What does Earth Day mean to you?

Kinsey caught this shot at Lettuce Lake...check out the shadow...so cool!


Don't you just love the way the vine represents renewal as it twists along the trunk of this clearly fire-damaged palm? Nature is incredible.


We were shocked to see the Roseate Spoonbills. They are hard to spot and you should consider yourself lucky if you actually have the opportunity to see them in the wild. This poor guy has suffered some sort of injury...such incredible birds!


Butterflies are so magical and delicate. Planting butterfly friendly plants is now on my "to-do" list. Kinsey just loves them and insisted I take this pic.


Putting just the right words to my feelings about our spectacular Earth and all of it's magnificence is a near impossiblity. So, I won't even try. I will let the pictures speak for me. Thanks, Momma Earth. Love Ya!

Proud Momma Moments...More to Come!

A few mommy moments from the past week that filled my eyes with proud tears...Kinsey's induction into the National Junior Honor Society and Alissa's first prom.

On Traveling...

I love traveling.
Really, really love it.
Each year we take the obligatory trip or two home to Michigan. And I truly, truly savor every minute spent there...especially the summers in Harbor Springs.
But, somehow, that's not traveling in the truest sense of the word. I've been there before. I know the area inside and out. And while revisiting those tried and true places of my past, present and future is always incredible, relaxing and inspiring...I love to find and explore new destinations.
I love the palpable anticipation I feel while touring around someplace new with my camera slung around my neck...daydreaming about what it would be like to live, work or raise my family there instead of where we chose to make a home. I love the sensation of discovering there is a very different world outside of my own backyard. I find these experiences leave me feeling hopeful and grateful for being able to experience someplace brand new.
But, given my role as a busy mom of two extremely busy young women, the wife of a thrifty husband who is always contemplating our financial future and my own restrictions as a full-time teacher...traveling to new, exotic locales is often just beyond my reach.
But, sometimes, for just a brief period of time everything just falls into place. Great friends, awe-inspiring landmarks and exceptional cherry blossoms made our travel to our nation's capitol early this April an umistakable delight.

"The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see." ~G.K. Chesterton
See for yourself.

I get it now.

While growing up I didn't understand it very much. Those Sunday afternoons when my father would demand we go for a drive...together. I would often sulk in the back seat...frustrated that I wasn't able to join my friends in whatever adventures were planned that day. But once we arrived at our destination...I always enjoyed myself. In fact, those memories of my Michigan years, when we were still a family of three, are truly little treasures I keep locked in my heart. I get it now.




Now that I am grown with daughters of my own, we have our own Sunday afternoons when Steven and I insist that we spend time...together. The girls frequently pout in the back seat...disgusted that they aren't able to join their buddies in whatever plans were made for the afternoon. But once we have landed at our destination...we always have a blast! These memories of our Florida years with our little family of four are so precious to me. Someday, I am certain, they will get it too.