Of the three of us ladies at Rhubarb and Rubbish, I am the only one that is an empty nester. The three kids are all in their early 20s but doing various different things from living in another community, raising their own children, and buying houses. All three are busy working and living, while I am still busy working and living. As you can imagine, connecting regularly presents challenges. For my son, who lives in town, I am usually guaranteed to see him once a week at our Friday night family suppers with my parents and sister and her family who live in town. Friday night suppers were started a…

Last week I told you a story of a regular life activity that created memories for me as a child and the importance of just remembering to be with each other in the Chasing Headless Chickens post. This week, I’m going to address intentional memory making. Every day is an opportunity to intentionally make memories, but some days and events call for a little more intention. As I am writing this, I am reflecting on this past weekend. My entire family, minus a couple of people who had to work, traveled between two and two and half hours to where my daughter lives to watch her performance in The Adams…

Imagine with me a moment—the summer heat rising off the gravel roads, bright blue cloudless skies, green and gold fields for miles around, a white farmhouse and barn with a variety of tractors and farm equipment haphazardly lining the drive. Now…add in the sound of dying chickens and the screams of a couple of kids about 5 and 7. Ha, gotcha! I know you were thinking of iced tea and a porch swing while eating Grandma’s fresh-baked rhubarb crisp! But, that isn’t in this story. When my oldest sister and I were small kids, my parents would go to my paternal grandparent’s farm and butcher chickens. They butchered enough chickens…

For most of us, summer brings the opportunity to get in the car and take a trip or two. Whether it is a long-distance trek or a few days here and there, traveling interrupts our routines. Most of the time that is a wanted and much-needed interruption. However, interrupting our devotional and church-going routine is a different matter entirely. Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I feel from your presence?” Great news! God is a fabulous traveler and goes wherever we go and whenever we go. Our only job is to remain intentional about worshipping, praising, and being in communication with God. How…

This month our theme has been Simplicity in the Sun but we don’t want to forget the magic of the night! Camping is an amazing time to spend with family enjoying the outdoors. There is time for exploration and relaxation. A person can spend time fishing, hiking and so much more. The setting sun brings the sound of a crackling fire and ooey, gooey smores. The stars twinkle and we occasionally have the magic of a lighting bug to see. However, we most often now think of camping in an RV travel trailer that costs as much as a small house. It comes with all the bells and whistles and…

It’s summertime and what a fun way to celebrate summer other than with a picnic. If you have kids, picnics are always fun. For kids, picnics can be simple. It can be as simple as juice, fruit, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It is the time that we give our children during these picnics that they enjoy the most.   We have a great tree in our yard where my girls and I have laid out a blanket and enjoyed a picnic but there are also other great spots for these kid-styled picnics as well. My girls and I have also had picnics on our trampoline. If you have a…

It’s post-Fourth of July, and you know what that means…the rest of summer is going to slip through our fingers unless we choose to savor it. If you are like me, I’m already anticipating fall’s busyness and missing my husband as he works long hours running his concrete business. Long, relaxing summer trips are not in the realm of possibilities for us. However, I’ve been thinking about ways that we can get away, even if just for a Sunday afternoon or a quick weekend trip. I really wish my memory was better so I could give credit where credit is due on this post. The idea for this came from…

July 4th or Independence Day, as it is known, is a huge celebration for many. For a lot of us, we choose to celebrate with family get-togethers, parades, food, and fireworks.  There is a reason behind this holiday and why we celebrate.  On July 2nd, 1776 continental congress voted for independence from Great Britain. It was two days later on July 4th that delegates from 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. However, the Declaration of Independence was not actually signed until August 2, 1776. The day did not become a federal holiday until 1941. Here is an interesting fact as to how fireworks became an important…