tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330227302024-03-07T16:00:20.361-08:00Let Me Clarify This..."With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come" - ShakespeareRebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.comBlogger1017125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-90214193625670646992019-05-10T08:06:00.000-07:002019-05-10T09:33:13.579-07:00Aging, Part 1 (Although, let's be honest. There may never be a Part 2.)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My 30s are swiftly gathering dust behind me. I have 2 years, 4 months, and 13 days left before crossing over to the land of bad eyesight, hair dye, and crow's feet. What did I learn (am still learning) in this decade? Well let's talk about it.<br />
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Warning: there are a lot of ALL CAPS in the following sentences. I can't help it. I have very strong feelings.<br />
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1. The gray hair creeps in when you aren't looking. Now, I lasted longer than any of my friends and I GIVE THANKS for that, but at least once a week I have to do a detailed hair comb equal to the one you do when you're searching for lice, and I CANNOT FORGET to check for the super ambitious, super long, super sneaky gray eyebrow hair (YES. you read that right. EYEBROW HAIR) that appears within one hour's time. Seriously. One morning, I was examining my eyebrows while I brushed my teeth, and an hour later I thought there was a loose hair trying to get in my eye. NOPE. That little rascal had popped out and was over an inch long. I am not exaggerating. Truly. I'm not. How does that even happen?! And I used to give Jason a hard time about his wild and unruly old-man eyebrows.<br />
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2. Teenagers are fun. And exhausting. And dramatic. And mouthy. And super helpful. I can just leave the house when I want. It's MIND BLOWING. I can just run errands and not bother packing everyone up in the car, double checking to make sure all have shoes, semi-brushed hair, pants, etc... I mean, what a life. I am so spoiled.<br />
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3. Working away from home is for the birds Well, in one way. In another way, it brings a few moments of peace and quiet into my day three times a week., and I can deal with that.<br />
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4. That whole "through sickness and through health" phrase really starts to play a role. Jason's Lyme disease has really been a booger these past couple of years. And there isn't a guarantee it will get much better. Definitely has a good chance of getting worse.<br />
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5. New levels of stress are introduced. See #4<br />
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6. Facial skin doesn't stay tight. Young girls, do yourself a favor and start those skin firming rituals now. You'll be glad you did. I don't have any wrinkles...yet... but the ol' facial skin is just saggy. When I put on eyeshadow, my eyelid slides from side to side. It's GROSS.<br />
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7. Prayer is vital and life is way harder than you expected. By this age, divorce, cancer or other sicknesses, loss of children, unexpected loss of spouses, etc...have crept in to your life or the lives of your friends and family. Sometimes, oftentimes, prayer is the one thing that keeps you going. The one thing you can offer when your own life is having major trials. Learn to pray. Cling to God. Come BOLDLY before the throne, praising Him for your blessings and telling Him your needs.<br />
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8. Find your clan. Now for some, that may just be one person, but for me, I need the support and friendship of many. Surprisingly, this one kind of merges with #2. A lot of my very close friends are the mothers of my children's best friends. Embrace the new friendships that emerge through adulthood. They can be the best ones yet.<br />
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9. Get yourself a pedicure every now and then. The world will thank you. Also, shaving your legs everyday is overrated. Every other day will certainly suffice.<br />
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10. Don't tan. DON'T.<br />
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11. Your wedding is SO not as big of a "thing" as you think it is. Your marriage is a big deal, the wedding is not. Save your energy and finances for something that plays a larger role in your life. I promise you won't regret it. Also, stay out of debt.<br />
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And that's all I have for now. I actually had some great thoughts on Wednesday that I wanted to share but I didn't write them down and now they are lost forever.<br />
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Unless I think of them again.<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-65378638957020882022018-11-09T09:10:00.001-08:002018-11-09T09:10:17.035-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And now she's 13. </div>
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WHOOPS</div>
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Time got away from me. So girls, if you are reading this years from now, you'll just have to remember 2017 without any help from me. There was a lot of basketball and some ballet. There was no snow.</div>
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2018:</div>
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Now there is no basketball, but a lot of ballet. I have started working 20 hours a week for a brokerage firm in town and Elaina and Eily come with me. The owner is a family friend and he doesn't care if the girls do their schoolwork upstairs or in one of the side offices. It's really a dream set up for me trying to help make some money and also still homeschool. Nora and Claire are going to Magazine Elementary this year and they like it ok, but would rather be with us. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work with all four girls being homeschooled but not overwhelming Philip at the office. </div>
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We traveled a lot this summer. We went to Texas for a week in June, and then went straight to Crested Butte, Colorado. We stayed there a week with Jason while he painted. We walked a lot of trails and ate a good bit of ice cream. We also met a mama fox and her five babies. Her name was Frieda. </div>
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Back in February, we went with Jason to St. Simons Island, Georgia. This was the first time the girls got to see the ocean and play on a beach. This was by far our favorite trip of the year. We visited Jekyll Island, climbed the inside of a very tall lighthouse, and Nora got the worst sunburn I've ever seen. We are going again in March and are so excited because we are taking family with us this time. </div>
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I went with Jason to Laguna Beach, California. Definitely the best trip the two of us have taken together. I don't think I been that relaxed in the past 13 years. </div>
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My best friend, MacKenzie, came to visit me in June. It was the first time she had ever been to my house and it was fun to watch her visit an area of the US that she had never seen before. Our friend, Crystal, flew in to Fort Smith, and the three of us went to Silver Dollar City. It was really fun and I hope we can do it again next year. </div>
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This is Elaina's first year in Challenge and it's going really well. I'm excited to see what she will be learning in the coming years. </div>
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Jason moved into a studio in town this spring and it has been SO MUCH BETTER of a situation. He is able to host workshops now and that helps with his being able to stay home. Between the two of us working, we are hoping his traveling will finally start to decrease. </div>
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The shower door exploded when Claire was stepping in to take a shower. So that was fun.</div>
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Dad built me a clothesline. I'm so happy.</div>
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So that's about it for now. Maybe now that I have time to kill at work I will post more regularly. But I'm not making any promises. </div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-6520517612111160222017-09-25T06:36:00.003-07:002017-09-25T06:39:24.268-07:00A Quiet Start<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today is Elaina's birthday. 12. <b><i>She's 12. </i></b></div>
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Everyone is asleep right now except for me, Chloe, and Eily. She has a test in math so we decided to knock it out really quickly before anyone else wakens. The house is quiet and I'm soaking it up because it's not going to last much longer. </div>
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This is a busy week for us. Today, we have to drop off a painting and the drive is a bit of a stinker. We have to celebrate Elaina- obviously. Tuesday, we have to leave the house by 6:30am to drop Chloe off at Mom's on our way to CC. After CC we have to quickly eat supper and go to basketball practice. After practice we will get a snack and then head to Little Rock. Jason's plane lands at 10:45pm. I am not looking forward to that drive home. </div>
