(Update:   I have 30 testers– thanks so much, everyone!!) I am neck-deep in writing and recipe testing for my next book, a frugal cook book whose goal is to help families shave hundreds off their grocery bill each month.  It is on the fast track to be released by Oxmoor House in August of...
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“Mom, this is why I really don’t want to live in the wild.   There are mooses out there and they MAY get in the house.”
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…so instead of a real post, like with actual words, I will share this pix of my hubby.  Doesn’t he look cute in the beard he grew while I was in the Dominican Republic?  He teases me that he grew it to prove how long I’d been gone.  (The guilt– it is like a...
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This evening I was sitting on the living room floor facebook-chatting with my 18 year old daughter while my hubby read a chapter of Narnia to the kids. Partway through the story, my three year old felt the siren call of sleep and came to snuggle against me. I love that she still thinks...
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I’ve written lots about the children in the Dominican Republic who stole bits of my heart. But I haven’t adequately explained my feelings for the people I traveled with. (Warning: Mush ahead). I had vague impressions about several of the people before I left home. I felt like I was already friends with Shaun-...
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My friend living in Taiwan blogged recently about the gecko living in their house.  She is low key about its presence in her house.  In the Dominican Republic when I spotted lizards basking in the sun on rock walls, I thought of her pet gecko, and was glad that the Dominican lizards were comfortably...
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Isaiah 61:1-3 On Friday on the way back home from the Dominican Republic, I spent a lot of time with my daughter’s iPod. Found a few songs that I don’t think I’ve heard before, including one by Point of Grace called “Heal the Wound”. The words spoke to my sore heart. A heart hurting...
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One of the things that I feared as I prepared for this Compassion trip is that my previous exposure to poverty in Ethiopia would make me feel less for the children in the Dominican Republic. I was afraid I would be jaded. If you’ve seen one tin shack, you’ve seen them all, right? I...
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In four days of Spanish class, otherwise known as the Compassion blog trip, I’ve managed to learn a few key phrases. I can ask children their names and ages. I can say, “How are you?” and “Which sport do you like?” I can say hello, goodbye, beautiful, and smile. If someone asks if I...
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Another view of the outside of Mari’s House ————– Mariolvis: “When I started college, I was very afraid. I didn’t know if I could do the work. But I have been here three years and I have gotten three medals .” The University of Santa Domingo, where Mariolvis now attends school. ————–...
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