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Hi All You Lovely Readers out there! 🙂
Looking back on this first full year of Blogging and writing, I am amazed at how much we’ve been through. Together. As I continue to throw my life up on-screen, you surprise me, time and time again, by returning to read about my journey, share in my joys and heartaches, and write back to let me know I’m not alone.
This past year, you joined me on many waterfall adventures, both local and across the country. Continue reading
Hi All!
Exactly a year ago, I approached all of you with my hands clasped and my words a begging: “Please JOIN MY BLOG!” Remember that?
And so many of you *155 exactly, took a chance on me and my crazy dream to be a writer and signed in. And I am so grateful for each and every one of you. And for all of you who don’t do the whole ‘joining blogs’ thing, but continue to pop in and search for waterfalls with me. 🙂 Words cannot express how much I cherish each and every one of you. ♡♡♡
So here we are again. At a new crossroads in my journey. I have officially moved to the other side of the Cyber world when I transferred my blog from Blogger to WordPress. Fortunately, all my content and comments on stories came with me, no problem. Unfortunately, the transition dropped my most precious gift: Your Email Addresses. 🙁
Sooooo… I know you know where there is going. Continue reading
So my fourth and final princess boarded the Big Yellow Bus today. She’s off to her first day of Kindergarten. And I did what all good moms and dads do on that first day of school. I smiled. And breathed deeply. And held back the tears till her little legs ascended the steps and her little hand waved at record speed out the window she could barely see out of. I don’t even know if she waved actually. I think she was too busy looking at her backpack on the floor. But her little friend Sienna waved. With a smile that said, “I’m ready world! Bring it on!” Continue reading
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| I have this crazy story to tell you about Tarps. Coming soon! Soulfest 2012 Day One |
Tuesday evening marks the night before Soulfest 2012 begins. We stroll around the Gunstock Mountain Resort grounds, hoping to hear a little preview of tomorrow’s bands and maybe even catch a glimpse of one of our favorite musicians. As we walk toward the main stage we bump into one of the Assistant Director’s of Soulfest and her co-worker and get the inside scoop on some of the changes before the start of the festival.
After our chance encounter with the not so firey Katniss wannabe in the parking lot of Hooker Falls [hey, I don’t name them, I just come in search of waterfalls. :)]…we had a two hour window to hike to three falls and then begin our drive back to New York.
Hubby hands us each a hiking stick, a water bottle, and I throw a bag of trail mix and pretzels into my backpack. And we’re off, following a well marked trail to our third (50th, if you count all the rapids we kayaked over yesterday, but we’ll say 3rd that is officially named) waterfall of our Spring Break outdoorsy adventure.
I never used to like hiking. Walking I never minded. Hiking, however, involves ups and downs, unsteady terrain, potential sprained ankles and falls, and chances of getting lost. Then one day I hiked with a stick, and it revolutionized my thinking. On the steepest of hikes, I’ve even used two hiking sticks, and I’m sure this is why animals stay on all fours. The steadying factor makes all the difference in the world. And you get less tired when you have that third or fourth leg. Giving you time to focus on the beauty all around you since you’re less nervous about tripping and sliding down gravel pathways.
So, we are off, hiking toward the sound of rushing water that grows louder with each step. The girls race ahead with their dad while I bring up the rear with Sarah-Beara. Trekking up hill as the terrain increases in steepness only means one thing. We are almost there. The hill plateaus and now I can see the top of the falls through the trees. And my heart quickens. Like the day I first met my hubs.
I realize even before we see the falls from the most open viewpoint that I love nothing like I love waterfalls. And all my senses are awake. I hear the stirring water as I approach. I now see the powerful roar of water pouring over the arch into the pool. I close my eyes to feel the spray of mist on my face as I draw nearer still. I stick my tongue out to taste the cool droplets that pop up with each splash. And I touch the frigid water with my finger tips as the water races over my skin with the desire to pull me in. This is my heaven on earth. I am in that place. That place of wow.
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| Hooker Falls. Looked it up and down and could not determine the origin of the name… Continue reading |
Once in awhile you find something in the world that defines your purpose. For me, that discovery happened when I saw my first waterfall. I was less than five years old when my parents took me to see Niagara Falls, and twenty years later, I found love in the mist of a return visit to Canada.
The journey continues. The search is far from over, and with each waterfall that I experience, I learn something new about myself, about my world, and about my God – the One who creates each droplet and places me in the pathway of rushing water — to remind me of how His Grace Moves For Me! Ever Flowing! Ever Powerful! Ever enough!
And in the words of my favorite Disney movie theme song, “Ever just the same…ever a surprise!”
The first time we shared a waterfall was on a trip with the Young Adult Group from our church. Niagara Falls. How’s that for the start of a theme for your love-life?!! We were clearly “falling” for each other in the most magnificent way! I seemed to catch him gazing at me all the time, and maybe that was because… I tried to steal a glimpse of him in the group without making it so obvious that I was hopefully and deliriously into this young man that God had so strategically put into my life. Two days later, we “defined the relationship” with a very deep and profound conversation that went something like this: