZCWejH-LT_1sq-XrhHuOKxoQrZJPzFwYTI_b4f7lFRIfbQr5ZE/" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stay up way past your bedtime.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYyT-UuFx9Qs8FYZ9zpvAnQgg0tRnLoXz-VR7sCAEV7gdWT3JbKzoSN9Lfzqco4cm_D2sQfO1N2wj-8Mw4iblo0-4sL5HhgqyNvSmCYIN5f0U0B_bRZ2Pg4hfN4ot3oHZeCgCeyVbRn3F/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYyT-UuFx9Qs8FYZ9zpvAnQgg0tRnLoXz-VR7sCAEV7gdWT3JbKzoSN9Lfzqco4cm_D2sQfO1N2wj-8Mw4iblo0-4sL5HhgqyNvSmCYIN5f0U0B_bRZ2Pg4hfN4ot3oHZeCgCeyVbRn3F/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Embark on an adventure.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBrqro_OzJWpe1lX0I8C70A6iVAwuhu2fQOG1lcv8GlUBBB-PN-2zDnWC940ckZBZg2j6ED_WL-AOuhN7wYEtZqXyHqdBRKsHSDN9vKvURozjTkRDVwqZ6TVd_A2mLYFARrfcaN1jF_MZ/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBrqro_OzJWpe1lX0I8C70A6iVAwuhu2fQOG1lcv8GlUBBB-PN-2zDnWC940ckZBZg2j6ED_WL-AOuhN7wYEtZqXyHqdBRKsHSDN9vKvURozjTkRDVwqZ6TVd_A2mLYFARrfcaN1jF_MZ/" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Find out what's behind the curtain.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzVGVhf07Nxj77qcW10PHTzQeAG2hrpaJYCaiH7BIDHvvKb_UHy41EDn0-a_wSmL4X0-Y0ybT6Y6KPUfnWjn5WElxwxKqaxW9kQipf0JNge4S3SvF2P_NsPMQ56UPKhrhYa5TJu1jf_NG/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzVGVhf07Nxj77qcW10PHTzQeAG2hrpaJYCaiH7BIDHvvKb_UHy41EDn0-a_wSmL4X0-Y0ybT6Y6KPUfnWjn5WElxwxKqaxW9kQipf0JNge4S3SvF2P_NsPMQ56UPKhrhYa5TJu1jf_NG/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy the ride.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRfVAheNvV40fruIlBFJQRPTFjou8IARaiTjLC5FKU4tVwuyHUjkdaBq6vtQsMqpDGn3hSqXKMmCM7qru7o5T8KL3mDR1JBkd0oyqZFlwQxmZ-7kaaz9N532Jz2npY5A1eG-GIa06ljs7/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRfVAheNvV40fruIlBFJQRPTFjou8IARaiTjLC5FKU4tVwuyHUjkdaBq6vtQsMqpDGn3hSqXKMmCM7qru7o5T8KL3mDR1JBkd0oyqZFlwQxmZ-7kaaz9N532Jz2npY5A1eG-GIa06ljs7/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Create a ripple.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjER-FVMg0OICn4dF0xljZJu2E_CSo7cahgvobqcRf42XRhJv4lNdCIm_cYXWAH5BbGq73XPIKJTIyis5LxLERVOWFURzzxPAFxtw9M6D2FQOb-jr46e72DZgN8gfQ8i3yRSovRKxiqz0Q-/s1600/2013-08-28+041edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjER-FVMg0OICn4dF0xljZJu2E_CSo7cahgvobqcRf42XRhJv4lNdCIm_cYXWAH5BbGq73XPIKJTIyis5LxLERVOWFURzzxPAFxtw9M6D2FQOb-jr46e72DZgN8gfQ8i3yRSovRKxiqz0Q-/+041edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Make a SPLASH.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8l_s83F7C-LftBzlf6m9LqH7OTckOPuoFZTszCFLUdNILVA1crWPbQJeDXD1oaspBPv0JiGBjOTw48oVHMmLcRmAC-xy-bc03uImUpkWwatImugz8uDcjoriYwDLHBrVkei2rh8JYDrR/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8l_s83F7C-LftBzlf6m9LqH7OTckOPuoFZTszCFLUdNILVA1crWPbQJeDXD1oaspBPv0JiGBjOTw48oVHMmLcRmAC-xy-bc03uImUpkWwatImugz8uDcjoriYwDLHBrVkei2rh8JYDrR/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Embrace your bedhead.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDA5E9ou74CrolLG26fmnFvF_W0LCUtdHQKLi-T5_yDwJJHsuRw3ijZgHz6C4_tNwayB8sbZZ8EFJ9yqC264Fx2Rri5myxdC0gkba6t4hiPEd3YjKGhdglP5d3-dgSPqIluhJ82ecIc7N/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDA5E9ou74CrolLG26fmnFvF_W0LCUtdHQKLi-T5_yDwJJHsuRw3ijZgHz6C4_tNwayB8sbZZ8EFJ9yqC264Fx2Rri5myxdC0gkba6t4hiPEd3YjKGhdglP5d3-dgSPqIluhJ82ecIc7N/s640/22.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chart a new course.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRlvLS4-3nWQs_HnNfKq6o-4Jg-20RYgei9-Nil70x6zHvWHXqbCmLnATos33S14rPwxFJ3QChUuHqHS2kJ23spPl2Yl2NoMdG_33VJZJKFF9iQcPCRuNm-ozbiAN2YNJDSrVY4k_gfAM/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRlvLS4-3nWQs_HnNfKq6o-4Jg-20RYgei9-Nil70x6zHvWHXqbCmLnATos33S14rPwxFJ3QChUuHqHS2kJ23spPl2Yl2NoMdG_33VJZJKFF9iQcPCRuNm-ozbiAN2YNJDSrVY4k_gfAM/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Feel the wind in your hair.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1o4BDib-1mhX3GQVC2lV08wp_MdUKCumJ9AhHpqGj25y5zFkFVtg7e4Za5yyCzwzxhsEh9UZMvXr_marcDzwWOeZeCao72chBnWfoJSIacFV3ku37eRIFmxthUmEB4NFnv8xuG5DT9AE/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1o4BDib-1mhX3GQVC2lV08wp_MdUKCumJ9AhHpqGj25y5zFkFVtg7e4Za5yyCzwzxhsEh9UZMvXr_marcDzwWOeZeCao72chBnWfoJSIacFV3ku37eRIFmxthUmEB4NFnv8xuG5DT9AE/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cross something off your bucket list.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnacLYbffxsFL-A8Bw2iuQKa1BR0Uh3Xn5pah3CYyT-9QxA1MfbLy_vfbvBMtfbAynmeWNtLax1iVZ7JklkL_jIG21Ta_eYayg0REsmtUVl6Paz8TrvMe3izAemPrRizweM8xVx47UIUkU/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnacLYbffxsFL-A8Bw2iuQKa1BR0Uh3Xn5pah3CYyT-9QxA1MfbLy_vfbvBMtfbAynmeWNtLax1iVZ7JklkL_jIG21Ta_eYayg0REsmtUVl6Paz8TrvMe3izAemPrRizweM8xVx47UIUkU/s640/23.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Head home (when you must), </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC1jNi2pjhacF_9xszf64Ec3iPe_gKlUeQHWD49BGGrxSytcnzBk6qagj7JiLSiiumTjaFea5Ww5kt-qAx3O7b7Y_tAQOlHiNIVlcLrIk7I8v204fKiNF0YUj3uTp3G5Za8FiASz2OuEZ/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC1jNi2pjhacF_9xszf64Ec3iPe_gKlUeQHWD49BGGrxSytcnzBk6qagj7JiLSiiumTjaFea5Ww5kt-qAx3O7b7Y_tAQOlHiNIVlcLrIk7I8v204fKiNF0YUj3uTp3G5Za8FiASz2OuEZ/" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">but carry a piece of this week in your heart until you meet again.</span></div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-78423810564065316962013-08-05T11:15:00.001-04:002013-08-05T11:15:17.468-04:00The Homestead.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For as long as I can remember, the beginning of August means a trip to <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/theres-no-place-like-this-place.html" target="_blank">the Homestead</a>. On its most basic level, the Homestead is a cabin in the great woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, built by my great-grandfather Walfred "Bosco" Johnson and his friend Elson Carberry in the 1940's. It's located between Munising and the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/piro/index.htm" target="_blank">Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore</a> near the shores of Lake Superior.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4o7YS-gGPIzOUZStgT1lTDW-tKTzZJ1ZfLfkYAGaQk_hEtTIOcXQ5kIRvAwDoOTzaN0IGVJmSlnJ2QbDMuf_lxYZ8mKcRzaH9_F8Snt6kGBOLEif4CnW85Fx7PtYsZkwBcduuKQIYBK6D/s1600/homestead13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4o7YS-gGPIzOUZStgT1lTDW-tKTzZJ1ZfLfkYAGaQk_hEtTIOcXQ5kIRvAwDoOTzaN0IGVJmSlnJ2QbDMuf_lxYZ8mKcRzaH9_F8Snt6kGBOLEif4CnW85Fx7PtYsZkwBcduuKQIYBK6D/s640/homestead13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On a deeper level, the Homestead is so much more. It's one-of-a-kind, a place where the sights, sounds, and smells can instantly transport you to summers from long ago. A place seemingly untouched by the decades surrounded by miles and miles of untouched natural beauty. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWdZ3ch2xVL_nWjMFyTLsQC-7qR9Qpfpmfy96AYg90rennKkaKyn8ZmdaSCWebbvC0Uyy_6ibU2NwXaenYBJsUEhyphenhypheneuVYDk4kNE0PA9e662ztiMyTYXG4xIDvwEkHhUESQbg9iE_aJog4/s1600/homestead27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWdZ3ch2xVL_nWjMFyTLsQC-7qR9Qpfpmfy96AYg90rennKkaKyn8ZmdaSCWebbvC0Uyy_6ibU2NwXaenYBJsUEhyphenhypheneuVYDk4kNE0PA9e662ztiMyTYXG4xIDvwEkHhUESQbg9iE_aJog4/" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Homestead is a place where...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63skREU85DBFj3DbBydFejkadp9anNmyis-uKBrmp88COKYOqFKujhSRKJIkkt2N8PhYvtjxt4IG9A7ki0qh-Vasy8232VPt93DBTIYr1QdrizN4lyGL9Hh9XTEw1Rfg8wtKHiUx47t32/s1600/homestead0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63skREU85DBFj3DbBydFejkadp9anNmyis-uKBrmp88COKYOqFKujhSRKJIkkt2N8PhYvtjxt4IG9A7ki0qh-Vasy8232VPt93DBTIYr1QdrizN4lyGL9Hh9XTEw1Rfg8wtKHiUx47t32/" width="424" /></a></div>
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...your daddy is always happy to give you a lift...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9moHjx1Im2fnXAm60YscjrK71Xn3GplLrQ2fUWlXks5UK4kXx6GQC5ohT05j5pb6iRKLECe3X41aqolyIJlUJyKGhYnS0KYG9jJLJkUq1lOCXbjMpnrEHmiopRCbR7tPN-orGu-ZjoIL/s1600/homestead1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9moHjx1Im2fnXAm60YscjrK71Xn3GplLrQ2fUWlXks5UK4kXx6GQC5ohT05j5pb6iRKLECe3X41aqolyIJlUJyKGhYnS0KYG9jJLJkUq1lOCXbjMpnrEHmiopRCbR7tPN-orGu-ZjoIL/" width="640" /></a></div>
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...and a boy can find an adventure around every corner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu_EFNZ7ljuFGYMRFJuBLRFgxE2kqCeh8C0TdQ4ZwNVAFBWVMzu1JxHVcWDtZRSQQuleq1trxOEGltYeNVKMrW8VCJkO2wvyuHUmvet3nfRTiI_LEYCT3_jYE1oI4hU2vsX_xt_PUMU41/s1600/homestead2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu_EFNZ7ljuFGYMRFJuBLRFgxE2kqCeh8C0TdQ4ZwNVAFBWVMzu1JxHVcWDtZRSQQuleq1trxOEGltYeNVKMrW8VCJkO2wvyuHUmvet3nfRTiI_LEYCT3_jYE1oI4hU2vsX_xt_PUMU41/" width="640" /></a></div>
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A place where a drive down the Homestead road makes you feel like you're 8 years old again...<br />
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...and the woods seem untouched since the days of your great-grandparents.<br />
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<br />
A place where the end of the dock is perfect for long talks and ukulele lessons...<br />
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...and scrub brushes, a bucket of water, and a long deck equal hours of entertainment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvfNucWYULbNDQS5ZoO8CZxAhAAJ7en2Pjm-xKtW8cYYH5A2y1t6OJJtJR3Sv05Ghf5_Z-3RIjXh9XuYvsPsII-eIgg9XTy4jdW6xhr8-wIc-TbH8ew7YnrOSsbaSfsFimucdORh9iv5U/s1600/homestead5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvfNucWYULbNDQS5ZoO8CZxAhAAJ7en2Pjm-xKtW8cYYH5A2y1t6OJJtJR3Sv05Ghf5_Z-3RIjXh9XuYvsPsII-eIgg9XTy4jdW6xhr8-wIc-TbH8ew7YnrOSsbaSfsFimucdORh9iv5U/" width="640" /></a></div>
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A place where beautiful hikes in nearby woods abound...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9NQ7xIqvAd5OiaQLaXSEbXgvJAOzjLq2tr_lnpx0aPZqfybTwepp1KNh5gIcsTJI_FA-Ec7Qep4agA4NnYqVQ2qhCSGX4-CfGVg8kLDwE-nGrXAertxrRkbrV0xU1U_eVGRzh99MSmfi/s1600/homestead6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9NQ7xIqvAd5OiaQLaXSEbXgvJAOzjLq2tr_lnpx0aPZqfybTwepp1KNh5gIcsTJI_FA-Ec7Qep4agA4NnYqVQ2qhCSGX4-CfGVg8kLDwE-nGrXAertxrRkbrV0xU1U_eVGRzh99MSmfi/" width="640" /></a></div>
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...you should always pack your swimsuit<i> just in case</i>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbM55_H75g0LulklrPpSwclwUeWOj4nsprjbsnAKC3hBd6XfgifvXHPxe7VnihiWDOLNP4V2-OltOOr46ak80zq7f_5jQunFhmU1WcUzkl2rmbKZxa5T9XC8GYGsPqOSKLXX5Gq7oAN0t/s1600/homestead7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbM55_H75g0LulklrPpSwclwUeWOj4nsprjbsnAKC3hBd6XfgifvXHPxe7VnihiWDOLNP4V2-OltOOr46ak80zq7f_5jQunFhmU1WcUzkl2rmbKZxa5T9XC8GYGsPqOSKLXX5Gq7oAN0t/" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
...and the beauty of it all is enough to take your breath away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CrOkWrtPUaekM1GfWsjY5uqLORc4tDBURN1oiRP5bqjmX8eLyKgDRo7Wthb3jnMQ0dueB8jJijG5LKQOf36yHfbM2sHrAz4UAGXVwGXzp89VOOI-gOvsMHuE7aiCkfZOZWTR3df-CRyP/s1600/homestead8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CrOkWrtPUaekM1GfWsjY5uqLORc4tDBURN1oiRP5bqjmX8eLyKgDRo7Wthb3jnMQ0dueB8jJijG5LKQOf36yHfbM2sHrAz4UAGXVwGXzp89VOOI-gOvsMHuE7aiCkfZOZWTR3df-CRyP/" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's a place where a legitimate hike usually means a few rounds of discussion about which way to go next...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoOh00I1WeHkxHFSBv7li6MyOUZrDCT0nRFB8rec7Fy9Jq75UAB4VN2chJj3xb71iOFgj-S6tvcnJr1DEgQEcinIl9Pjv6Kiv4e3pP0OC4nkIc20S_tmYErywpZ0Ha54DyLNgQLJWTPzx/s1600/homestead9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoOh00I1WeHkxHFSBv7li6MyOUZrDCT0nRFB8rec7Fy9Jq75UAB4VN2chJj3xb71iOFgj-S6tvcnJr1DEgQEcinIl9Pjv6Kiv4e3pP0OC4nkIc20S_tmYErywpZ0Ha54DyLNgQLJWTPzx/" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
...and you never pass up an opportunity to take a leap.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNPi7emtXRH_LMhsJEG7StoKmjh7kpQ_JnkwB9nWtV5qSOOP4VK7roszqMUfPQJ0bGwt1sj8FJSMbyFichMPbenJJ0DWoxWh2yLZEQksqYJVMDV_X9TBKD5bdN4QTvfaHibxFVGt-2PLf/s1600/homestead10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNPi7emtXRH_LMhsJEG7StoKmjh7kpQ_JnkwB9nWtV5qSOOP4VK7roszqMUfPQJ0bGwt1sj8FJSMbyFichMPbenJJ0DWoxWh2yLZEQksqYJVMDV_X9TBKD5bdN4QTvfaHibxFVGt-2PLf/" width="640" /></a></div>
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A place where waterfalls seem to be tucked behind every nook and cranny...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WzNT8ixBHzySKsovSZN-YSe6VcCftK1bAvROWj_eNY98NU1tkngclnFwqEbzMy5ECHC3HgM1BTEIUxg7-FoQK_SWm5idzGTKQaPB7iK6s0kOHyYtmJ6KIoPz7qeqe6kbYGzdYPwn-YKX/s1600/homestead10.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WzNT8ixBHzySKsovSZN-YSe6VcCftK1bAvROWj_eNY98NU1tkngclnFwqEbzMy5ECHC3HgM1BTEIUxg7-FoQK_SWm5idzGTKQaPB7iK6s0kOHyYtmJ6KIoPz7qeqe6kbYGzdYPwn-YKX/" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
...and your daddy is...still...happily...carrying...you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5RiWJiQLgILu21iX9B5TDfge8UqJ9iuHXAXLbrRbcUDyI4UBLpAR-AKskfWTTc8YrEbl8V_ybCxEZo0NfeoetPUjkIpQTJuW2uLB7hWiWzHvzlcjGUR2eIqPM5zWLwr3YdS-8PCOTDy3/s1600/homestead11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5RiWJiQLgILu21iX9B5TDfge8UqJ9iuHXAXLbrRbcUDyI4UBLpAR-AKskfWTTc8YrEbl8V_ybCxEZo0NfeoetPUjkIpQTJuW2uLB7hWiWzHvzlcjGUR2eIqPM5zWLwr3YdS-8PCOTDy3/" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
A place where Aunt Vickie rolls out the arts and craft like magic on your great-great-grandmother's farmhouse table...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkc8ZewxnO_MWluXmfuIcG0xJe9YfqSKCNvYbaAAKogTLj4NbS_rMCYQQobrRT1WOKvW00_vED7C98d7GfQaEf3uAEg0sbuIf_SQ6oR00PqIczplca3UOhyGnJC1Kgr2PdybGzBCZxeHz/s1600/homestead12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkc8ZewxnO_MWluXmfuIcG0xJe9YfqSKCNvYbaAAKogTLj4NbS_rMCYQQobrRT1WOKvW00_vED7C98d7GfQaEf3uAEg0sbuIf_SQ6oR00PqIczplca3UOhyGnJC1Kgr2PdybGzBCZxeHz/" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
...and if you wear your sweatshirt <i>and</i> your coat inside you can usually warm up (sometimes).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-BzgS3hWfquuKK3ClqKL_qaF4J8jJ0dWbldvBKc4CzDoBsqqJu0dvQmzViwGs1pD_rye781J8T817sKMnOHAqO9lYxVIPTEaPZdOOAtfwab2Z-qBkntWGLnVWfmPDPmd1PM6ePWWCRc0/s1600/homestead25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-BzgS3hWfquuKK3ClqKL_qaF4J8jJ0dWbldvBKc4CzDoBsqqJu0dvQmzViwGs1pD_rye781J8T817sKMnOHAqO9lYxVIPTEaPZdOOAtfwab2Z-qBkntWGLnVWfmPDPmd1PM6ePWWCRc0/" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
A place where you can eat s'mores for breakfast...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-Ben7WsVn8iX67FbLKvOHTMwJx-nZaQSekNBTJtgc9K2jbTkejGLjCRKxqctctObfvuS1CaF7WiZZWUqJTqqDdkigqQYN927aoj4cjbxvys8MSc-ciFU7LnpE9jJXubE_m-7KHwCW-Iu/s1600/homestead14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-Ben7WsVn8iX67FbLKvOHTMwJx-nZaQSekNBTJtgc9K2jbTkejGLjCRKxqctctObfvuS1CaF7WiZZWUqJTqqDdkigqQYN927aoj4cjbxvys8MSc-ciFU7LnpE9jJXubE_m-7KHwCW-Iu/" width="640" /></a></div>
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..and pick wild blueberries just steps off the front porch and eat them until your tummy hurts.<br />
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<br />
A place where you eagerly sign up for a rock hunting expedition (after all, it should be <i>just around the next bend</i>).<br />
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<br />
A place where you breath a sigh of relief that the <i>pretty big</i> rock really does exist...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_2e1kAp8Nty5kypLyQ2HFhyh-f8IdSNiSpjclhyphenhyphenN027ReFUtcsGa-B_j_Iq__wT70or9fn_UxfZPUIo7vcL4Vnz9UWxPxWn8XOWvIc-17VlcNNBtOZ0kkHSNjDFBahABpC9ivOqTv0OU/s1600/homestead17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_2e1kAp8Nty5kypLyQ2HFhyh-f8IdSNiSpjclhyphenhyphenN027ReFUtcsGa-B_j_Iq__wT70or9fn_UxfZPUIo7vcL4Vnz9UWxPxWn8XOWvIc-17VlcNNBtOZ0kkHSNjDFBahABpC9ivOqTv0OU/" width="640" /></a></div>
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...and you pack your bear whistle because you just can't be too careful.<br />