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On Wednesday, I am leaving for Nashville, Tennessee, to see my <a href="http://boldturquoise.com/" target="_blank">best friend</a> <b>for the first time in person. EVER.</b></div>
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It's kind of a big deal. </div>
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We are going to the Wild and Free homeschooling conference and I'm really, really excited about a couple of the speakers. Leah Boden, who is also known as Modern Miss Mason is coming all the way from England and I'm probably the most excited about hearing her presentation. Not probably. For sure. </div>
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So while the week is a full week, it's full of good things and I'm not going to dread the activities- just the hustle and bustle. </div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-33483216628423638972017-08-31T06:50:00.001-07:002017-08-31T06:51:43.535-07:00School Days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Do y'all remember back when people left comments on blog posts? Those were good times.<br />
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Today is my first day home ALL DAY this week. I am super excited about it AND Friday and Saturday have the same thing on the schedule- <i>nothing</i>. Ok, well I do have to run Chloe to the groomer who lives 10 minutes away but that's not really anything. We are going to get the house cleaning caught up, the laundry caught up, and work on our memory work for school. School is going really wells far this year. We are only in the beginning so at any point things could change, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I set the bar very low so we are constantly hitting it. :)<br />
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Jason and his artist buddy, John, have started a new thing on <a href="http://lasatersacrangallery.com/" target="_blank">their gallery site</a> called <a href="http://lasatersacrangallery.com/auction/" target="_blank">Daily Study Auction</a>. They post a new study every couple of days and people can bid on the painting until the timer runs out and the bidding is ended. It's a great way to collect one of their paintings at a very affordable price. You can go to their site by clicking <a href="http://lasatersacrangallery.com/auction/" target="_blank">here</a>. You should check it often and see what's new in case they happen to post the painting of your dreams! haha<br />
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Morning Time starts in 11 minutes so I need to go get set up and ready. Have a great day!</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-73383298262068978622017-08-26T05:42:00.001-07:002017-08-26T06:57:00.298-07:00Civita Castellana, Italy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
WARNING:<br />
LOTS OF PICTURES<br />
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Jason and his friend, John Lasater, taught a two week workshop in Italy this summer. I went for the last week of the class and then our families stayed an extra week to do a little sightseeing and so that Jason and John could get in some painting time. When you are the teacher, you don't ever have time to paint. Of course, while we were there Civita Castellana was having record breaking temps. I think the highest it got was 110 degrees with a heat index of death. The streets are made of black stone, and while that is very pretty to look at in a picture, it just adds to the heat when you are there in person. You couldn't really be outside for a good portion of the day without melting, and the whole town basically shuts down between 2-5 in the afternoon, so I would sit on our bed, directly in front of the fan (no AC in Italy) and stare at the walls and celling. Not going to lie, it was a tad boring. I did read but I finished my books rather quickly and since we had limited data, I couldn't watch shows on the computer. Thankfully, the last three or four days were beautiful and once I left the apartment in the morning, I didn't go back until bed time. We would drink gallons of water every day and John's wife, Kara, and I both got excited on the first nice day because it was the first time in a week and a half that we had felt the urge to pee. Sometimes it's the small things, you know?<br />
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Overall, those three beautiful days were enough to let us leave Italy with dreams of returning and truly loving our time there.<br />
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P.S. Rome is super cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXcQrICQFCWGEZ_ZBKxX3NijlVYuBKD97H5_Nk1DJ_LPLQbAo4NALNCGoO9vXwV0Zfo5-7x-sRVorSgdZAIJkTkohFmBlrwoTqeWRSn_yhwpeyYBxYbfIZWh9xh9ZpyGpU6fS/s1600/fullsizeoutput_15c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXcQrICQFCWGEZ_ZBKxX3NijlVYuBKD97H5_Nk1DJ_LPLQbAo4NALNCGoO9vXwV0Zfo5-7x-sRVorSgdZAIJkTkohFmBlrwoTqeWRSn_yhwpeyYBxYbfIZWh9xh9ZpyGpU6fS/s400/fullsizeoutput_15c.jpeg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this song was constantly playing at the restaurants and cafes in Civita. I let the girls listen to it and they LOVE it and have already picked up some Italian from it. </td></tr>
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Big Thank You's to Aunt Kat, Bebe and Bubba, Aunt Abi, and Aunt Kara for helping the girls have a great time while we were gone.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Poppins in Memphis with Aunt Kat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzV3Ddyh3J1j4kZn8Kw0QQXOD9FUT2GKSeLnV2HxMtV8pfERyWcozorNmBvdCroMC8whe36BcNIDRmjXNwSYKgn0bN0SG2EExBtUErrAmDDZBNyu2Q1fItiivlwkSFyXo5ba_/s1600/20664791_1912458139009726_2547576024010174800_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzV3Ddyh3J1j4kZn8Kw0QQXOD9FUT2GKSeLnV2HxMtV8pfERyWcozorNmBvdCroMC8whe36BcNIDRmjXNwSYKgn0bN0SG2EExBtUErrAmDDZBNyu2Q1fItiivlwkSFyXo5ba_/s400/20664791_1912458139009726_2547576024010174800_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaina asked Bebe to throw a birthday party for Pink Bear.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bubba and the golf cart are both big hits with the girls!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKqBrwEk1Ehjl-Ak1kJHWginTZOS8d6EYCsG5z-vJeevjwsMNtLfw4OjbRmraVWQ9Samxh3do02uquMVcQgUYu8f5pQ6Q9bXC2qIZ0PeV-H6YpUSjNlSwZ2RBQvnxu4Ok8hWC/s1600/20746153_1449017831853964_6051612830710958102_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKqBrwEk1Ehjl-Ak1kJHWginTZOS8d6EYCsG5z-vJeevjwsMNtLfw4OjbRmraVWQ9Samxh3do02uquMVcQgUYu8f5pQ6Q9bXC2qIZ0PeV-H6YpUSjNlSwZ2RBQvnxu4Ok8hWC/s400/20746153_1449017831853964_6051612830710958102_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carousel time with cousins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_12hDWZqGZHljckzrrW0TmKpulWWODchMWWMpQzcW4DFOC6uoS-hSHMUwAd6uM3rt_B7u3RHeLW2V3t2xtklOnExoijNdDjdB303KGMPEppTDaPyURvVIea_mQv3XaZzDl-dQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_222.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_12hDWZqGZHljckzrrW0TmKpulWWODchMWWMpQzcW4DFOC6uoS-hSHMUwAd6uM3rt_B7u3RHeLW2V3t2xtklOnExoijNdDjdB303KGMPEppTDaPyURvVIea_mQv3XaZzDl-dQ/s400/fullsizeoutput_222.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Claire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDiGie7Vfmn_W8FAGr-s66bzokwavzmfP6cMKFYpwUzRHClwgv1r5gJacE8b7O9J-JezpqbX-g9datZFmhFSb8oCPSeiIeNnb9Y4nrxhFKtgM5ZoFYP7y4HFUEb5kSlz9e8xz/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDiGie7Vfmn_W8FAGr-s66bzokwavzmfP6cMKFYpwUzRHClwgv1r5gJacE8b7O9J-JezpqbX-g9datZFmhFSb8oCPSeiIeNnb9Y4nrxhFKtgM5ZoFYP7y4HFUEb5kSlz9e8xz/s400/IMG_1534.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Claire</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aunt Abi was BRAVE and hosted all of her nieces for a sleepover. I think it was 10 girls in all!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun at Aunt Abi's house</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding around Memphis with Aunt Kat</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SCENES FROM CIVITA CASTELLANA, ITALY</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wrHxiW6nmdzGPsCtulMy_ITMIZ0XiYZiwuTopNs27YppNTeDiijilTW-8V8ObaqT0l4JXgc7hhv2GwJcPdnYyd4qXOC1TwutYCj8HTMEAcr5JPSAT_jU6t4uDTUkLg3fC8Ge/s1600/IMG_1294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wrHxiW6nmdzGPsCtulMy_ITMIZ0XiYZiwuTopNs27YppNTeDiijilTW-8V8ObaqT0l4JXgc7hhv2GwJcPdnYyd4qXOC1TwutYCj8HTMEAcr5JPSAT_jU6t4uDTUkLg3fC8Ge/s400/IMG_1294.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKx8_CXoRyR1ekMWfhHVfPqaxXns6X4S2JDFHfgQEPTmOyvVSsvsNxYX_Q2nY9v1KUxKUgW9fsFhAzxIRh-pbGNxYy_iOM_e7HDqIfq9Np2frATdQ9onN4BUO6qwFdx402j6-/s1600/IMG_1305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKx8_CXoRyR1ekMWfhHVfPqaxXns6X4S2JDFHfgQEPTmOyvVSsvsNxYX_Q2nY9v1KUxKUgW9fsFhAzxIRh-pbGNxYy_iOM_e7HDqIfq9Np2frATdQ9onN4BUO6qwFdx402j6-/s400/IMG_1305.