And then, there were ten

As I mentioned in a previous post, my family recently moved into a new house, and many exciting opportunities came with the transition… like hatching baby chicks. It was so wonderful to experience, and it has been so neat to watch them grow. We did not expect them all to hatch, so it was a great surprise to end up with ten!

It has been quite an eventful past couple of weeks, and many big projects are underway as we prepare the chicken coop and construct a fence for the goats that we will be getting as well… Overall, it has been a nice change of pace, and this new lifestyle is very fitting for us. My siblings are still so young, and living out here allows their curiosity to run wild in the great outdoors. I am going to make the most of every moment that I have here and cherish every memory… I love my family, and I love this place. Thanks, mom and dad.

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The Greatest Gift

Wishing all of my dear readers a very Merry Christmas! I hope that you all have a healthy and happy holiday season filled with many great memories.

It was a white Christmas this morning, and the view made me so grateful for the gift of this day. Things were quite different this year, and I certainly have a new appreciation for my life as well as the people in it. Though I am so thankful for all the presents I received, the well being of loved ones is the greatest gift of all, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I wish the same for you, and hope you have a blessed day. Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

A Novel

Writing.

Isn’t it amazing how simple words on a page can transport you to another place in time… how colorless sentences fuse together to create a world so vivid right before your eyes? Page after page, the imagination runs free and pulls you into a new reality.

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This summer, I have spent my free time indulging in lots of great books… Some of you may know that I have been wanting to write my own novel for awhile. I had an idea spark about two years ago that I never revisited, but I remembered it recently as I was trying to fall asleep one night. This time, an entire scene flashed through my mind, so I quickly grabbed a pen and recorded as many details as I could in a small journal. Ideas continued to flow ever since, and they have inspired me to finally begin plotting. It will be years, of course, before its publication, and I know that I wont have much time once school starts back up. No matter when or if this book is ever released, I really hope see my own novel on a shelf someday somewhere…

Do you have any advice? Have you published or aspire to publish a book some day too? I would love to hear from you, and thanks for reading!

4th of July, 2020

Hola,

I hope you guys had a fantastic 4th of July!

The Fourth is my family’s biggest celebration, and we typically host a huge party with friends and neighbors. This year was quite different, however, but we still had a great time! Although the pandemic took away our party, it did not take away our annual firework show… Every year, neighbors contribute to a massive firework pile that never fails to blow me away (literally).

There is something special about that burst of color against the night sky, and I look forward to it every single year. As firecrackers, sparklers, and fireworks filled the night, all of my worries kind of faded away, and I was able to truly live in the moment. I especially needed that this year, so it was awesome! How did you celebrate?

Happy Independence Day 2020!

trapped thoughts

Wow, it’s been quite awhile since I actually sat down to write. To be honest, it was difficult for me to find the words to say with everything going on, and my creativity was almost non existent as I became stuck in what felt like an endless time-loop. Life was (and still is) like reliving the exact same day over-and-over again… I wake up staring at the same wall wondering how I am going to spend yet another twenty-four hours in quarantine. Whenever I would try to write, my thoughts would remain trapped, and the only thing that I could do was stare at a blank screen and blinking cursor until finally deciding to walk away. Inspiration faded, and writer’s block had inevitably taken over.

Instead of fighting it, I decided to accept it and step away for awhile. I did not want my passion for writing to diminish completely by forcing words down, so I waited. And waited. Until eventually, they began flowing again…

I have not forgotten about you guys, and I am going to try to become more active on this space. I love writing, and I am looking forward to many more posts to come. I hope that you are all doing well, and I would love to hear from you in the comments! It has been so long!

Has anything new or exciting happened recently? What have you been up to? Has quarantine been giving you writer’s block as well? How do you cope with it? Thanks for reading!

Baby Boy!

It was a very exciting weekend for my family as this little guy entered the world, and I honestly teared up as I held him for the first time. My new baby brother is so precious, and God has truly blessed my family. I am looking forward to all of the wonderful memories that we will share, and I am so lucky to be his big sister… My heart is so full.

