Lets write a book!

Hello ladies!
As you may have noticed on Facebook, I'm working on a collection of stories from a woman's perspective about her challenging teen years. If this is new information, please go read my status, I'll hang tight for a minute. https://www.facebook.com/bailey.anne2

I'd love your support on this. Here are some insider details:

"I’m publishing a book. It will include insight from a number of women as they gaze back at their difficulties as a teenager and how they overcame it all. Your identity as a contributor can be as public or private as you’d like. Some women need to share under an alias, and that is fine. Know that I’ll honor our friendship by keeping it confidential. Also, I’m flexible with the deadline. Take enough time to write your story the way you want it to be read. It’s important that it’s truthful and authentic. I’ll keep you updated with deadlines, but they haven’t even been established yet, so no pressure.
I really appreciate your efforts in inspiring moms as they walk their daughters through this difficult process of becoming young adults. I’ll let you know when the book goes to print. Also, in exchange for your story, I’ll be offering you a free copy, hot off the press! Thanks for making this a reality!"

That's the message that any inquiring minds would receive. In addition to impacting the world and changing lives... publishing this piece will help me become more marketable as a speaker, 'cause my competition, they got books. So... who's in? Facebook me!

Happy Birthday Brianna!

Happy Birthday Brianna, We wish you all the Best!

Congratulations

Becca graduated from ECU,
Congratulations!

OK, so here's the deal.  I am thinking about getting a tattoo, but I am not sure what I want.  It will be small, and not religious.  It should not be trendy and I have ruled out sports teams because they move, and if they move, I will go from loving them to hating them.  I am taking suggestions, and the one I am leaning toward right now, is the sign of the Deathly Hallows.  (see below) that is the one to beat

Nobody likes a Smokahontas

Here's a video of our family camping trip. Britt, Ludwig, Bryce and Brandon- you guys were missed!

Best seats ever!

Jaycee and I went to the Hockey game on Saturday, we had the best seats ever.  Club level, had our own tables and little monitors embedded in the tables.  Thanks Bryce

Thoughts on Camping


There is something about staring into a campfire that calms the human soul. For ten thousand years the flames consumed our fuel and in exchange provided us with warmth, light and safety. The camp fire has been our constant companion, as we hunted our food, fought our wars, and explored our world. We have learned to feel comfortable and safe in its presents. For many of us, there is something in our DNA that can’t help examining our lives while watching the flames. Sharing a campfire can bring people closer than sharing a meal.

When I am spending the last hours of my day sitting next to the cooling embers, it becomes easier to think of home and family and where my life is going, and harder to think of work, smartphones and computers that need fixing. I have wondered what the difference is between civilized and uncivilized. It is an arbitrary term to be sure, but it seems to me that we start calling cultures civilized when they begin to build with permanence in mind. When they stop building with sticks and mud and begin building with Steele and cement. When structures are built to last longer than the people who built them. If that is true, then camping gives us a chance to leave civilization behind, and be deliberately uncivilized. We setup structures that will only stand for a week, or a weekend. We leave behind our hectic schedules and slow down to the match the natural rhythms of our world. To sleep when it is dark and wake with the sun. In our regular lives we eat when it is time to eat, and sleep when it is time to sleep. In our camp sites we eat when we are hungry and sleep when we are sleepy. Life slows to its natural pace.

One thing I have never understood is why the food tastes so good. Weather it is an ear of corn wrapped in tinfoil and roasted in the coals, or a hotdog seared on a stick, the simplest food cooked on a campfire taste better than the most expensive meal at fine restaurant.

We will come home with bug bites, and blisters, and maybe some sunburn to boot, sore muscles and splinters and covered in dirt, but rejuvenated, and restored in a way few other activities can provide for us.

Someone once said, “Camping teaches resilience. It builds courage. It teaches us about our strengths and weaknesses” and this has always been my experience.

Can’t wait to see you guys there.