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This KILLED my glutes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Face Time with the girls in the only air conditioned place in Civita, the hotel lobby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevi Fountain in Rome with my Audrey Hepburn sunglasses (a gift from Aunt Kat)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqemIduM2KBRMc4toCPyWgLCNDX-_juBe6o8rXp9SXHm7hJ5pKr1Y7hp4PJfn0TBgvrvVVTi7qv95LS2t-BP7mukEz1UoLLUnVyMnORKuqDTYSmI9Tz-IlgYWSG4PH_Cu2VJ/s1600/IMG_1323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqemIduM2KBRMc4toCPyWgLCNDX-_juBe6o8rXp9SXHm7hJ5pKr1Y7hp4PJfn0TBgvrvVVTi7qv95LS2t-BP7mukEz1UoLLUnVyMnORKuqDTYSmI9Tz-IlgYWSG4PH_Cu2VJ/s400/IMG_1323.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had passes to go inside the Colosseum but it was way too hot to stand in line for a couple of hours. Next time!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside a museum at the Vatican City</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Italian Nocturnes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxUtWhJPFhdeInhcpsc0TFyTEEVmzV0D-I3jrnOGdQIuDw3scOcIpdsBWACK5k2Dn_0I4zqlMsqDS5gEHB0Lrfwh3adLq-HTPT2-qkz9Hy3kzQtFtJ7FzlcdPSYcowiCG4UpB/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxUtWhJPFhdeInhcpsc0TFyTEEVmzV0D-I3jrnOGdQIuDw3scOcIpdsBWACK5k2Dn_0I4zqlMsqDS5gEHB0Lrfwh3adLq-HTPT2-qkz9Hy3kzQtFtJ7FzlcdPSYcowiCG4UpB/s400/IMG_1424.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had breakfast here every morning. It was called The Club and was a very popular place for morning coffee and evening visiting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4pjm-TmQFWnMJCjCmeuyIvPfra7NUcxUNuRpIhejZ4cSmwvI-R-Q1_Cu3Uvm9Dc1stc3klLEz_7WU-NbHxqvxNl1MCdoUHQjZAqImLeoXAuzmc-pc6ZIz1WKNSjBbTFAdrLf/s1600/IMG_1429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4pjm-TmQFWnMJCjCmeuyIvPfra7NUcxUNuRpIhejZ4cSmwvI-R-Q1_Cu3Uvm9Dc1stc3klLEz_7WU-NbHxqvxNl1MCdoUHQjZAqImLeoXAuzmc-pc6ZIz1WKNSjBbTFAdrLf/s400/IMG_1429.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fountain in the square of Civita</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1aOGKAm79TDUemrhY2ukW9j5cb6ALtqzaAlFyugcPAAdKaW5mMH0UgKAx1Mh7GwSrzmBhkYNVrLdClfSrZgAXmEzB8NfWp3Qj-Li5HTw8tJy_XM-E8qAzyKsSew3v45Bmek8/s1600/IMG_1441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1aOGKAm79TDUemrhY2ukW9j5cb6ALtqzaAlFyugcPAAdKaW5mMH0UgKAx1Mh7GwSrzmBhkYNVrLdClfSrZgAXmEzB8NfWp3Qj-Li5HTw8tJy_XM-E8qAzyKsSew3v45Bmek8/s400/IMG_1441.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was Ms. Gena's balcony. She is a 92 year old woman that loved Jason and John. She spoke no English but we always had fun "talking" with her. She constantly gave us food. </td></tr>
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Someday I will return and it will NOT be during a heat wave. I love you, Civita, but that heat is a game changer. Or just install some AC, then we'll talk. </div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-37771237966937322082017-08-26T04:34:00.001-07:002017-08-26T05:45:36.243-07:00Spring and Summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Over the spring and summer: </div>
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(In no particular order)</div>
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Teeth were lost</div>
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Daddy snuggles were very popular</div>
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Dates were had with Uncle Josh</div>
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LOTS of crafting and pretend playing happened</div>
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Time was spent with good friends</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf93ocIGdzQhrZP2MbEkspp1kOLKxc_WQVJ-7knhFo_8Eg6k_zAiMESuARnjoZhzYs9UWrzwcTg6O_WDxhTztthjEiHSogzm-ItByqFYeCAGufP-O6o-8prTn_1q10QtHp7xcn/s1600/IMG_1282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf93ocIGdzQhrZP2MbEkspp1kOLKxc_WQVJ-7knhFo_8Eg6k_zAiMESuARnjoZhzYs9UWrzwcTg6O_WDxhTztthjEiHSogzm-ItByqFYeCAGufP-O6o-8prTn_1q10QtHp7xcn/s400/IMG_1282.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaina and Kathryn Israel, BFF<br />
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The people in our area hosted a singing school (shape notes, song leading, harmony skills) in July and Elaina's friend, Kathryn, was able to stay the week with us and participate. I taught the youngest class and had the best time with those children. They were so engaged and excited about everything they were learning. And now, when I see them at church meetings, they are my best buddies. So fun. :)</td></tr>
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We went to the Memphis Zoo:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eily's posture in this will forever by my favorite thing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqN-wzwkwiTqewyDVtop1a92FUMoyPqDXMlq0SBK6vW0pIMuVu3OgR0YtkLjmPH8MCPnlhvQfxhWBpmdCmvZRg9qufvn4qJwkrH0-QOM7pKxUx_LR2ZpxCXjW0vpqLkcLNKNq/s1600/IMG_0904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqN-wzwkwiTqewyDVtop1a92FUMoyPqDXMlq0SBK6vW0pIMuVu3OgR0YtkLjmPH8MCPnlhvQfxhWBpmdCmvZRg9qufvn4qJwkrH0-QOM7pKxUx_LR2ZpxCXjW0vpqLkcLNKNq/s400/IMG_0904.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to pose with the animals but they weren't very cooperative. Neither was Nora. </td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Elaina and Claire participated in our co-op's Faces of History program. Claire wrote a report about Pocahontas and Elaina wrote one about Clara Barton. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUplPqDiFYJiJ25IwBfMpvPw2eBuNNTlM6bfjE1jURirKCsgh-UDK24yeT8bf7NfbH5FVE6lFhO_dPchlMY8OAH41b5Lg6AUmUnxSCwXa3iYW7chiQ6p0Jky_RD-TsXaClN_BG/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1f5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUplPqDiFYJiJ25IwBfMpvPw2eBuNNTlM6bfjE1jURirKCsgh-UDK24yeT8bf7NfbH5FVE6lFhO_dPchlMY8OAH41b5Lg6AUmUnxSCwXa3iYW7chiQ6p0Jky_RD-TsXaClN_BG/s400/fullsizeoutput_1f5.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entire Faces Of History Cast</td></tr>
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We started a new year of school</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpThCsHjdL2-oLVtcGvBj2KRUHM7lZ32-DQaVDBFJlsJiUfazG0Sx7RPLJ0PwXKVQnAO6r8sQESVcI7Io_z3w8pLpqUEr3dkNIJMRPZluGtmDsuU04oLMgrdwlXEiUqF7Vz65N/s1600/IMG_1511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1376" data-original-width="1600" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpThCsHjdL2-oLVtcGvBj2KRUHM7lZ32-DQaVDBFJlsJiUfazG0Sx7RPLJ0PwXKVQnAO6r8sQESVcI7Io_z3w8pLpqUEr3dkNIJMRPZluGtmDsuU04oLMgrdwlXEiUqF7Vz65N/s400/IMG_1511.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6th grade, 5th, grade, 4th grade, Kindergarten</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFTNgMpYkNgplMlrdzbMFNEJr7rlumQJT5v_rrhLAuPaxYRN2eO6Z6pw2ReYBjr5YDYpz1VrI52CYIqmFejjoK-uizHDRwneAxeujoe2PIcuRC26SZNrqbJwS5ls-nlKvylyz/s1600/IMG_1514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFTNgMpYkNgplMlrdzbMFNEJr7rlumQJT5v_rrhLAuPaxYRN2eO6Z6pw2ReYBjr5YDYpz1VrI52CYIqmFejjoK-uizHDRwneAxeujoe2PIcuRC26SZNrqbJwS5ls-nlKvylyz/s400/IMG_1514.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A montage of First-of-School Days. I'm just missing one year.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOmUKJHzJHWF9g7xX_lx-nzIlGt99FvrsPSsRKbBBqb4sJNlwkGgC3r_NVZyMA1Mc6ZKT0wnIzHKtED7V6TNP5jCUW2VEuu34Prz2keMilUFnF8_p0p20nDXEkcXsA_x2FhSW/s1600/IMG_0791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOmUKJHzJHWF9g7xX_lx-nzIlGt99FvrsPSsRKbBBqb4sJNlwkGgC3r_NVZyMA1Mc6ZKT0wnIzHKtED7V6TNP5jCUW2VEuu34Prz2keMilUFnF8_p0p20nDXEkcXsA_x2FhSW/s400/IMG_0791.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading Lessons with Daddy</td></tr>
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Eily and Nora turned 9 and 6</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ6iXewAwLWXxZ3J5NEotZovT131J9yKBU-fxxi2umgFiHORR5Vmz42GfRa_6oK54ca2XGLHoor9hGUyMbEeoSDsHhTgYOrAhZpezFJtv-Kv1ZhDZ8VzP2d30qFs77MD4h9k4/s1600/IMG_0798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ6iXewAwLWXxZ3J5NEotZovT131J9yKBU-fxxi2umgFiHORR5Vmz42GfRa_6oK54ca2XGLHoor9hGUyMbEeoSDsHhTgYOrAhZpezFJtv-Kv1ZhDZ8VzP2d30qFs77MD4h9k4/s400/IMG_0798.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe is a trooper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yPAJPmYVNe_wwjXC6LNmYcjlLfBr87OtjoATh7k-zObP2fnP1P-glVkFbWM51hHeFgrNJt2AWdCU87_b-PtTAK_Qqa6laddaDj0Gwe7s_svwYqtsqIjIC-Vgbvr7G3zorwTC/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yPAJPmYVNe_wwjXC6LNmYcjlLfBr87OtjoATh7k-zObP2fnP1P-glVkFbWM51hHeFgrNJt2AWdCU87_b-PtTAK_Qqa6laddaDj0Gwe7s_svwYqtsqIjIC-Vgbvr7G3zorwTC/s400/IMG_0799.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Breakfast </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEu5yeVr4SnjXZDQW-PzqqvhaFA4kWTGr5gKH43y_ugYkBd_ev9NJCm8eKYNTYBIWvLEDqpDAOCjZvN7Wb5GLVOjtB1R40SA5VdzV3GMbj1FosPmwZ42_o5n83sroqrME25ah/s1600/IMG_0800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEu5yeVr4SnjXZDQW-PzqqvhaFA4kWTGr5gKH43y_ugYkBd_ev9NJCm8eKYNTYBIWvLEDqpDAOCjZvN7Wb5GLVOjtB1R40SA5VdzV3GMbj1FosPmwZ42_o5n83sroqrME25ah/s400/IMG_0800.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big 6 year old! (I'm noticing there's a lot of dots in this picture. That wasn't planned.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wuqKk2wHeEwyjFre5lMaRo4xf54lW-pYSxgDGk_BPAne6vzFvhAfUYxmhS1Dlr87L1mTu4uy3xXkT6T4QHGgcBdb-iQXOZ3-KQkNsmZE9XtgZi_kEEcSUtUgfu150Zoz_4ek/s1600/IMG_0861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wuqKk2wHeEwyjFre5lMaRo4xf54lW-pYSxgDGk_BPAne6vzFvhAfUYxmhS1Dlr87L1mTu4uy3xXkT6T4QHGgcBdb-iQXOZ3-KQkNsmZE9XtgZi_kEEcSUtUgfu150Zoz_4ek/s400/IMG_0861.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eily is 9! (Nora's smile wasn't forced at all.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQutHsUmZW639MA3JlYKDmzfcqTh4GFIXdZ_oXBqcdaGG37M3jzBNPb3ZfII9vjAQNKXSbMUN_yZ-KiyJsh3khDP-eqd8TUYejs6IyVvdSCmcCRdITX4t7uWQtkDOuYhDhya-/s1600/IMG_0859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQutHsUmZW639MA3JlYKDmzfcqTh4GFIXdZ_oXBqcdaGG37M3jzBNPb3ZfII9vjAQNKXSbMUN_yZ-KiyJsh3khDP-eqd8TUYejs6IyVvdSCmcCRdITX4t7uWQtkDOuYhDhya-/s400/IMG_0859.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Pee Wee isn't so little anymore. Ok, wait. Yes she is. :)</td></tr>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-2320870752304336722017-08-26T04:23:00.002-07:002017-08-26T04:23:47.156-07:00This one is short and sweet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every year I like to get a picture of Eily and her friend, Denman, at Harmony Hill. These are being posted just for prosperity's sake.<br />
