Posted by Tagged with family US roadtrip, familytravel, Florida, Naples Posted in Uncategorized

Florida Sun ☀️

After 44 years of cold Minnesota winters, I’m experiencing a new climate this December. Wow! It makes a huge difference in my mood and outlook.

Ocala, FL
We left Georgia on December 10th and headed south, stopping for one night in Ocala, FL at a cute farm called Enchanted Oaks. As we drove down the long gravel driveway the girls squealed as they spotted goats, horses, and a zebra. The property had a half dozen or more glamping tents and a rental house which is used as the bridal suite on the days the property hosts weddings. We stayed in the rental house. Big thanks to one of my piano families, the Bierwerth’s, for their air bnb gift card for this stay.

Enchanted Oaks was one of my favorite places we have stayed so far. I would have loved to sit under those glorious giant oak trees all day, but we had to hurry out the next morning.
We were scheduled to meet my piano teacher friend, Anna Fagan, in Arcadia, FL for lunch.
I met Anna on Instagram through another piano teacher.

One of my hopes on this trip was to connect with a few piano teachers on the road. Anna is literally on the road since she teaches online lessons to about 30 students each week from her RV. It was fun to hear how she and her husband decided to sell their home and become full-time RV travelers.

Naples, FL Our next stop was Naples. We stayed at the home of Joe and Barbara Wall for a little over a week. It was such a relaxing stay. I enjoyed having a large kitchen to cook in and the kids loved staying somewhere with a pool. Mark flew back to Minnesota for 4 of those days to DJ a wedding. He got a taste of the snow again, but left before it dipped below zero.
Some of the things I liked about Naples besides the weather were

🌴The sandy beaches

🌴The consignment shops

🌴Sitting outside drinking coffee in the
mornings

🌴Seeing all the palm trees and flowering
tropical plants.

We loved one of the outdoor restaurants we ate at called Lakeside Diner. We had lunch there with some new friends, Lynnea and Ken, after attending Grow Church and again with our friend Dale after playing tennis.

The sunsets and the sound of waves were by far the highlight of being near the gulf. It was like having a front row seat to a masterclass with the painter of skies.

Not everyday has been smooth sailing and glamorous. We’ve had some boring days, some stressful days, and a fair share of screaming and crying from the back seat: “Why do we have to go on this trip?” and “I just want to go HOME!”
The transition days when we pack up and switch from one location to the next are usually the hardest days. Our 19 year old, Tabby, flew from NYC and joined us for the holidays. It’s been wonderful having her along. In my next post I’ll share more about our 10 days together in the Florida Keys over Christmas and New Years.

Posted by Tagged with Family travel, family US roadtrip, Hilton head, southcarolina Posted in Uncategorized

Surprise Sunset

One of my favorite days of our trip so far

Hilton Head, SC

When Mark texted me and said he wanted to rearrange our itinerary to work around the extended forecast, I rolled my eyes.
I may appear spontaneous on the Internet, but the truth is, I hate sudden changes in plans.

The idea came because Mark wanted to see Savannah and Hilton Head on a sunny, 70 degree day instead of a rainy 50 degree day.
Now that I write it down like that, it makes so much sense, but I was worried about so many things. How would it affect our lodging back in Macon, would it be an added cost, and did it practically make sense apart from the weather forecast?


Well, long story short, I flexed with the idea and boy am I glad. It was THE BEST two days of our trip so far. We strolled through the Savannah parks, enjoying the huge trees and historic buildings. I tried some fried chicken, collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, corn bread, and peach cobbler.


We carried on to Hilton Head and arrived just as the sun was setting. It was a race to the beach to get there in time. Seeing my girls experience the ocean at sunset was priceless. We rented bikes the next day and road the seemingly endless shoreline. I got to talk to my older two college kids, Elliot and Tabby, on the phone that day too, which made the day even more perfect.


After we decided to change our plans and stay in Macon for two extra days, we found out that there was a youth tennis tournament on those days. If we would have stuck with the original plan, Malia would have missed that opportunity. It all worked out.

