Soul Carving

       I've been uploading old photos, trying to get everything in one spot. We've been using some form of digital camera for 10 years now, so it's been quite the walk down memory lane. The first snapshots were taken back when we only had two kids - two kids!! Oh, the ease of those days. I have now become that middle-aged mother whom 12-year-old Bethany used to babysit for. The one whose framed wedding pictures I would examine with a gasp, marveling at how different the couple now looked! Now, 34-year-old Bethany is examining photos of her family from 10 years ago, and I've recognized something that needs to change.         I'm pouring over baby photos of my now 11-year old, and clutching my heart at how agonizingly adorable he and his big sister were back then. I'm awestruck at how quickly they have grown and at the thousands of changes we've all experienced in a 10 year period. I look at pictures of a younger and, sometimes dishev...

  "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson I am a contradiction. Spontaneous and thoughtful. Energetic, yet reserved. Dreamy, though realistic. Bubbly, but at the same time, grounded. I'm sure most of you have felt the same way at times. It makes for some interesting inner dialogue. And it's not about good vs. evil - I'm not referring to the light and dark in each of us. Just the simple quirks of personality which make our lives interesting, though sometimes irritating. You see, I'm not philosiphizing over moral issues so much as attempting to choose the best of the many good things that are at my fingertips. In this information age, the vast opportunities we have can be both a blessing and a curse. Friday is open. Should I take the kids to that new indoor playground to let them release some of that pent-up winter energy? Or maybe we could spend the day inside building a pillow fort? Oh...