Also, a picture of Claire and her friend, Catherine. They are one of the cutest combos. So much laughter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p5EEAZMSFzBbdy1ZItfLZG2LwDGyobpWwsw9KXxJk8uP-lDK2Bbbj15kW3fmeEUF4I-NeIyFOrY07oeFf2c4u9O-5Hrkt3kOujh8M8uUAGpdK_-oDsqzbsgrnAY2Tv8R7TQ5/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p5EEAZMSFzBbdy1ZItfLZG2LwDGyobpWwsw9KXxJk8uP-lDK2Bbbj15kW3fmeEUF4I-NeIyFOrY07oeFf2c4u9O-5Hrkt3kOujh8M8uUAGpdK_-oDsqzbsgrnAY2Tv8R7TQ5/s400/IMG_1137.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht8xo8dNbyFM_LUna1gzwaCyWoywItzZruQ4DeiMJ6UpyOkypIWbPgq1W14LioJnv3uzTDTEJwsPytFydZMGDgdH60VEfAckfcQ4hu7gYjPXZjTRhEqCOPY7f5Vgi_MqujExj/s1600/IMG_1002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht8xo8dNbyFM_LUna1gzwaCyWoywItzZruQ4DeiMJ6UpyOkypIWbPgq1W14LioJnv3uzTDTEJwsPytFydZMGDgdH60VEfAckfcQ4hu7gYjPXZjTRhEqCOPY7f5Vgi_MqujExj/s400/IMG_1002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-79624217821874064252017-08-26T04:21:00.000-07:002017-08-26T07:41:46.959-07:00Cousins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Is this "old people" life? I got up to go the bathroom at 3:49am and never could go back to sleep. I finally waved the wife flag and made myself a cup of coffee. I debated playing a game over updating this blog but since I do want to remember what has happened this year, the blog won.<br />
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I am way behind and really, I don't like for this blog to just to be about what we have done, where we have gone, etc... but also about our daily life, my thoughts and musings, and important stuff like FOOD. But the reality is that we have done a lot and I have pictures that I want recorded so that's what the next few posts are going to be about.<br />
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Feel free to quickly scroll and then go check your FB or Instagram. Also, can someone please let the next generation know that IT IS OK TO TAKE A PHOTO WITHOUT YOUR TONGUE HANGING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH LIKE A THIRSTY DOG. I promise you won't regret looking back at a picture where you just smiled like a normal person. Because to be perfectly blunt and honest, you look like idiots. :)<br />
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So this first post is going to touch on a few things we have been able to do with our Jones cousins. Rachel and I have the perfect mix of boy/girl siblings. She has all boys, I have all girls. They blend so well because everyone naturally knows their places in the pretend games they create and since it's usually a husband/wife situation, no one is paired up with a sibling. We do have a 3/4 ratio so there's usually one random dog somewhere in the mix.<br />
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Earlier this year, we surprised them all with tickets to see Wild Kratts Live in Kansas City, MO. (Later we found out they were also coming to Fayetteville which would have put us home HOURS earlier, but what can you do?)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJJ810pVF3wHiAs6SjLRYIEK8_wTYTFvGYi-hcSSlfZ1q8kqRR0yjwZvS_NICv0E0CFPXqXTDziALfZt_wuVoafrF5xsDF0UvcP_aKw0Mvk_pSaWHAiLhozG6w1r60-532JdR/s1600/IMG_5802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJJ810pVF3wHiAs6SjLRYIEK8_wTYTFvGYi-hcSSlfZ1q8kqRR0yjwZvS_NICv0E0CFPXqXTDziALfZt_wuVoafrF5xsDF0UvcP_aKw0Mvk_pSaWHAiLhozG6w1r60-532JdR/s400/IMG_5802.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Rachel and I also found a deal on a Branson hotel/waterpark thing and decided to go up the night before and take the kids to the Dixie Stampede. Dixie Stampede was fun, of course, and the next morning we suited up and took them to the waterpark area of the hotel. It was an indoor water park and it was really fun, but poor Eily was blue from being so cold. I think we require sunshine when doing water activities. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to go watch some horses perform!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Southern Belles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the bluegrass pre-show</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznhF3abmyZvAlRWceGKqFe_cLoT3_a-gQIuB2XXqHGiKaUxMyRKGjc39Gaslhz83gG8PorpYKc7CdrtiJZuMmWE9z6SeBh2yJWBfLHXOy_6R3tiNX6AR5nebcfJt1IueT6Ekn/s1600/IMG_1039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznhF3abmyZvAlRWceGKqFe_cLoT3_a-gQIuB2XXqHGiKaUxMyRKGjc39Gaslhz83gG8PorpYKc7CdrtiJZuMmWE9z6SeBh2yJWBfLHXOy_6R3tiNX6AR5nebcfJt1IueT6Ekn/s400/IMG_1039.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dixie Stampede Smiles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW_sXKfnY2eJojJ24Ca41TP8F_7FvCxtFPAgCxlWqc1xRDetoPwMsybst72-_ekLVB54Ex_HG3YzVY_KkBoi28bsk71-k_poUIqWRVH1ksM9Y4IGSdSpUwtUHvbxc-zqhIv_n/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW_sXKfnY2eJojJ24Ca41TP8F_7FvCxtFPAgCxlWqc1xRDetoPwMsybst72-_ekLVB54Ex_HG3YzVY_KkBoi28bsk71-k_poUIqWRVH1ksM9Y4IGSdSpUwtUHvbxc-zqhIv_n/s400/IMG_1046.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legs for miles<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
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Inspired by something Dad said in a sermon, Rachel made a deal with our kids that if they wrote letters to every household in our church, she would treat them all to a meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken because nothing says "heartfelt good deeds" like a little bribing. It quickly became known as the KFC club and they decided it meant the Kind Friendly Caring Club. (Most of our letters ended up looking like this: Hello so-and-so, I am in the KFC club. I hope you have a good day. Love, so-and-so. Next time we need to focus on content.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAjpnDgckMhp-cIN21kJZt1lJ2Tr8Wd9zOHBHKnNbt-jOIa7tRFyY_I_Qymfh7QLNJfl1atp1nc39n8yHfGrFumTNGcqhXGN5CkrDljkR0ffBOOfYvqOZ723hM4HH4rjLBAUJ/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAjpnDgckMhp-cIN21kJZt1lJ2Tr8Wd9zOHBHKnNbt-jOIa7tRFyY_I_Qymfh7QLNJfl1atp1nc39n8yHfGrFumTNGcqhXGN5CkrDljkR0ffBOOfYvqOZ723hM4HH4rjLBAUJ/s400/IMG_0888.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating the KFC meal in cowboy style</td></tr>
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We also went to Mississippi and spent some time with Jason's side of the family. The girls have three girl cousins and one boy cousin on that side of the family so things tend to be pretty girly. David is a trooper and never seems to mind. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mEXM4cwL73sMEVhEdqObN60OqW1aDmCIMioozUc0gJiFrG4vGgq1BI4rqluI99on2gWlXzDKR-dCnw77DvnJdSiHb_-DBvPmDxRLBOa1GuzKgW4XlPeRiVIbhcRJqgFtT5UG/s1600/IMG_0911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mEXM4cwL73sMEVhEdqObN60OqW1aDmCIMioozUc0gJiFrG4vGgq1BI4rqluI99on2gWlXzDKR-dCnw77DvnJdSiHb_-DBvPmDxRLBOa1GuzKgW4XlPeRiVIbhcRJqgFtT5UG/s400/IMG_0911.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting Bebe and Bubba</td></tr>
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That covers one category of photos to document. On to the next!<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-67383411000111369002017-05-04T19:11:00.001-07:002017-05-04T19:11:59.717-07:00Tidbits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Y'all. I have had the most violent hiccups all morning. You know what's getting old? Hiccups. I just want to drink my tea!<br />
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I've given up coffee as a daily habit. I'm pretty sure it was the cause of my constant sore throats. I still love it and drink it randomly, but not every morning. My current hot drink of choice is Aged Earl Grey with frothed half-and-half and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top. When I was a kid, I always heard my mom talk about how hard it was to give up coffee while pregnant, so I promised myself that I wouldn't become addicted to it until I was finished having babies. And I kept that promise. I didn't drink coffee daily until after I had Nora and honestly, I got annoyed sometimes at feeling like I had to have coffee to function.<br />
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I have been spring cleaning. Every drawer, every shelf, every closet, every space is getting reorganized and throughly cleaned. The only rooms I have left (and they are the worse rooms) are the schoolroom and my bedroom. I do also have the back bathroom but that's a minor one. Of course, the rooms that were previously deep cleaned are now filthy so I need to start over but at least I know they are organized. When I'm finished will all of this, I am having a big yard sale. My sister has started the same process so between my 11+ bags of items and her stuff, we might have one impressive yard sale.<br />