Moral of the story – Stay Flexible and don’t be afraid when plans change.

Do you remember a time when plans changed at the last minute?

Posted by Tagged with Christmas, family, Family travel, parenting Posted in Uncategorized

How much is “enough” at Christmas?

I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas stirs up feelings of not having enough to give.

I want to enjoy going to the stores and filling my cart with the perfect gifts for everyone on my list.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could make some of those perfectly decorated cookies?

Maybe I could snap my fingers and have a pile of cute Christmas cards with our family photo on them addressed and ready to send?

Maybe this will be the year we finally have matching PJs and stockings with my childrens’ names on them?

Wouldn’t it be great to be invited to a Christmas party where we sip mulled wine and listen to live jazz while the kids are at home with a babysitter who volunteered their time to give us a night off?

OK – Stop the Daydream already.

I had forgotten these sentiments since being on our road trip and away from the usual December crazy.

Today, I went into Hobby Lobby and the feelings all came rushing back. I saw the crowded aisles of shoppers filling their carts with wrapping paper, ornaments, and craft supplies. The stress and overwhelm of December wrapped me in its grip.


As a mom, I feel a lot of pressure to give my kids a great Christmas.
I want them to be happy. I know that celebrating Jesus’ birth was never intended to become what it has in our American culture. I’ve tried the advent devotionals and simplifying mantras, but the feelings of inadequacy creep back in so easily.

I’ve made room for the little voices in my head.
“Your kids will never have as good of a Christmas as their friends because you can’t give them ______________” (name the things you are missing)

This year, my Christmas will look very different. We will be in the Florida Keys. I have no idea how to plan for it or what to expect. We will be missing Elliot, our oldest child who will be in Boston (our first Christmas without all 6 of us). We won’t have snow, and we may not have a tree or the usual gifts. My kids are not happy about “missing Christmas” back home.

I am amazed at how we can be in a tropical paradise and the kids can still find things to be unhappy about.


The reality is that Christmas is a beautiful mess of wrapping paper piles, burnt cookies, and crying children.

Along with the crazy, we all hope for moments of wonder sprinkled in. These moments help us realize that we are ALIVE and BREATHING, and that is a miracle in itself. This beautiful and weird life we are living is ours. We don’t need to be like the others.

LOVE cannot be bought.
It is freely given and can be freely received. That is the best news for those who don’t feel like they have done enough to deserve love and don’t have money to pay for it.

I AM looking forward to Christmas in Florida. It will be different, but different isn’t always bad. Look at Jesus. He was very different. He chose a group of rag tag followers that were rejected by the rest of society. He did not have a home. He was not born under a beautifully decorated tree. He was born in a barn. It smelled. It was uncomfortable. His parents felt alone and probably didn’t fit in with their friends or family.


My Christmas wish for you is that you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are enough.

You don’t need to try harder or spend more money or do more things. Your gift to those around you is being comfortable in your own skin and loving the best you know how.

Merry Christmas from the Sunshine State!

Posted by Tagged with Artists, family US roadtrip, familytravel, Georgia, Macon, parenting Posted in Uncategorized

Macon Memories

We spent a whole month in Macon, Georgia. We decided that staying somewhere for a longer period of time would allow us to settle in and live more like locals than tourists.

My husband met Aaron, who works at Visit Macon, through a Minnesota connection. Because of Aaron, we met Paul, who manages Airbnb properties. Paul got us situated in our airbnb when we arrived and made sure we had everything we needed. He brought us some extra household items that one-night guests don’t usually need such as a card table, larger pots and pans, and a crockpot. We settled in and made it “home”. Our favorite TV shows to watch in the evenings were Wheel of Fortune and America’s Got Talent. Living in a small space made for a lot of family bonding time. Since we weren’t busy with homework and regular activities in the evenings, we were able to play scrabble, do puzzles, watch movies, and just talk about life.

