dirt roads and screen doors.

Listening To: With Gratitude by Nicole Nordeman
My Christmas Pinterest board: features Ryan Gosling and hot cocoa from a crockpot. What else is there, really? 

Hey beauties and beastlies! It's nearly 10PM here in the hills, and I just filled up a gigantic mug of coffee. COFFEE. Which means that, in a few hours, I'm going to be all jittery and crazy and saying things that make no sense. A typical night, basically.

I'm hoping the jitters will help me pack because, as usual, I'm headed to The Farm tomorrow morning for Turkeypalooza. And, as usual, I haven't packed a darn thing.

The path through the woods on the farm.
I love to wander and wonder here.

I almost always find something exciting to blog about on the farm. Typically, I also offer up lots of commentary on the guineas. In case you aren't familiar with farm birds, guineas look like turkey-chicken-duck hybrids with mohawks. The eat ticks. They creep me out. I'm convinced they're plotting to take over.

Walking beside the lake, early in the AM.

Fact: I'm an animal lover. But I can muster up no fondness for the guineas. Last time I was there, I had a fleeting moment of something almost resembling sympathy for them. I only saw one guinea lurking around the farm all by himself, and, despite my better efforts ... it did make me sad. I was afraid the other guinea had retired to the big farm in the sky, etc. However. My bro-in-law told me that the other guinea was totally fine. He said that the guinea was, in fact, presently camped in front of the chicken coop, presumably because he was smitten with one of the chickens. Every friendship goes through that, you know? Somebody falls in love and, in the throws of crushy-bliss, friendships are abandoned. The chicken-fling didn't work out for long, because the guineas are a duo again. Bro-Code back in tact.

I joke about the birds, but I really do love farm time. My heart is aching to be there. I'm craving red dirt roads and slamming screen doors. And the people, most of all. Always.

It's a little bit too gorgeous, isn't it? 

If I tried to make a list of thankfuls, I would be typing for forever. I'm so grateful for my life, for the length and the width of it. I think writing about what you're thankful for is a difficult task. On one hand, of course, you want to write about the good stuff, the best stuff, the parts of life that take your breath away and make your heart feel like fireworks. But I think it's also easy to write up a grateful list that makes life seem ... conveniently edited? Does that make sense? I think we all have dark days (and dark years...) that squash our hearts totally flat. And when you're feeling a little bit broken, and a little bit defeated, it's easy to look around and think that everybody else's edited life is all red roses and double-stuff Oreos. 

That said, there are a few areas of my life in particular that I've been thinking about a lot lately, that I've crazy-thankful for. I'll try not to get too fluffy. 

I'm thankful for my work. I've got a lot of writing-work to do this Thanksgiving, and I'm thrilled over it. I can't believe I get to pour so much of my heart into words and stories and articles. I love to write, and I would keep writing even if the words never ended up anywhere but in my journal. But I'm so grateful that I get to share some of my writing with you. That aspect of writing - the sharing part - is so scary but so wonderful, too. I'm baffled that anybody would want to read what comes out of my imagination. Baffled, but grateful. I'm baffarateful. ;) I can't wait to share some of this new stuff with you. Thanks for reading along. Thanks for geeking out over words with me.


I'm so thankful for my wackadoodle family (a group that includes my BFF's and my dog) that I can't talk about them for long without getting a little teary. They're funny and they're loud and they make me laugh until my face hurts. Because of my family, I've never, not once, had to wonder if anybody loves me. Of course, I've encountered people who made me feel like a troll. And I've been rejected. But I know my family loves me. I realize that's a rare gift, and I don't want to take for granted. I love them back, so much. Unfortunately for them, I am crazy-affectionate so I frequently tackle hug them or scream I LOVE YOU!!! at random. Like, while we're walking through a parking lot. Or sitting in traffic. We're a mess, in a good way. I'm grateful for every second I get to spend with them.

(For some reason, I don't have any pictures with my parents or my sister on this computer. But I promise they all exist! ;)

And, most of all, more than anything else, I'm grateful to God for the gift of His Son. Grace is the gift I'll never get over, thank goodness, and that I never want to get over. I just want to wrap up in it, and live as bravely as I can.

I'll stop rambling now. I mostly just wanted to fire up the blog long enough to say happy, happy Thanksgiving to you sweet people. Thanks for being so funny, authentic, and real. Biscuit and I agree that you're the coolest (and the most adorable!) bunch ever. I hope your Turkeypalooza is whimsical, sparkly, full of pie, and full of people you love.

Conversation for the Comments: Do you cook anything on Thanksgiving? Or do you just show up and eat? Sometimes, I bake a cake or buy a pie from Cracker Barrel and pretend I made it. But mostly, my mom and my sister prefer that I just hang out in the kitchen and talk. Because if I'm only talking, and not cooking, that means we might not have to break out the fire extinguisher. (I consider putting out kitchen fires a holiday tradition, but some people are stuffy about it.) Do you have a favorite dish to make? Or eat? If you need some ideas for what to bring to the party this year, I recommend this. I'M SO KIDDING. I do not recommend that; it looks highly disgusting. But I couldn't resist sharing it with you. ;)