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Updated count as of this evening:<br />
16 bags<br />
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I exercised. I feel that needs to be mentioned because it doesn't seem to happen much any more.<br />
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I have a killer headache and I'm off to sleep. Hope you had a great Thursday.</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-36166067104751947572017-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:002017-03-30T07:27:15.020-07:00Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sorry for neglecting you. We had a busy little spell of activities, mostly wedding related. Our wonderful Aunt Kat/Kathryn/Moo married her chef-man, Gannon. The wedding was in Memphis this past weekend. Elaina and I were both in the wedding party and my friends, Susanna and Barbara, really stepped in with taking care of the other three girls so that Elaina and I could be at the various places we need to be throughout the weekend. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrscKrZB5AJjW0vEy6ayEz7ytbZ4pqZy7NUTbo9j6tm4MwhBJ5f0TGvB7kaX-jhwBdRKfx_xBwF5RF9nxhz-XDaQEY_QRgzaLuRwh-4bHu0mKG-GHLGVa03ILyOsuQm6cdsxyO/s1600/17424707_1159333014177959_8131856730245510653_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrscKrZB5AJjW0vEy6ayEz7ytbZ4pqZy7NUTbo9j6tm4MwhBJ5f0TGvB7kaX-jhwBdRKfx_xBwF5RF9nxhz-XDaQEY_QRgzaLuRwh-4bHu0mKG-GHLGVa03ILyOsuQm6cdsxyO/s400/17424707_1159333014177959_8131856730245510653_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was a lovely wedding and I only strangled on a cough twice during the ceremony. :)</div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-41962781218494106262017-03-02T09:30:00.002-08:002017-03-02T09:30:34.405-08:00Well, the title was never clear so there isn't one<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes I have to write the post before I can give it a title and sometimes the title give the post a topic. Today, the title will remain blank until the end. In other words, I have no idea what I'm going to write about and this post has great potential to be very squirrely.<br />
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I have been crazy tired. Like, fall-over-on-your-highchair-tray-and-land-with-your-face-in-your-mashed-potatoes kind of tired. I really tried to get a good night's sleep last night but I had two people call me after 11 and they were both people that I had to talk to so I couldn't ignore the calls. Then it took a good 15-20 minutes after each call to fall back asleep again. I do feel a little better today, though, and the headache I've had for over a week seems to be fading. My headaches lately aren't actual headaches, but I lose my peripheral vision and have a dull ache behind my eyes. I've been told that's a version of a migraine.<br />
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I have stared adding collagen peptides to my coffee. I bought the canister a few weeks ago and I have just kept putting it off because I envisioned some sort of nasty, gloppy substance and that would make me feel super disgusted. Turns out, it completely dissolves and has no taste.<br />
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These things have been making me feel very adultish this past week:<br />
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1) I have been washing my face and applying toner and serum every morning and night. It's been about 9 years since I've had that habit.<br />
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2) Adding collagen peptide to my coffee every day<br />
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3) Staying caught up on the laundry (Disclaimer: the girls fold everything)<br />
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4) I organized my perfumes, lotion, etc.. on my dresser in a pleasing manner<br />
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That's it. It's not really that much when you see it listed. Now I don't feel as adultish as I did before.<br />
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I really want to go visit the Pioneer Women's Mercantile. I think it's about a 4 hour trip from our house so I'm not super excited about that part but I think if I went with a carload of fun, chatty women, it would be worth it. Jason, sweet lovable man of my heart, don't you want to babysit???<br />
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That's it for today. Happy second day of March, everyone. </div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-10822217974963347892017-02-27T12:09:00.000-08:002017-02-27T12:49:52.848-08:00Claire's 10 year old trip with Aunt Kat- Boston, MA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Guessing time is over! We just got back yesterday afternoon from BOSTON! Remember <a href="http://bekahsacran.blogspot.com/2016/07/elainas-10-year-old-trip-with-aunt-kat.html" target="_blank">Elaina's trip last year</a>? Well, it was time for Claire to take her trip. I came across some ridiculously cheap flight tickets from Nashville to Boston ($68 round-trip!), compared calendar dates with Kathryn, and started planning. Contour airlines in Tupelo has a thing going on where they do several flights a day between Tupelo and Nashville for about $30. Jason's parents, aka my babysitters for this trip, live near Tupelo (as does Kathryn) so it was a perfect set up for all the traveling details.<br />
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We drove to Tupelo on Friday and got there about four in the afternoon. We dropped off the girls and then headed to get Kathryn. We had plans to get our nails painted (you know, since we did that on Elaina's trip and it must be the same, lol) but the one and only place in Ripley was busy and we wouldn't be able to get finished in time to go watch my cousin's basketball game. (Kathryn's youngest brother, Shafer, was the ballplayer.)<br />
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SATURDAY</div>
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We woke up bright and early Saturday morning and Shafer was a sweetheart and drove us to the airport. This was the MOST FUN FLIGHT EVER! It was a really small propeller plane that only had nine seats. We got to walk out on the runway and actually go up the stairs into the plane.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">The plane was super loud, though, so Claire used her headphones as earplugs. </span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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We landed in Boston at 1:30 their time and immediately searched out a nail place near our "house" so that we could cross that item off our check list. We only did our fingernail since we still had all our luggage and were wearing our winter boots. We had rented an airbnb apartment in the Beacon Hill area which ended up being the perfect location for walking to the main attractions. Our address was 103 Myrtle Street and we would always laugh at this door as we were walking home. You don't often see ninety-nine and a half as an address. </div>
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There was a lot of this streaky green on buildings around the city and we are guessing it was some kind of metal that had turned. Anyone know?</div>
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That first day we went to Boston Commons park and saw a "Bert-from-the-70's" in modern day time. </div>
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We also saw the duck statues from Make Way for Ducklings. Claire and Kathryn each own Polaroid cameras, Kat's is standard size and Claire's is a mini sized camera, so I didn't take pictures with my phone that often. </div>
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After walking around a bit, it was time to go back to the apartment and get ready for dinner. This was our only "nice" dinner and according to The Internets, it was a "hidden gem" and not to be missed. We had Uber take us over to the Italian district of the city and made our reservation. Then we walked up and down the street, going in to various pastry and meat stores. We bought a couple of pastries at the coolest Italian shop from an Italian/Northern lady with the best accent. </div>
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There were a lot of meat shops on this street and there several things like this on the sidewalk. </div>
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We ate at Euno's Restaurant and had the most snooty and snobbish waiter. But despite that, we gobbled our food. It was delicious!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creme Brûlée. Always get the Creme Brûlée.</td></tr>
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On our walk to meet the Uber to get home, we passed a tattoo place that was raising money for Lyme's awareness. So random and funny.</div>
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SUNDAY</div>
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The next morning the weather was gorgeous and after a delicious breakfast/lunch at Tatte Bakery (best food EVER!) we got to the start of The Freedom Trail and then stared walking and walking and walking. The entire trail is 2.5 miles and we walked the whole thing and then back home again. </div>
