The election cycle has left me reeling. This summer for national reasons, but this week for a local election. Despite the support of the Rally Mantis, Ivy lost her student council bid. The Rally Mantis has a special place in Ivy’s heart. While at the lake in Oklahoma we found a baby praying mantis. Then the Royals […]

Read more "How to Rally"

This past Sunday I mentioned a children’s book It came in the Mail. It celebrates the arrival of the mail and the trauma of finding an empty mail box – Darcy and I always check the mail after reading it. But the story begins when the little boy is hit with an idea, the light bulb bouncing off his […]

Read more "hit with an idea"

I am again preparing to travel to Grand Goave, Haiti. It is a beautiful island country, but it is also broken. It feels as though the country has yet to recover from the 2010 earthquake, but in reality they have recovered to their former poverty. The corruption and dysfunctional infrastructure continue, and Haiti remains the […]

Read more "Haiti 2016"

The breaking point occurred at Lowe’s. I had repaired a small part of our wood floor and needed to seal it. I did not want to stain and seal; our floors are the basic amber color. I looked online and found what I needed. Foolishly, I had not checked the “in store” option, so when […]

Read more "Break Down"

“Veggies give wedgies”… “Soy is Joy”… “Rice is Nice”… Around the circle we went. Open the bag, add the vitamins, then a child poured dried vegetables into the funnel, ground soy and rice followed. With each child’s contribution we called out a rhyme. It took awhile to rhyme vegetables and we tried different variations. “Rice brings lice” started […]

Read more "Hunger"