Macon is a home to Mercer University. I came to realize while staying here that I love a college town. I saw students everywhere we went. The first weekend we were here was homecoming, and the campus was buzzing with excitement. The pep band played as the football team paraded through the crowds of fans, tailgating before the football game.

There is also a strong arts and music presence in Macon, which you pick up on right away when walking through the downtown. Famous artists who came from Macon include Little Richard, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers. You can tour the house where the Allman Brothers lived and the studio where their records were made. Mark dived deep into music history while we were here, taking several tours, and doing a lot of reading.

Here are a few of the places I remember visiting this month in Macon.

The Tubman African American Museum

Amerson Park

Ocmulgee Indian Mounds

Wear Thrift Store

Seussical the Musical performed by Miller Fine Arts Middle School

Reboot Retrocade

Macon Bagels

H&H Cafe (trying grits for the first time)

Fall Line Brewery – great outdoor seating with fire pits

Each weekday started out at the Washington Library where the kids and I spent a couple hours doing our homeschool work. We felt so welcomed by the staff in the children’s department of the library. There were days when the girls were not happy to be on the trip and feeling homesick for their teachers and classmates. I think the routine of going to the library everyday, sitting in the same spot, and seeing the same librarians working was therapeutic (at least for me!)

A few surprises in Macon were finding out Malia could play in a tennis tournament, getting complimentary tickets to a Mercer College girls basketball game, and attending a free Middle Georgia University choir concert. Another great surprise was being invited over to the home of a local family, Joey and Sherry, after visiting New City Church. After our visit, Sherry and her daughter asked me to teach them piano lessons while I was in town.

I didn’t know what to expect of Macon, but I can honestly say that I grew to love it. I know I wasn’t here long enough to learn its downsides (every town has downsides), but I don’t have a lot bad to say (other than the stop lights take a REALLY long time to turn from red to green. Also, I can’t get used to being called “Ma’am” and seeing everyone where jeans and sweaters when it is 80 degrees outside. They all say it’s “because it’s fall!”


Enjoy a few more photos of our time in Macon below.

Posted by Tagged with Family travel, hospitality, travel Posted in Uncategorized

A Warm Southern Welcome

We have stayed in almost a dozen different homes since beginning our trip on November 1st. I’ve been overwhelmed in a good way by the gift of hospitality we have experienced. I don’t know why it has surprised me so much. Maybe because I just assumed that people would feel obligated to host us and were kind of “putting up with us” instead of enjoying it. Thankfully, quite the opposite has been the case. I’ve felt almost every person we’ve stayed with has been genuinely thrilled by our company. Not only that, they have gone to great lengths to make sure we have felt cared for.

Here are some examples that come to mind.

Colored Towels – One of our hosts called ahead and asked specific questions like whether we liked mushrooms and green peppers. This same host was so detailed in her questions that she even asked each of us to pick out the color of bath towel we liked best.

Spontaneous Invitations – On our first Sunday in Macon, GA we were staying at an airbnb and decided to visit a local church. We didn’t know anyone and were surprised when the couple sitting in front of us introduced themselves and asked for our phone number. Later that day, I got a text from them asking us over to their house for dessert. It was such a pure and genuine invitation and so unexpected. We ended up having a great conversation which led to my coming back to their house several times to teach them piano lessons.

Sacrificial Giving – At one house, our hosts gave up their own bedroom while we were there. That meant them sleeping in a smaller, less comfortable bed for 6 nights. I’m sure it was a big sacrifice for them, but they insisted we take the master bedroom while we were there. It really moved me. They also cooked special foods for us and went out of their way to plan activities and show us around their town.

These are just a few examples of the hospitality we have experienced. It has made such an impression on me that I am determined to make hosting others a regular part of what we do when we move back to Minnesota. If someone ever asks for a place to stay overnight, we will jump at the opportunity to host.

When you welcome someone into your days, it is one of the most generous gifts you can give.

How have you experienced hospitality from others?


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