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So the Freedom Trail is basically a brick path that takes you past the historical places in Boston that played a roll in America's freedom. I actually think it's a brilliant idea because it allows tourists to easily find all the places without using GPS or a tour guide. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadness. Paul Revere died.</td></tr>
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There was a spot to stand if you were a republican that was opposite of the donkey so that you could resist the democrats. </div>
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Fun info on the walls of the Faneuil Hall bathroom. </div>
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Paul Revere's house was a fun stop along the Freedom Trail. They let you walk through some of the rooms and walk around outside in his courtyard area. We found out later that we could have gone to services at the Old North Church where the lanterns were hung to alert Paul Revere. That would have been a very neat experience and we were bummed that we missed it. We did get to go inside the church and take pictures in the spot where Teddy Roosevelt sat. </div>
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That night we went to see Disney on Ice- Follow your Heart. Claire seemed to really enjoy it and got a plastic sword as a souvenir. That ended up being a blast to carry through the airport. NOT. And then it was left on the last plane and I had to go all the way back to the airport the next day to get it. It has proven to be a popular toy, much more than I thought it would, and I have to say it was worth the drive to retrieve it. The Nemo hat mysteriously disappeared before we left Boston.</div>
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MONDAY</div>
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Monday we took the Metro to Cambridge to visit Harvard University. It was really cold that day so we were a little hesitant to just walk around outside. Three students came up to us and asked if they could interview us for a class project. One of the students had been a tour guide the previous school year so he kindly offered to take us in the library and show us something cool. Fun fact: You can't go into the Harvard library unless you are with a student. </div>
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There was a family, a billionaire family, who had a son named...something. And this son liked to search for valuable books when he was traveling. One day, in some country (Don't you like how I pay close attention to details?), he stumbled upon a Gutenberg bible. Quite a find, don't you think? Then, he and his parents were on the Titanic and even though they all had seats on a boat as first-class passengers, the father and the son gave up their spots for other women and children. The mother made sure take the Bible with her so it didn't perish on the boat. Eventually, the son's library and the Bible were loaned to the Harvard library. The only stipulation is that NO ONE is allowed past the ropes and into the room except the head librarian. She is to keep the room dusted and every morning must place a vase of fresh flowers on the desk. If this rule is not followed, they can lose the book collection and the library. </div>
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After visiting the library and saying goodbye to our new Harvard friend, we sat on some steps to some amazing-looking building and tried to warm up in the sunshine. We weren't sure what to do next and finally decided that even though it was freezing, we had to eat some of Toscanili's Ice Cream- the best in Boston! OK, well, I don't know if that was true but they did have some crazy delicious flavors. I had the mint and 3B. 3B was just so good I can't really describe it. It was brownie, browned butter, and brown sugar. YUUUMMMMMM!<br />
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After that, we sat and tried to decide what to do next. After a bit of web surfing, we discovered that Boston had a children's museum and right next to it was the Boston Tea Party museum. We Uber-ed our way over to that part of the city and originally thought we would just glance at the Tea Party place and spend the rest of our time at the children's museum, but after giving it a second glance, we decided to forget that plan and just spend all our time with the BTP people. That was the most unexpected fun part of the trip. The have a fantastic hour-long tour that is worth the price of the ticket. We had such a great time learning how to say Huzzah!, hiss and boo our objections, and how to pound the bench with great enthusiasm. Then we went onto a replica of The Eleanor and tossed "tea crates" overboard. Then we went below deck and learned some more interesting facts about that night. Afterward, we went to a tea room where you could taste all the flavors of the tea that were on board that night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX7avJPFpYbwvAXcuLSP8Kes5O2bGPrX1cuQvoZCV_EEsnqyeycSoGkhBTAzqLEFIddYjpySpjxVrMRbGmIBDeEKVMC1pwpHUNqocD4WuKwFE5hAWRCtlle5cXfK1O1pBHhUj/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX7avJPFpYbwvAXcuLSP8Kes5O2bGPrX1cuQvoZCV_EEsnqyeycSoGkhBTAzqLEFIddYjpySpjxVrMRbGmIBDeEKVMC1pwpHUNqocD4WuKwFE5hAWRCtlle5cXfK1O1pBHhUj/s400/IMG_0521.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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At some point (I'm past being able to remember everything) we went to the USS Constitution museum. They had a lot of fun little activities that let you experience life on the boat. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_VcplvtAQYTeuuhxg47XhO8ImLKWzL92eSUy98ggi1CP_XYKRg7zck6WV0y-zKn5-AhvcYyVX5QZ-Rv5LCZ4Iol4TOOrA20yG-AWH1KcgVe5UGxmvIFMFi3pPL0NfGRPPSC4/s1600/IMG_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_VcplvtAQYTeuuhxg47XhO8ImLKWzL92eSUy98ggi1CP_XYKRg7zck6WV0y-zKn5-AhvcYyVX5QZ-Rv5LCZ4Iol4TOOrA20yG-AWH1KcgVe5UGxmvIFMFi3pPL0NfGRPPSC4/s400/IMG_0516.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scrubbing the deck</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9iBSOnpjVbcUsXIdj_5ybDkcPrj3BMifUy04bdA2hshbAnt35NFRuBchQ8m4AaAwzCmy6TUiwa7ZM21c0_ohgbOnat9rsdcFmltyeo1TF_U59TZYk8hoC35ux84AZoqkPS4h/s1600/IMG_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9iBSOnpjVbcUsXIdj_5ybDkcPrj3BMifUy04bdA2hshbAnt35NFRuBchQ8m4AaAwzCmy6TUiwa7ZM21c0_ohgbOnat9rsdcFmltyeo1TF_U59TZYk8hoC35ux84AZoqkPS4h/s400/IMG_0517.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attempting to stand on a rope while tying up the sails. This was risky when you were high up in the air!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GAnzqXuSWAPPULuyeC1jijE-_Av7mMNyGOm5LZDf0fzYYez02MQfJznO_1PjkxWzKjAjq9lZst_p05SG9GzDz5qUY_FNig3OX_mkXVFVphhrqakHxbPDUXjbMir9bRTS6zlE/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GAnzqXuSWAPPULuyeC1jijE-_Av7mMNyGOm5LZDf0fzYYez02MQfJznO_1PjkxWzKjAjq9lZst_p05SG9GzDz5qUY_FNig3OX_mkXVFVphhrqakHxbPDUXjbMir9bRTS6zlE/s400/IMG_0518.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Their hammock beds were actually really comfortable.</td></tr>
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TUESDAY</div>
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Tuesday was our last day in Boston and we only had a few hours before we had to head to the airport. We had two things on our agenda:</div>
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1) Eat at Tatte one last time and I was determine to get there before they ran out of their avocado tartine. It proved to be as delicious as it sounded. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqHcgZREQkaquVqdxpFs-KIA31S9VbdR2vst_Km-F45aBVIStcN1n5pd_W7ce4JD3KW4gvnFlIzbGWy1Q8z44Eyz0eH05oQEQVRnhnIh9Rd35RtXWmcVm46Ip6GmaGJkg8gkR/s1600/IMG_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqHcgZREQkaquVqdxpFs-KIA31S9VbdR2vst_Km-F45aBVIStcN1n5pd_W7ce4JD3KW4gvnFlIzbGWy1Q8z44Eyz0eH05oQEQVRnhnIh9Rd35RtXWmcVm46Ip6GmaGJkg8gkR/s400/IMG_0512.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pastries done right</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiGVXwveirDmA3E4hxVEDbMyFBBOpYHl1X6gnIM_Nv0KIxCrt_YH_A8ER6sbNg_D4kF4pQdAESIf2l0DTfhsJeMbCUDNcXkY1zIso0Jvrl8g36u6ADTH3lQ8r57RHq7W7KJER/s1600/IMG_0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiGVXwveirDmA3E4hxVEDbMyFBBOpYHl1X6gnIM_Nv0KIxCrt_YH_A8ER6sbNg_D4kF4pQdAESIf2l0DTfhsJeMbCUDNcXkY1zIso0Jvrl8g36u6ADTH3lQ8r57RHq7W7KJER/s400/IMG_0486.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Beloved Tartine</td></tr>
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Every day Claire had been asking to ice skate on Frog Pond and every day we kept postponing it. I PROMISED that we would make it happen before left, so immediately headed there after eating. I think for her it was the best possible ending to our trip. By the time we left, she had gotten pretty comfortable and confident on the ice. The weather was <i>perfect</i> and we left Boston smiling. </div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-83256636269302086222017-02-15T07:42:00.000-08:002017-02-15T07:42:16.264-08:00February 15th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Did you do anything Valentine-y yesterday? We went to CC and the kids exchanged valentines with their classmates. I gave my tutors some delicious chocolate covered strawberries and I think only two of them were eaten. That was a nice waste of money.<br />