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<br />
A place where your Carberry & Johnson shirts are right at home...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOWuzZcNfdnPgsLE2p0wWdK_pCfaMdu4Ld5mmoIGQ0W-JxFY7hyZTCUjE8P8HizaPyQ4aiin4xdtuHbcbcpldlbrtrenmUdkCpBQlgfKMn5Au9-xl_QVFRd6xi9XvwrbIZTN517ygGMQh/s1600/homestead19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOWuzZcNfdnPgsLE2p0wWdK_pCfaMdu4Ld5mmoIGQ0W-JxFY7hyZTCUjE8P8HizaPyQ4aiin4xdtuHbcbcpldlbrtrenmUdkCpBQlgfKMn5Au9-xl_QVFRd6xi9XvwrbIZTN517ygGMQh/" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
...where the sky really is that blue, the trees that green, and the air that clear.<br />
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<br />
A place where there's always room for two...<br />
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<br />
...and your aunts, uncles and cousins still gather for an annual porch shot.<br />
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It's a place like no other place... and when you're here, you simply can't imagine being anywhere else on earth.<br />
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-75472675034236680972013-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:002013-07-29T07:00:10.228-04:00Cooking Club.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Cooking club. Let me tell you: I'm a fan.</div>
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A night to try something new, to put on "real" clothes, to leave bedtime to the dads.<br />
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Mistakes, miscalculations, mishaps. Forgotten shallots (what <i>is</i> a shallot, by the way?!). Way too many peppercorns in the pan.<br />
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Minor victories. Great successes. <i>Risatta, the food of heaven.</i> Wait, or is it <i>risotto</i>?<br />
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A salad much too fancy for everyday life, we decided, but oh so delicious. What would life look like if we treated ourselves to food like this everyday, even on ordinary days?<br />
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Teamwork. A group effort. Reading directions. Ignoring suggestions. Community.<br />
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These girls. Gifts given and received recently, in my thirties. My council. My people.<br />
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Pretty sparkly glasses. Filled and refilled. Misplaced. Discovered again.<br />
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The details. A setting begging for a late night dinner party for five.<br />
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Finally. We sit, we exhale. We work out the problems of the week. We leave some for next time.<br />
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Food for the body. <i>Food for the soul.</i><br />
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A beautiful, messy life, best lived around the table, glasses raised, forks in hand. For a few hours, the world seems to stand still.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"That's what this is about. This isn't about recipes. This is about a family, a tribe, a little band of people who walk through it all together, up close and in the mess, real time and unvarnished." </i></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">--Shauna Niequist, "What The Table Is For", <i><a href="http://shaunaniequist.com/project/bread-wine/" target="_blank">Bread & Wine</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cooking Club Menu, Part I:</span></b></i><br />
Mini Mac & Cheese<br />
Green Well Salad<br />
Basic Risotto<br />
Goat Cheese Biscuits<br />
Steak au Poivre with Cognac Pan Sauce<br />
Nigella's Flourless Chocolate Brownies<br />
<a href="http://shaunaniequist.com/bread-wine-blueberry-crisp/" target="_blank">Blueberry Crisp</a><br />
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-23620897434604020702013-07-26T23:30:00.000-04:002013-07-27T11:24:45.954-04:00one of those days.Matt has a new position at work, and we are thankful, but we're also all exhausted. Today, we needed to be together, to escape a little, just the five of us.<br />
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Today was one of those days.<br />
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We started out, haphazardly, towards a big zoo this morning. Right after breakfast. You know, at 11 am. (I may have returned from my 6am swim with the girls, showered and ready to greet the day head on. And I may have promptly crawled back into bed for the best two hours of sleep of my life.)<br />
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And so we began. Barely. We almost didn't make it out of the driveway. One of <i>those </i>days.<br />
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Hopping down the highway at 75 miles per hour, we hemmed and hawed. Keep going, an hour and twenty minutes to <i>The</i> Zoo, or take a chance on another zoo, just 30 minutes away?<br />
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We took the chance. Honestly, it sounded like less work. (One of those days.)<br />
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We exhaled as we exited the highway and drove through cornfields and past dairy farms and around curve and over hills. The part of me that is just like my mother wanted to stop and read every centennial farm plaque and historical sign.<br />
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And then, almost in a Field of Dreams like moment, we arrived.<br />
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The kids grumbled and groaned, piling out of the car.<br />
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We entered through the gift shop.<br />
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We positively perked up when we realized this was <a href="http://www.boulderridgewap.com/" target="_blank">no ordinary zoo</a>.<br />
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We walked and pointed and laughed and circled around and around. I wondered briefly about making a Plan, you know, for seeing the zoo in an orderly fashion, and then relaxed when I realized no plan was necessary.<br />
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It was one of those days.<br />
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Not too hot, even a tad bit cool. A relief to enjoy July without sweating.<br />
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We saw zebra and porcupines, alligators and addax. We rooted for the industrious tortoise, who looked to be plotting his escape. We took a safari ride on a giant bus with giraffe spots and couldn't believe how big ostrich eggs really are.<br />
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We picked up bunnies and chicks, and shrieked our way out of the parakeet enclosure. (Matt says it's good our independent Mady is reminded every now and then that she still needs us.) We fed llamas and baby goats. We picked out imaginary, exotic pets for our suburban back yard.<br />
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I took pictures like an old school mama - with an actual camera and with little thought as to how they might look on Instagram or Facebook or our blog. And then I put the camera away and the rest of our memories are tucked safely away in my mama's heart.<br />
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We stayed at the zoo way past lunch time. One of those days.<br />
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We stopped at a farmstand and bought English muffin bread, peaches, sweet cherries, and homemade donuts.<br />
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We took the scenic route back into a nearby little town, Matt's old stomping grounds. We ate lunch at a quaint little sandwich shop, and I enjoyed <i>the best sandwich of my life</i>. And then the girls antiqued (and Mommy held her breath), and the boys discovered (or in Matt's case, rediscovered) the magic of an old school card shop. Dylan spent his cash ($4 total: $3 he had saved up at home plus $1 To Be Worked Off Later).<br />