Welcome to the world, sweet Cole!

Being present

Quarantine isn’t all bad.

I think most people can agree that quarantine isn’t necessarily fun, and no one wants to be trapped inside for weeks. However, this process of slowing down has highlighted how chaotic our daily lives truly are. We are so use to rushing around all the time that we have become blinded by the constant distraction, and it has showed us how much we habitually go through the motions every single day. Honestly, I have been thinking about the past few years of my own life, and I realized how absent I have been in my family. I guess I never fully understood the impact that my busy schedule had on my life at home, and I started to see how much I have been missing. There were many nights that I wouldn’t be home for dinner, and I certainly didn’t have time to garden, bake, play family games, or take a walk with my sister like I do now. My mind was just so cluttered, and I often let my “seriousness” interfere with my true happiness. The past few weeks have taught me the importance of being present… Although my busy schedule will eventually resume, I am going to be more mindful about how I spend my time and always be sure to set some aside for those who matter most. I love you mom and dad! Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all doing well. What is something quarantine has taught you?

Easter 2020!

I hope that you all had a blessed Easter 2020! Although this year was quite different than others, my family still celebrated the resurrection of our Savior, and we had a great day despite the circumstances. I have to admit that quarantine definitely intensified my sweet tooth, and I have been trying to control my chocolate intake all day… Can anyone else relate?

Also, I am sending prayers to those who were impacted by the storms last night and especially for those who lost their homes or loved ones. May they be comforted and regain strength during these difficult times.

Lastly, my new sibling will arrive in two weeks, and I am getting very excited to meet the newest addition of my family. I hope that you all have a fantastic week, and thanks for reading! Until next time.

Christmas Adventure

Hello again. I know it is a little late, but I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas! I spent my week visiting with family almost twelve hours from home, so it was really special because we don’t get to see them very often. I am also thankful that I was able to be there to celebrate three big birthdays this year! This was actually the first winter that we have ever traveled to that part of the country, and the weather couldn’t have been any better. Though it was much colder than it was back home, it didn’t approach the sub-zero temperatures that we were expecting. Everyone kept telling us that it was unseasonably mild, so we were lucky that we could actually enjoy ourselves at this time of the year.

I also ate one of the biggest sandwiches that I have ever had at Primanti Bros. It was delicious, but it was ginormous; I have no idea how I was able to fit it into my mouth. I think my favorite part of the trip has to be snow-tubing with my cousins because I loved the adrenaline rush of racing down those tall, icy slopes. From snowman building to ordering a table-for-twenty dinner, we all had a really great time, and we certainly filled this Christmas with many memories.

Have you traveled anywhere recently? How was your holiday? I am super behind on the Reader, but I will try to catch up to some of your posts within the next few days. Thanks for reading!

Exploring Cherokee, NC

I spent my long weekend in the mountains of North Carolina where I embraced the peaceful solitude and experienced the traditional artwork and culture of the great Cherokee Indians. It was nice to leave all the stress behind so that I could recharge to tackle another crazy month. I will admit that the lack of phone service during the trip was a struggle for me, but the beautiful weather, scenery, and memories definitely made the trip worthwhile. I especially loved exploring the cultural district of Cherokee where I watched some of the native dances and admired all of the amazing artwork. Hand painted bear statues decorated the town, and the detailing of this one in particular caught my eye. It was also fun to peek inside the small shops and see all of the beautifully handcrafted jewelry, baskets, and pottery.

Hiking up Mingo Falls was another highlight of the trip. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the waterfall to be as big as it was, so I was really surprised when I saw the view. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I am so glad that I was able to see it.

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I hope that you all had a Happy Labor Day! I have lots of exciting content that will be released very soon, so I hope that you stick around. Also, Nutcracker casting came out last week, so I will reveal that very shortly as well. Have a wonderful week, and thanks for reading!

How did you spend your holiday weekend? Have you ever visited Cherokee, NC? Do you enjoy the mountains? Are there any special post requests?