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It rained the entire day. I was planning on wearing a cute red and white shirt with some nice jeans, but once I saw the rain, I opted for jogging pants and a t-shirt. It was a good thing, too, because the lid to my coffee wasn't all the way on and when I took a drink, it poured all over me. I mean, I was soaked. So that was great fun.<br />
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The weather is warm, then it's hot, then it's cold, then it's rainy, then it's cool, then it's windy and warm, etc.... You get the point. As a result, there is some major snotty noses over here. Well, it's mostly Nora but I've heard a few sniffles from a couple of the other girls.<br />
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Want some clues as to what the fun event is this weekend?<br />
1- Mallards<br />
2- History<br />
3- Ice<br />
4- Lanterns<br />
5- Disney<br />
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That's all the help you're going to get. </div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-49460645621610845162017-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:002017-02-13T09:51:50.418-08:00Mondays<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Did you know that Mondays are my very favorite? Maybe it's because I was always in trouble and getting grounded, etc..., but I love the idea of a fresh start. Every Monday is a fresh new week, an unchecked, but ready to be checked, to-do list. I'm also in the process of slowing down our lives and every Monday, I look at our schedule and think, "At the end of this week, all these things will be finished and don't ever have to be repeated." And I like the way that feels. This week we will be finished with all the Valentine stuff (boxes, cards, food) that we needed for our CC group, Elaina will have a dentist appointment so we won't have to do that for another 6 weeks or so, I will direct my last tutor meeting (EVER), and at there's a fun event taking place at the end of our week but I'll wait until it's finished before I tell you about it. So there. That's why I love Mondays.<br />
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Also, I start to get caught up on laundry on Mondays so there's that, too.</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-57873154563741685962017-02-10T09:01:00.002-08:002017-02-10T09:01:44.799-08:00Friday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Do you know what the word Flotsam means? I do. I mean, I only learned its meaning recently so I can't act too proud, but I do feel like I could take down a level or two on Trivia Crack with that knowledge. Unfortunately, Trivia Crack allllwwwaaayysss lands on the sports category so I look like a complete dunce to the person playing against me. But if it ever lands on geography (maybe?), I will rock that Flotsam question.<br />
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Our house is so dirty. There is thick dust everywhere. Feel free to come write, "I wuz here" on my dresser.<br />
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The girls have all been sick this week with a fever-cough-congestion-type sickness. Somehow Jason and I have avoided getting sick but I don't feel convinced that we will continue to avoid it. It seems to last for about 2.5 days. I don't have that much time to be lazy and unproductive.<br />
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Nora has peed on every bed in the house except Eily's bed, but Eily's bed has broken-fever sweat all over it so guess what I am going to be doing all day. Please send powerful back pain medicine my way. I LOATHE changing bunk bed bedding. (Alliteration Alert!)<br />
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Wouldn't this post be more interesting if it was full of beautiful pictures?<br />
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You know what? I almost never have pictures of Elaina and I am taking less and less pictures of Claire. They are just busy, I guess. And they aren't cutie little babies so the natural instinct to "capture the moment" doesn't happen as often.<br />
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We are finally in our groove with school. I guess it's about time SINCE IT'S FEBRUARY. It looks like we will be doing school on and off all summer just to get caught up in math.<br />
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Jason and I have plans to go to Italy this summer. He's teaching a workshop and I'm eating a lot of pasta. I also plan on spending a good bit of time in Switzerland. It's an hour by train from where we are staying and it's been on my bucket list for a long time. Want to come with me? I need a travel buddy since Jason will be busy. Rome is also an hour away so I will be taking the time to make all the Roman Holiday stops. Maybe I should get a pixie cut before I go.<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-68927917737472500052017-02-09T10:57:00.001-08:002017-02-09T10:58:39.606-08:00Write, they say<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"When are you going to post?"<br />
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"Why haven't you blogged in forever years?"<br />
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"Hey! Post something!"<br />
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These are the words I hear (or some form of them) all the time. And I'm pretty sure it's the same five people that say them to me, but those five people matter and so I will try to write more often. I actually do sit down to my computer and click on the NEW POST button, but then I just stare at the blinking cursor and nothing happens. And I decide that a blank post is very boring so I delete the draft and go eat some chocolate chips.<br />
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Speaking of fat...<br />
I think my body is beginning to fail me. Or I'm lazy; that could be it, too. I am really packing it on the old waistline and it's not really coming off at all. I did stay very focused for two weeks. I tracked my food intake and exercised in some form every. single.day. No skips. No breaks. And while the scale went down a couple of pounds (see? that's not a very motivating number) the inches around my waist didn't change at all. So I did think, "Oh good. I'm making a difference somewhere on this old body.", but apparently I also thought, "Well, that's done. I can eat a lot of cheese now." Because that's what I've been doing and I have quickly reversed everything that I had accomplished. So I'm kind of back at it again today and I'm using this photo for inspiration. I know I look extra rough in this photo, but I get so much enjoyment from it. The best part about it is that I'm holding food. I mean, obviously I was starving myself. :) I've logged my food into MyFitnessPal app all day, and I put on yoga pants with the hope that it will inspire me to jump up and down a few times. Actually, scratch that. Jumping and my bladder strength are not a good combo. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl1mJk8ROku1htO_a8lTLpGQufssbdR-caaR2TcjBUi_9H-pRmrKqH82LRdb6GFJtHxYTM84670royOc6v6JMgcHCnl4a8T19NwHeJoHb2rkzXbo4zPsiHbozyGTrvK3CVovh/s1600/IMG_0386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl1mJk8ROku1htO_a8lTLpGQufssbdR-caaR2TcjBUi_9H-pRmrKqH82LRdb6GFJtHxYTM84670royOc6v6JMgcHCnl4a8T19NwHeJoHb2rkzXbo4zPsiHbozyGTrvK3CVovh/s400/IMG_0386.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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My goal for this year is for most of our days to be spent at home. And we have actually had many weeks where we only left the house on Tuesday for CC and Sunday for church. So while I can say that most of our days have been spent here, we have also done a lot of things. It's kind of weird how that's working out that way. My cousin, Logan, married the beautiful Caroline in Waco, TX, at the end of last month. We went a day early so we could stay one night with my good friend, Laura, and do a little sightseeing at The Magnolia Market and Silos the morning before the rehearsal. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhEllx1OTIwDbZcGujzPrjZmVbBJOpwCjigDIUk-m32r3t3xxl0yNUWI6R1QRc2UnwDpW2PZsSYhok3ctToi7QxVwfU94HRfSr9HsKL48GXVQJ33S3zaAC4Tzj-7vNuhXFTll/s1600/IMG_0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhEllx1OTIwDbZcGujzPrjZmVbBJOpwCjigDIUk-m32r3t3xxl0yNUWI6R1QRc2UnwDpW2PZsSYhok3ctToi7QxVwfU94HRfSr9HsKL48GXVQJ33S3zaAC4Tzj-7vNuhXFTll/s400/IMG_0242.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PhZqJ4NGmn24_m8hpq4dahVyAqRvWEXriSLd2tCGLIWMOvWybgKm_8F75vizUI54oAPRSd6uD706iL9XT6a5cBo8BSfaLGnWBGGqZfZZmM2-WTWnq52JiYa9Ux-V_xlXOz9r/s1600/IMG_0243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PhZqJ4NGmn24_m8hpq4dahVyAqRvWEXriSLd2tCGLIWMOvWybgKm_8F75vizUI54oAPRSd6uD706iL9XT6a5cBo8BSfaLGnWBGGqZfZZmM2-WTWnq52JiYa9Ux-V_xlXOz9r/s400/IMG_0243.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I want this greenhouse/shed thingy</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I look at this I get all inspired to garden. Then I look at my actual garden and laugh. </td></tr>