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We drove down the river, to a spot near the covered bridge. We watched a wedding party take pictures, and we ate our donuts. We circled back for the park bathrooms and stumbled upon a company picnic. We were approached by a clown making balloon animals and asked if we were with the company or just picnic crashers. We smiled and shrugged our shoulders, and tromped back to the car with a balloon bunny, kitty, and alligator tucked under our arms.<br />
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We drove home, four of us very sleepily, and also, honestly, on the edge of hysteria.<br />
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I headed for the couch - all I wanted was a quick nap - as the rain started to fall. Instead of a nap, three kids snuggled in, all elbows and knees. We started to play and bicker and talk about dinner, hoping someone else would make the first move. We decided showers first might be better.<br />
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Some families love to be on the go; I think more than anything, for better or for worse, our family loves to be at home.<br />
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From there, one lovely little lady tried to use the towel bar as a gymnastics bar and pulled it right off the wall, sawdust flying.<br />
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The boy couldn't wait to start looking up card values on eBay, carefully putting the best cards in clear holders, and labeling each one with little white stickers pulled out of his dad's own dusty boyhood briefcase.<br />
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We picked up the house and threatened bedtime and then forgot and played horse, crawling around on our hands and knees. There were accidents and spills, tears and I'm sorry's. Finally, later than we had intended, we brushed our teeth and snuggled three little ones into cool beds.<br />
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And as we did so, we marveled at a day lived well, a day lived together, a day lived imperfectly on many counts, but also a day lived <i>just right</i>.<br />
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It was, quite simply, one of those days.<br />
<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-15589682386262451282013-07-05T14:27:00.000-04:002013-07-05T14:27:31.137-04:00Finally Finley.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You can rest a little easier, friends: <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/search/label/adoption" target="_blank">Finley Grace</a> is <i>finally</i> home.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5qmBW29AZ0FTDZC6ztScx_TDn76ZWTsU6aLODgx3vKpsSeIL32Hlb_y1YyC8ULHaTdg-jF5_0WoBuEjN679-se34fBhAoF85zlwvyZxZOftWg8BRWOfsoYqfQnibHR8C5BH9gbHT-Ggk/s1600/2013-07-03+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5qmBW29AZ0FTDZC6ztScx_TDn76ZWTsU6aLODgx3vKpsSeIL32Hlb_y1YyC8ULHaTdg-jF5_0WoBuEjN679-se34fBhAoF85zlwvyZxZOftWg8BRWOfsoYqfQnibHR8C5BH9gbHT-Ggk/+013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've shared so much of <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/adoption" target="_blank">her story</a> here on this blog, that I wanted to make sure I didn't leave out the best part. After years of hoping, waiting, and dreaming, our dear friends are now adjusting to a new normal, to life as a family of five.<br />
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We couldn't be happier for them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcT_s7iMVnzYT2t_LT28JO4KdkMsSuGDzIqh1ZZzJmb4sH7mROBNv4u9ZxwyxiD9sJ0BWjiljV4ZGfqRBAyN71iZexpCcYgRMp6kHh9L9EuQxdB3JeWVno0o8PK6WQgsiKEiC82uwwRwI/s1600/five.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcT_s7iMVnzYT2t_LT28JO4KdkMsSuGDzIqh1ZZzJmb4sH7mROBNv4u9ZxwyxiD9sJ0BWjiljV4ZGfqRBAyN71iZexpCcYgRMp6kHh9L9EuQxdB3JeWVno0o8PK6WQgsiKEiC82uwwRwI/" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Lindsay at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-is-in-Pictures/194955160557831?fref=ts" target="_blank">Love is {in Pictures}</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome home, Finley Grace! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">We're so glad you're here!</span></div>
<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-89780432361206819092013-06-29T21:48:00.001-04:002013-06-29T21:48:37.915-04:00Pantry Love.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been on my To Do list for quite some time to re-do my pantry labels. <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/instalife-leap-list-edition.html" target="_blank">Last spring</a>, in what seemed like a fool-proof plan, I spray painted contact paper with chalkboard paint. Unfortunately, the labels didn't hold up very well and as a double whammy they weren't actually erasable. On top of all that, when I tried to remove them, they left gunk on my pretty <a href="http://www.oxo.com/p-877-10-piece-pop-container-set.aspx" target="_blank">OXO containers</a>.</div>
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I was feeling a little bummed and discouraged and overwhelmed, so I've been living with unattractive labels ever since (strangely, no one else in the family seems to mind). I thought about trying chalkboard labels from Etsy but that seemed complicated because I have to be able to cover the goo from the old labels and since I made them myself, they're all custom sizes. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy38bkDn0LBm0Z-EhBhEUrsP6xICwmx8pZms7JO0x4M_eisoH8RLgHtdr6ChI-6vpCTRT0B5CSPNsq-1yKeN_jDomx2W5vUZlMdX9pGxZjg5IrlHZuBidIWDIiDPHDqqMImDUta6f2PDqy/s1600/2013-06-27+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy38bkDn0LBm0Z-EhBhEUrsP6xICwmx8pZms7JO0x4M_eisoH8RLgHtdr6ChI-6vpCTRT0B5CSPNsq-1yKeN_jDomx2W5vUZlMdX9pGxZjg5IrlHZuBidIWDIiDPHDqqMImDUta6f2PDqy/+001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I decided to give the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VPVVWU" target="_blank">Silhouette chalkboard vinyl</a> a try on a whim. I don't own a Silhouette but figured I could cut them with my paper cutter like I did the contact paper ones. And so I ordered a roll months ago, and then it sat and sat and sat. While I sometimes get a reputation for being industrious, I'm actually a tad bit lazy and very afraid of failure.<br />
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Until the day my <a href="http://pickyourplum.com/" target="_blank">Pick Your Plum</a> impulse buy Washi tape arrived in the mail. Suddenly a plan was coming together. (And really, where has Washi tape been my whole life?! It has no practical purpose other than to be pretty and make one's heart sing. I'm completely smitten.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8s8OYsj4ITRgecRteXqStRQmabkLvQ3ruA_ARYsVbKKVgPINFnA8JBxb2YvDi0IedXeZsl2cys8Kf0nW4QgRCJH7UHHyF1OpzavrOU9DcqOomodSPdvlWUH21jn-hzvTPESscML0g1aI/s1600/2013-06-25+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8s8OYsj4ITRgecRteXqStRQmabkLvQ3ruA_ARYsVbKKVgPINFnA8JBxb2YvDi0IedXeZsl2cys8Kf0nW4QgRCJH7UHHyF1OpzavrOU9DcqOomodSPdvlWUH21jn-hzvTPESscML0g1aI/+002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This week, in a fit of <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/2013/06/gotcha-day-eve.html" target="_blank">Gotcha Day Eve</a> nervous energy, I emptied out my pantry and got to work. This vinyl was super easy to work with and so far it's easy to erase and re-position. I can imagine if you owned a Silhouette you could really go to town. The little strip of Washi tape across the top of each label exists purely to make me smile each and every time I open the pantry door.<br />
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So that's it. Just a long-winded post to tell you I successfully solved my pantry label problem. And it was easier than expected. And it didn't take long at all. And the results make me really, really happy. Perhaps you have a little project of your own that's been weighing you down too?!?<br />
