This is a story I wrote this past winter, but never got around to posting here on my site – if you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll read about my current project (or at least a hint of it) and all that is swirling in my world. Drop me a note and let me know…
Whoo Boy! 2026 has been a difficult year, and it’s only the beginning of February. I haven’t written much due to caregiving for loved ones and attending funerals. What a way to start the year! I spoke to about 80 Snowbirds in Gulf Shores, AL, who were visiting the area for our “warm” winters. It was…
It isn’t a lack of words that makes this story difficult to tell. Instead, it’s because there is so much to tell, it’s hard to know where to begin. Karl and Erika Pellinat’s love story is an example of God’s beautiful timing, and yet it began with the horrors of war. Captured by the Russian…
A friend recently asked several women to contribute a few words of wisdom to a book she’s creating for her teenage daughter’s birthday. Isn’t that a wonderful idea? She’s one of the best mothers I know. I was honored to be included, and thought about what I wish someone had told me at that age,…
Click the link in the blue header above to join behind the scenes newsletters – only every now and then. Not enough to be put on the naughty list! Can we please agree to put an end to the overly dramatic, overdone game of Dirty Santa? Years, maybe even decades ago, my large extended family…
A version of this story can be found in my book, Exploding Hushpuppies— More Stories from Home. My brother and I were settled deep into the orange shag carpet watching The Brady Bunch, when we heard an enormous crash. My mother, who had fortunately stepped into the garage for a moment, thought an airplane had…
From 2016 – which was a very sparkly year. New photos from 2025 Hope Blooms Christmas Home Tour, Fairhope, Alabama You know her well. There’s at least one in each family and several in each neighborhood . . . the ultimate Southern Christmas Queen. Not content with only one measly Christmas tree, she’s been washed…
I’ve been writing a lot this year about community connections, and I have to say that the Whos Down in Whoville got it right. There’s a small detail you may not have noticed, yet right there in the cartoon is something quite beautiful. When the citizens of Whoville gather to sing they are holding hands…
One minute after Halloween is over I start thinking about the holiday I truly love . . . Thanksgiving. No stress, no hassles, just a great meal with family and friends, all tied together with a thankful heart. At least that’s the way I thought of Thanksgiving until about six years ago when I got…