While I wish I could say I’ve been traveling to some of the amazing places Carmen Sandiego used to frequent all over the world, my adventures over the last few months have been far less geographic, in nature, and much more organic.

Adventure seems to be the common denominator in my life these days, and in all truth, for several years now. Being the thrill-seeker I am, I wish I could say I’ve been sky diving over Hawaii, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, swimming with dolphins in Key West, and rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. But, to share those tales would simply be the start of my first fiction novel. My life adventures have been nothing short of prominent, but far more mundane to the average human.

I’ve had several wonderful things take place as of recently and some not so much. As I, once again, transition back to writing in this little oasis for my soul, let me briefly catch you up. The nerdy list-maker that I am will do so in just that way…

Leah’s First Half of 2019’s List of Life “Adventures”:

1. We celebrated birthdays #22 (Anna), #8 (Ben), #5 (Austyn), and #11 (Josiah) all in the first half of the year.
2. We remembered the second anniversary of Joel’s homegoing in February.
3. I wrecked my minivan in February, and it’s drivable again thanks to the love of some amazing friends.
4. We enjoyed Easter with the grands and their amazing parents (my bonus kiddos) and then extended the Easter celebration further by traveling to my mother-in-law’s home on Easter Sunday and spent it with my extended family.
5. A straight-line wind storm tore through our property one night and destroyed the trampoline and swing set (minor in the grand scheme of things but still adventurous nonetheless).
6. Austyn graduated from preschool! My baby heads to Kindergarten later this month.
7. The “Great Flood of 2019” hit our county in early June and did unbelievable damage to many in our area. We had basement flooding and lots of yard damage, including losing ALL the mulch.
8. Anna graduated from college in May and just began her career as a teacher earlier this month, teaching first grade!
9. We celebrated Anna’s graduation with a long-planned-for trip to Disneyworld! Just the two of us.
10. I experienced a new (and unprecedented for me) level of emotional stress that I’m currently learning how navigate more intentionally.
11. I had my children home with me all summer, all day, everyday, for the first time EVER. That’s been a learning experience for me!
12. We hosted one of my dearest friends and two of her daughters for a week in July. Lots of swimming and outdoor fun took place!
13. I began doing contract social media management and editing for Mandy Roberson Media, and I absolutely LOVE working again…especially doing work that fuels me!
14. We began attending a new church back in May and have really enjoyed connecting with this fantastic multi-cultural body of believers. And, most importantly…
15. Josiah (my 11-year-old) gave his heart to Jesus and surrendered to His Lordship over his life. His amazing life adventure truly just began!

Those are just a few snippets of what’s been going on in my little world and what has kept me distracted from writing lately. As you can read, some of my recent life adventures have been wonderfully amazing but some of have been harder to endure. Either way…I march on (sometimes my march looks more like a crawl, if truth be told).

I have so many new posts already in the works, so I hope the days of long hiatuses from ODW are over. I also have a few other exciting things in the works here on the site, and I hope to unveil those sometime later this year. Thanks for continuing to read – even when the words have been few! Be blessed friends!