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And while we're on the subject of pantries, I always feel amazing after a good pantry cleaning. It allows me to quickly take inventory of what's already in the house which makes meal planning and grocery shopping easier. It prevents me from having a mini-panic attack each time I open the door to an overwhelming, cluttered space. And it makes me smile to see all those canned goods and baking supplies -- with cute labels -- smiling back at me. (They are smiling, right? Tell me you see it too.)<br />
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An ode to my pantry. The end.<br />
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-2580881233213098992013-06-24T07:00:00.000-04:002013-06-24T07:00:08.571-04:00love thyself. {#SurvivingSummer}<div style="text-align: left;">
Mothering is hard work. Summer Mothering is in a league all it's own. </div>
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I'll admit it: during the school year I got comfortable. After seemingly endless years of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, this last school year, two out of three of our kiddos were in school all day, every day, and I adjusted very quickly to this new normal.</div>
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Now summer is here, and the days are once again filled to the brim with three little people calling out, "Mom! Mama! Mommy! Mom! Mom!! <i>MOM!!!</i>", and I'm determined not lose my self in the mix.</div>
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I've been learning the importance of self-care these past few years. Us moms have a ton of excuses why we couldn't possibly take care of ourselves, but I think we can all do something for ourselves each day, even if it's something small.</div>
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I find that I'm happier and healthier when I'm taking good care of myself. I believe it's good for my kids to see a mom who invests in herself. </div>
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And I know that I simply won't <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/surviving%20summer" target="_blank">survive summer</a> with all my marbles if I don't.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYdngQLsEeP6Zpcar8cYlZpezxre_pCZBieoSiM9T3FcOUZaLFzurxBu5Qdyjv5k1W-8L08BQg_y96f0pHWcGSQ0hSMMZfTo6wXRz6WJoWfDLdrfB6AWJvsuYHCO-2lrqT_UuqJSyXNhN/s1600/2013-06-19+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYdngQLsEeP6Zpcar8cYlZpezxre_pCZBieoSiM9T3FcOUZaLFzurxBu5Qdyjv5k1W-8L08BQg_y96f0pHWcGSQ0hSMMZfTo6wXRz6WJoWfDLdrfB6AWJvsuYHCO-2lrqT_UuqJSyXNhN/+001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm all for hard work, but I've been reminded over and over again, that it's also important to REST WELL. Or as my mom recently said to me {I"ve been known to get a bit hung up on productivity}, "You know, you don't have to work hard <i>all the time</i>."</div>
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Um, OK.</div>
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And while we are, of course, called to love others well, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A30-31&version=MSG" target="_blank">the command</a> reads <i>love others <u>as well as</u> you love yourself</i>, which sounds to me like we have to know what self-love is first.</div>
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So mamas, put down those laundry baskets, walk away from the dishwasher, <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/be-responsible-survivingsummer.html" target="_blank">pass some of the work on to the kids</a>, stop adding items to your to do list. It's time to practice a little self-care and discover the things that make your heart sing.</div>
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Trust me, <i>you're worth it. </i></div>
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1. <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/hello-mornings.html" target="_blank">Wake up</a> early Monday morning. Enjoy the quiet.</div>
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2. <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/40%20bags" target="_blank">Declutter</a> a space that makes you feel bonkers.<br />
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3. Brew yourself a <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/lately.html" target="_blank">cup of tea</a>. Bonus points if it's in your favorite mug.<br />
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4. Go for a run. Leave the watch at home.<br />
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5. Catch up on your <a href="http://shereadstruth.com/" target="_blank">She Reads Truth</a> plan.<br />
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6. Power up the blender. <a href="http://simplegreensmoothies.com/" target="_blank">Think green</a>.<br />
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7. Buy yourself a little something, slightly frivolous, really fun.<br />
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8. Stop with the negative self-talk.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(If you wouldn't say it to a friend, don't say it to yourself!)</span><br />
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9. Head to bed at a decent hour.<br />
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10. Create some <a href="http://www.brenebrown.com/my-blog/2011/4/7/in-the-weeds.html" target="_blank">white space</a>.<br />
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11. Go for a long walk with a good friend.<br />
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12. Eat a salad.<br />
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13. Take a bath. Don't forget the bubbles.<br />
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14. Curl up with a <a href="http://pinterest.com/kterpstra/bookmark-it/" target="_blank">good book</a>.<br />
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15. Dry your hair even if you're not planning to leave the house.<br />
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16. Treat yourself to a little latte love.<br />
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17. <a href="http://www.essie.com/Colors.aspx" target="_blank">Paint</a> your nails.<br />
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18. Fill up your water bottle in the morning, and keep it close by all day long.<br />
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19. Know when to put on the stretchy pants.<br />
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20. Plan a <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/2013/06/girls-night-orange-pebble-studio-style.html" target="_blank">girls' night</a>.<br />
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21. Clean out <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/closet-reboot-tips-tricks.html" target="_blank">your closet</a>. Keep only the items you love.<br />
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22. Moisturize.<br />
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23. Do the bare minimum. Leave the rest.<br />
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24. Sit. Down.<br />
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25. Sleep in whenever, however you can.<br />
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26. Choose <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/one%20word%20365" target="_blank">a word</a>. Refer to it often.<br />
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27. Hire a (daytime) babysitter. Run errands in peace.<br />
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28. Learn to say no.<br />
