flowers against the brown

Days 3 & 4: Beauty Reigns

Tucked away in Comas, Peru, are glimpses of divine beauty. In a city where the average rainfall is less than one inch a year, color should be hard to find. Indeed, the mountains loom large and blanket the city with a brown, grey dust. Yet, like flowers ...

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Day 2: Worth It?

It was 6:30. My session on "How to Know When You're Mistreating Your Children and How to Stop" was about to start. I had passed the classrooms of my teammates, packed with a crowd of eager faces, and walked excitedly to see the crowd that was certainly ...

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Day 1: A Funny Thing Happened on my Way to Peru

Ever been on a 9-hour roller coaster ride? I don't recommend it. Climb, dip, bump, jump. Swerve, curve, there's a lurch. Only this roller coaster is miles high and flying 500 miles an hour, headed for Peru where I am to teach at a women's conference. ...

Justin with Training Wheels

Risks Worth Taking

It goes without saying that risks are risky.  With them comes the opportunity to fail- and to fall. For a 4-year old, riding a bike without training wheels is very risky.  He could fall and scrape a knee or an elbow, bleed, and need lots of band aids (or ...

Hurricane Ike pelts determined runners

Marathon Mystery

There are many marathon stories swirling around BlogLand these days with the recent events in Boston. Some stories tragic, others victorious, others angst-ridden, and all against the backdrop of a 26.2 mile fight to the finish. This story is a bit differ ...

condo on fire

It Only Takes a Spark

I was having a hard time finding things to be thankful for in the midst of my crazy-busy, running-ragged-from-one-thing-to-the-next-with-kids-in-tow day in May, 2012. And it didn't help that I had gotten a speeding ticket. My then 3-year old added insult ...

empty tomb

Surprise!

I hide in the hallway, my heart beating fervently with eager anticipation.   One woman announces, “She’s here!” A few dozen people scurry to their hiding places in the living room.  We hear the door open, shut.  And then my best buddy from college walks i ...

digging for snakes

Snake Smoothies

Recently, my 3-year old told his preschool teacher I make him smoothies for breakfast.  She asked, "What kind of smoothies?" He replied, "Snake and banana." Her eyes widened, thinking she couldn't possibly have heard what she thought she just heard.  "D ...