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29. Take off <a href="http://momastery.com/blog/2013/06/05/everything-i-ever-needed-to-know-i-learned-in-the-mental-hospital/" target="_blank">the cape</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/search/label/surviving%20summer" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="320" src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/terpblog/survivingsummer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-18355942053153598152013-06-20T23:06:00.000-04:002013-06-20T23:06:01.701-04:00Come to the table.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"This is what I want you do to: I want you to tell someone you love them, and dinner's at six. I want you to throw open your front door and welcome the people you love into the inevitable mess with hugs and laughter. I want you to light a burner on the stove, to chop and stir and season with love and abandon. Begin with an onion and a drizzle of olive oil, and go from there, any one of a million different places, any one of a million different meals." <span style="font-size: small;">--Shauna Niequist, <i><a href="http://shaunaniequist.com/project/bread-wine/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Bread & Wine</a> </i></span></blockquote>
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I've never considered myself to be at home in the kitchen. I'm a rule-follower, I'm afraid of failure, I don't like messes, I have a million other things to do, a million other places I'd rather be. It's never made my heart sing.<br />
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Lately, I'm finding myself surprised by my time in the kitchen. I'm embracing the mess and taking my time and breathing deep and slowing down. I'm realizing the Other Things can wait. I'm finding that it's a great place to connect with my kids, that they love to help. I'm discovering that I am capable of creating things to nourish not just bodies, but hearts as well.
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I'm learning that when I fill others up, it fills me up too. I'm seeing that the kitchen can be a good place to start, a good place to love, a good place to be.<br />
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Lately, I'm beginning to see the sacred value of the table. I'm starting to view it as a sacred place, to understand that the simple act of inviting others in to share a meal creates a safe, sacred space in an uncertain, harried world.<br />
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I took <a href="http://shaunaniequist.com/" target="_blank">Shauna's</a> advice today and invited some friends over. I didn't spend days planning or hours shopping or minutes fretting. I called, I invited, I used what I already had on hand, and we shared a simple meal on a regular old week day night around an ordinary table.<br />
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Pizza casserole, green salad {+goat cheese, pecans, Craisins}, homemade bread maker bread, fresh fruit, fresh squeezed lemonade.<br />
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From someone who is just beginning to embrace the kitchen, I can tell you none of these things were hard. Simple ingredients turned extraordinary because of the nine people, big and little, gathered around the table.<br />
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I love how Shauna writes, near the beginning of her book, that when she first started entertaining she served frozen California Pizza Kitchen pizzas to nearly all her dinner guests. Her advice: start where you are.<br />
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Let's not get hung up on the fancy or the perfect or the <i>just so</i>. Let's do as Shauna suggest and simply <i>come to the table</i>.<br />
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Here's an easy peasey sort of a meal. A staple in the early years of our marriage which is now making a comeback because the kids love it. It's also one of my favorites to bring to a new mom (throw in a salad and some garlic bread) or to stick in the freezer for busier times ahead.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><b>Pizza Casserole</b></span></div>
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12 oz. spaghetti<br />
2 eggs<br />
1/4 C Parmesan cheese + extra for top<br />
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or other ground meat)<br />
1/2 chopped onion<br />
2 jars pizza sauce<br />
1 C mozzarella cheese<br />
pepperoni + other favorite pizza toppings<br />
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<i>Boil noodles; brown beef with onion, salt & pepper. Mix cooked noodles with egg and Parmesan. Layer in a 9x13 pan (or two 8x8's): noodles, meat, sauce, mozzarella cheese, noodles, meat, sauce, pepperoni + pizza toppings, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan.</i><br />
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<i>Put foil on top to keep cheese from getting brown. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Take foil off for last few minutes.</i><br />
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"I want you to stop running from thing to thing to thing, and to sit down at the table, to offer the people you love something humble and nourishing, like soup and bread, like a story, like a hand holding another hand while you pray. We live in a world that values us for how fast we can go, for how much we accomplish, for how much life we can pack into one day. But I'm coming to believe it's in the in-between spaces that our lives change, and that the real beauty lies there." <span style="font-size: small;">--Shauna Niequist, <a href="http://shaunaniequist.com/project/bread-wine/" target="_blank"><i>Bread & Wine</i></a></span></blockquote>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-141301006110592632013-06-17T07:00:00.000-04:002013-06-17T07:14:02.836-04:00rise & shine. {#SurvivingSummer}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Honest to goodness, folks, I do believe we are on to something here, and I can hardly wait to share. I've been holding off a bit, convinced maybe it was just a fluke, but I think it's the real deal. (And as an added endorsement, <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Theresa</a> has been testing it out, and it's been working over at her house as well. So 2 out of 2 mothers recommend it. <i>Heading to the patent office now...</i>)</div>
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Anyway, a bit of background... I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/NurtureShock-New-Thinking-About-Children/dp/0446504130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371132711&sr=8-1&keywords=nurture+shock" target="_blank"><i>Nurture Shock</i> </a>a few weeks ago. Fascinating book. It's a bit like <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-Economist-Explores-Hidden-Everything/dp/0060731338" target="_blank">Freakanomics</a></i> but for parents. One of the chapters that struck me the most dealt with sleep. And while it's nothing new that sleep is important, I think I didn't realize just how important it is, especially for children. </div>
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Most of us know good sleep is essential for us as adults (my favorite health tip: sleep more!), but because of how kids are wired, it's <i>exponentially</i> more important for kids to get ample sleep. {Here's a <a href="http://www.mommymanders.com/2011/10/06/nurtureshock-lessons-on-sleep-the-lost-hour/" target="_blank">great summary</a> of the chapter if you haven't read it already.} </div>
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This idea struck me: "It’s possible that characteristics such as tantrums, moodiness, disengagement, impulsiveness, depression are actually just symptoms of sleep deprivation."</div>
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Huh, this sounded a bit like our house. Towards the end of the school year, we were dealing with a lot of bad attitudes, hysterical crying, endless sibling wars, and rule breaking. Honest to goodness, I was positively dreading summer vacation.</div>
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I was beginning to suspect my kids were a tad bit sleep deprived, but I wasn't sure how to work through this during summer vacation, that time of year when the sun rises early, the days are filled to the brim, and the neighborhood beckons well into the evening hours. After all, summer nights are some of the best parts of being a kid, and I didn't want my big kids to miss out.</div>
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And while I wanted to give them the opportunity to stay up a bit later, especially now that they're getting a bit older, I really didn't want to start my day at 6:30am with tired, cranky kids. I wanted them to relax into a summer routine featuring a more laid back bedtime and a less frenzied morning time. </div>
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And then I had an <i>aha</i> moment.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjvEqeuMj_uq6cdLx5MgB_AOfWAjre1kG1w81A9CNbAydHLo_RxMdfYQgvW3XENv7MT9xDIxXuouFkeC9kMZfv1MTRjAzAUq_56bgTcvvG83NWWB__E_Z66tG7E86O8jt_347NimP_ewe/s1600/2013-06-13+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjvEqeuMj_uq6cdLx5MgB_AOfWAjre1kG1w81A9CNbAydHLo_RxMdfYQgvW3XENv7MT9xDIxXuouFkeC9kMZfv1MTRjAzAUq_56bgTcvvG83NWWB__E_Z66tG7E86O8jt_347NimP_ewe/+002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>New rule, kids:</i> your wake-up time determines your bedtime. </div>
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Based on what's best for my kids at the ages they're at, we are basing our timelines on 11 hours of sleep per night. This might seem like a lot to some, but the <a href="http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children" target="_blank">recommended guidelines</a> for 6-8 year olds fall in the 10-11 hour range. I've also lived with my kids long enough to know that is an ideal range for them. </div>
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So a 6:00am wake-up equals a 7:00pm bedtime. A 7:00am wake-up equals an 8:00pm bedtime. 7:30am = 8:30pm, 8:00am = 9:00pm, and so on. I prorate to the nearest half hour. Dylan and Ella both have clocks in their rooms and are learning to reference them themselves.</div>
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Mady still has bedtime as usual, roughly based on her wake-up time and whether or not she got a nap that day, so I'm guessing this is an elementary school age type program. But I think, no matter our kids' age, it is important for us as parents to make sure we're regulating the little ones' sleep, even if we can't hand over control to them like we can with the big kids; we can certainly get creative.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdDLtk-Qn8SfgI8BhyphenhyphenXUvceBSbXrpCDKO7zjbhhVKAcoXhsuGkjs57nn_QMdmv0Qw5H984IxzqFOvUwIRrdf1n6ciV4Ha8YDpvPkg8MBKbnN17dR4kklkc8mxSsOBvRc_osxSRmrZTMQd/s1600/2013-06-13+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdDLtk-Qn8SfgI8BhyphenhyphenXUvceBSbXrpCDKO7zjbhhVKAcoXhsuGkjs57nn_QMdmv0Qw5H984IxzqFOvUwIRrdf1n6ciV4Ha8YDpvPkg8MBKbnN17dR4kklkc8mxSsOBvRc_osxSRmrZTMQd/+001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A couple reasons why our new rise & shine routine might just be brilliant... I have successfully transferred responsibility to them. I don't get bent out of shape about what time they wake-up in the morning because I know (and they know) it gets reflected in their evening bedtime. They also feel a bit empowered, and in turn, respected (which is huge at the ages they're at) because some control has been handed over to them. It also means Matt and I get a break at some point in the day, whether it's in the early hours or the evening hours. </div>
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I asked Theresa what she's observed so far in her boys, ages 6 & 8 (who it should be noted have started sleeping in until <i>8:30am</i>!?). Her response: "Sleep... it gives my boys permission to sleep in. Instead of viewing it as a bad thing, viewing it as something good. It teaches them to roll over and snuggle in. Life is not a race/rush. It encourages them to relax. They are realizing they aren't missing anything, and it is the beginning of self-love, something they can transfer to adult years... you need sleep at every age."</div>
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So there you have it. It's working. And it's working with very little effort on my part. I thought maybe I'd have to jot down what time the kids woke up in the morning so I'd remember by nighttime, but there is no need. They know, and they remember exactly what time they should be in bed. And in the morning (and through out the day), my kids are pleasant and reasonable and obedient. I am honestly a bit shocked and have to check<i> several </i>times a day to make sure I'm still in the right house.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">{I should add that going hand in hand with our new sleep initiative, we are also being very diligent about clearly stating expectations, follow through, and consequences after a period of time where we had gotten a bit loosey goosey. Basically, we're parenting <i>harder</i>, but I think <i>less often</i> if that makes sense. The added sense of responsibility (and confidence) from our new <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/be-responsible-survivingsummer.html" target="_blank">chore system</a> doesn't hurt either!}</span></div>
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Further evidence (as if you're not already convinced!)...</div>
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The kids sometimes ask to sit all three in the back row of the van. Mostly I say <i>no thank you </i>to that. We can barely get to our 5-minutes-away destination without fighting when we're out of reach of one another. You can only imagine what would happen when we're in finger-poking reach. The other day, because things had been going so well at home, I said yes. And guess what? They chatted and shared and helped and imagined and laughed the entire way to the chiropractor without one squabble. I just about drove off the road in my disbelief.</div>
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And then a few days ago, the girls asked to play Play-Doh, something else I would usually say no to (see what a fun mom I am?!?). But I said yes this time and they played quietly for <i>two hours</i>. It was going so well, I feel asleep on the couch to celebrate. And then they picked it up all by themselves. True. Story.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">(And conversely, we got a bit behind on our sleep over the weekend, and it was a disaster. Much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.)</span></div>
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This is night and day difference, friends, to what we were doing before, in the Land of <i>Not Enough</i> Sleep. We cried hysterically off and on through out the day, picked fights with each other, and used lots of Not Nice words. My hope has been renewed. Summer vacation can actually be FUN, not something just to be survived. When provided with enough sleep, our children are sweet, enjoyable little people, not scary, moody monsters. </div>
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Operation Rise & Shine. It's working for us, I'd love to know if it works for you too!</div>
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Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-86411478377532793902013-06-13T14:24:00.000-04:002013-06-13T14:24:09.438-04:00Celebrating Finley Grace.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We threw <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Theresa</a> a little shower the other night. Nothing big and fancy -- no cute little sandwiches or exploding diaper games or polite conversation -- after all, those are the types of showers you reserve for regular, beautiful, according-to-plan, 9-month-long sort of pregnancy.<br />
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And if you are familiar with <a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com/search/label/adoption" target="_blank">Finley's story</a> at all, you know this has been no ordinary pregnancy. It has been a four+ year long, <i><a href="http://momastery.com/blog/about-glennon/" target="_blank">brutiful</a></i>, roller coaster sort of experience. The good news: it is coming to an end very soon. Steve and Theresa received their second travel call this week (!!!), and they will be traveling back to South Korea to pick up <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/dear-finley-grace.html" target="_blank">Finley Grace</a> at the end of June. Gotcha Day is June 25, and their plane will touch down back home on July 3!<br />
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In light of their adoption story, we decided a slightly non-traditional gathering featuring a big <i>SURPRISE!</i>, appetizers, martinis, and lots of girly (toddler) goods might be more fitting.<br />
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The surprise went off without a hitch. Theresa seemed a little shocked that she had <i>no idea</i>, until I kindly reminded her it's not hard to pull one over on her jet-lagged, <i>Traumatic Adoption Disorder</i>-ed self these days.<br />
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Theresa opened each girly gift with a good mix of terror and excitement, slight confusion and joy, shock and awe. <i>One little girl coming soon to a very boy-filled home near you! </i>Theresa is the last of this group of friends to have a baby girl, so we all had fun picking out those must-haves (and the frivolous stuff too!)<br />
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And in traditional girls' night style, we solved a few of life's pressing issues, such as which side of your face is your "good" side. (<i>Real Simple</i> says to cover half you face, look in the mirror, and then cover the other side. Whichever side has more upturned features is your "good" side, and thus, the side you want to angle towards the camera. You're welcome.)<br />
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One of the last items on the adoption check-list is now complete. Celebrating Finley Grace. Check, check. <b>We are so excited to meet you, Finley Girl! <i>Come home soon!</i></b><br />
<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8950706301637297459.post-20069920863234424192013-06-10T12:23:00.000-04:002013-06-10T12:23:25.768-04:00be responsible. {#SurvivingSummer}As I mentioned in <a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/just-leave-survivingsummer.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>, once upon a time I was surrounded by helpless babies and semi-helpless toddlers. And then one day I realized I was surrounded by<i> fully capable </i>children! But, alas, they were still fairly helpless because we had yet to show them ways to be helpful or teach them how to be responsible or explain to them what it meant to pull their weight.<br />
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First up on my summer reading list is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-House-Twelve-Month-Experiment-Entitlement/dp/0307730670" target="_blank">Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement</a></i>. Because I'm too lazy to write my own summary right now, here's a snippet from the back cover:<br />
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"Dismayed at the attitude of entitlement that had crept into her home, Kay Wyma got some attitude of her own. <i>Cleaning House</i> is her account of a year-long campaign to introduce her five kids to basic life skills and the ways meaningful work can increase earned self-confident and concern for others."</blockquote>
Now the author has older kids than we do, so she's playing some catch-up while we're just getting started. I like to think we have some basic sense of order around here, but truthfully I still make the kids' beds each morning, Dylan has no real incentive to get the toothpaste down the drain, Ella has never been taught how to properly set a table, and I feel like I'm constantly fighting a never-ending battle to restore order to the ol' homestead.<br />
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We tried using <a href="http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2012/05/chores-pinteresting-wednesday.html" target="_blank">chore punch cards </a>and those worked pretty well for the "extras" the kids would sometimes do to earn a little extra cash, but we had no real way to keep up with their every day responsibilities. I figure summer is a good time to establish a new system. We have more time to learn, and really, it's vital in order for us to not just survive, but to<i> thrive,</i> this summer for everyone to pitch in a bit more around the house.<br />
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Enter the laminated chore charts. <a href="http://pinterest.com/kterpstra/be-responsible/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> is teaming with free chore chart printables, and I picked these ones from <a href="http://sewcraftcreate.com/2012/03/free-chore-chart-download/">sew.craft.create.</a> because they were cute and simple. I hit print three times, drove to Staples, and paid $1.79 a piece to have them laminated. They are stuck to the side of our kitchen pantry, and I filled in age-appropriate (and for the most part, daily) chores for each kiddo.<br />
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The big kids need to make their beds, put away their laundry, and keep their rooms picked up. Dylan is also on living room patrol and in charge of wiping down the kids' bathroom when he needs it. (I'm crossing my fingers that he'll make the connection between bad aim and more work.) Ella's extra tasks are setting the table and keeping the basement picked up (otherwise known as the place where the Barbies, Calico Critters, and everything else with Many, Many, Very Small Pieces live).<br />
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Mady's list is smaller - she's learning to put her dirty clothes in the hamper, keep her room picked up, and put pillows back on the couch when she sees them on the floor. (Pillows on the floor drive me batty, and I am not above meeting my own personal needs under the guise of teaching responsibility).<br />
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Reading is also listed on each kiddo's chart -- it's not really a "chore" but this seems like an easy place to make sure we're staying on top of it during the summer months (more ideas on this coming later). We can easily switch out tasks each week as the kids master certain ones and/or rotate some of the bigger jobs between the kids. And I'm going to make sure that I take the time to actually teach them how to complete the tasks successfully. Their future roommates and spouses will thank me later.<br />
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We presented the new system and honestly, they were excited. In the <i>Cleaning House</i> book, the author talks a lot about the connection between responsibility and self-confidence, and I think they're excited to feel like they're a real part of "grown-up" things. Also, I think they are really, really smitten with anything dry erase right now.<br />
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And now you might be wondering what they pay-out is here, the incentive, the reward (this is still America, right?!). Here's the kicker: there isn't one. Well, not a tangible, monetary one anyway.<br />
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Matt and I talked about it, and we think it's good for the kids to learn basic responsibilities around the house because work is a part of life and working together is a part of being a family. We hope to occasionally, every few weeks or so, casually say something like, "Oh my! Because we've all been doing such a great job taking care of the house, we have some extra time and energy... Hey, I know! Let's go out for ice cream!" <i>Or something like that. </i>But mostly, we want them to realize that when they act responsible and work hard, they feel <i>good</i> about themselves. End of story.<br />
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Experiment #2: BE RESPONSIBLE. Currently in progress. But off to a rockin' and a rollin' sort of start.<br />
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<br />Katie @ the terpbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18089790478200304899noreply@blogger.com8