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After the rehearsal, we dove to Georgetown to stay with one of our most favorite families ever. Barbara is related to Logan on his mother's side of the family we were all on the same time schedule for the weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknIRJdjVgKmin9ttYHMDvAuuIAzyVyEbFGb-KnA85-VFnke6UfSqUKHqRaLG9jBwoG7MWjFZ7O_X-CLiGmrAlB5C9U-EkMnFNi3QO6qUwhHLYTQ5tCTIWcaBR1blmxVvQm4GU/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknIRJdjVgKmin9ttYHMDvAuuIAzyVyEbFGb-KnA85-VFnke6UfSqUKHqRaLG9jBwoG7MWjFZ7O_X-CLiGmrAlB5C9U-EkMnFNi3QO6qUwhHLYTQ5tCTIWcaBR1blmxVvQm4GU/s400/IMG_0254.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back row: Claire(10), Cord(11), Denman(8), Eily(8), Elaina(11)<br />
Front Row: Teague(6), Lola Kathleen(4), Nora(5)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZhZqM31KhWzTSzXnD2ZVU-9uoJ_-gHzZfwBznaHc4avv4B3PToxJdjH3mlmJvzQRV4FvWmEIngY66A0PjkF7BMiB_Jdt3zFwl5-zLwVrCv8iqa8RDhidkhKJj57lnIDWNo-9/s1600/IMG_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZhZqM31KhWzTSzXnD2ZVU-9uoJ_-gHzZfwBznaHc4avv4B3PToxJdjH3mlmJvzQRV4FvWmEIngY66A0PjkF7BMiB_Jdt3zFwl5-zLwVrCv8iqa8RDhidkhKJj57lnIDWNo-9/s400/IMG_0257.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If these two ever marry, they will make the most firecracker of a couple there ever was. </td></tr>
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After we come home from Texas, there was one snowy day. And that was our whole winter. And I'm ok with that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire has no idea she's about to be hammered with a snowball.<br />
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Also, we were in the nutcracker again in December. Nora was a sheep, Eily was a Buffoon, Claire was a party boy and an Arabian gem, and Elaina was a party boy. Lillie, the girls' cousin was also able to be a Party Boy and Uncle Josh and I were Party Parents. </div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-58235306123794978672017-01-27T10:46:00.000-08:002017-01-27T10:46:15.974-08:00Meet the Sacrans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Reposting this from last year</i><br />
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Hi there. We are the Sacran family.<br />
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My name is Rebekah. I'm the Mama Bear and I like things neat and orderly. I like to decorate rooms in my mind, I like to solve Algebra problems, and here lately, I like to eat two eggs fried in coconut oil with some avocado on the side every morning for breakfast. I do not like pancakes, cucumbers, or folding laundry.<br />
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Jason is our Papa Bear. He's an artist, a hugger, and resident picture hanger-er. He likes art, movies, our kids, and soup. He does not like algebra, raw onions, or tying shoelaces.<br />
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We have four little female cubs.<br />
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Elaina is the eldest. She's tall like her Daddy and skinny beyond reason like her two grandmothers were at her age. She loves art, eating food, and sports. She has a heart the size of Texas and will do everything in her power to make everyone around her feel appreciated and loved. She does not like tomatoes, ballet, or making people mad.<br />
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Claire is the oldest-middlest. She's built and colored a lot like her mama. She has a natural mothering instinct, a great eye for color and design, a very dramatic flair for all things fashionable, and is as sassy as can be. (Bless her beautiful hide :) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, anyone?) She dreams of being a ballerina. She does not like t-ball, mushrooms, or being quiet.<br />
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Eily (eye-lee) is the youngest-middlest. She has somehow remained tiny, even as she continues to grow. She loves black olives, washing dishes, and doing schoolwork. She can fold laundry and sweep a floor like nobody's business. She does not like scary music, having a messy room, or waking up early.<br />
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Nora is the littlest and "though she be but little, she is fierce!" She is all things energetic and loud. She's almost caught up to her older sister in clothing size and she loves to change those clothes forty times a day. She also likes to eat a lot of bananas, and do any and everything with her daddy. She does not like going to bed, vegetables, or being left out of <b><i>anything</i></b>.<br />
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We are the Sacrans. We are loud at times, we always have a lot of laundry (thanks for that, Nora), and we have our moments of disagreements. But we are so fond of each other, have the best time being each other's friends, and love to live our lives together.<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-88528404748935155442016-12-12T18:45:00.003-08:002016-12-12T18:45:27.957-08:00Home Sweet Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, our house sold. Just like that.<br />
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We've been living in our new/old house since the middle of October.<br />
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Life just keeps on moving forward. </div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-76337893938212924792016-08-21T16:35:00.000-07:002016-08-31T20:27:33.117-07:00Grand Lake, Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We went with Jason on one of his business trips to Colorado. We stayed in Grand Lake, but the event was officially held in Estes Park, Colorado. The town of Grand Lake is very charming. It's an old mining town and a lot of the cabins are 100+ years old. The town is incredibly safe and you will see young kids running around and biking along the roads and trails. It's very neat to get a glance of what it was like when that was typical in every town. We stayed with Dr. and Mrs. Kelley, and they are prominent members of the town so we had access to places we might not have otherwise. We got to go explore the yacht clubhouse and see a wedding reception that looked like something out of a movie. The first night that we there, we pretty much came in, said hello, and went to bed. It was very late our time, and we had traveled over 14 hours total. Saturday, we explored the town with Mrs. Kelly. Grand Lake is a very small town; I think the population is around 400, and most them are multi-millionarirs. Therefore, the cabins and landscapes are so great. You just can't stop looking.<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-1544999321616509372016-07-21T18:33:00.003-07:002016-07-21T18:38:57.476-07:00Elaina's 10 Year Old Trip with Aunt Kat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a hard day so I think I'm going to try to de-stress by posting about our trip to Virginia.<br />
We've got some funny vacation combos going on with our family this year. Claire and Eily get to go on the cruise this coming March, so Elaina got to go with me to visit Jason in Richmond, Virginia.<br />
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My cousin, Kathryn, came to me last summer with an idea that I thought was fabulous and fun-sounding. She wanted for me and her to take a trip with each girl as they turned 10. We kept trying to make it happen after Elaina turned 10 and it only took nine months to be successful. :)<br />
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Elaina and I left the house very early Monday morning and made it to Memphis in record time. If you are wanting to travel from FS to Memphis and meet no construction on the road, do it in the early morning. Since "Aunt Kat" happens live in Memphis and we had a couple of hours to spare before we needed to be at the airport (and because she got the call that her car had officially died earlier in the day), we picked her up and all three of us got mani/pedis so we would look amazing during our vacation. :) Elaina found it hilarious that she got stuck with the man worker. Kathryn took us to the airport since she was going to use the Suburban until it was time for her flight the following morning. We got there a little early so we stopped for lunch- BBQ of course! It <i>was </i>the Memphis airport, after all.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for our flight to see Jason</td></tr>
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We finally arrived in Baltimore and then stood in line for about on hour to get our rental car. The man said that they had run out of the kind of car that we paid for so would we mind driving a SUV for the same price? Of course not. So when we walked outside, we died laughing because it was a huge Dodge RAM truck. Oh well, we <i>are</i> from Arkansas, after all.<br />
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We drove the hour to the house where we would be staying with Jason. The house itself was fabulous. It was a historical house and we stayed in the servants' quarters in the lower level of the house. We got up early Tuesday morning and drove to DC to collect Kathryn from the Regan airport. I have traveled enough in the past two years to have learned this one things about myself- FOOD is the most important thing to me when exploring a new location. I never care about shops or about what all there is to do, I just want to know- WHERE ARE THE AMAZING RESTURANTS? So of course I had put in some research and knew that the first stop must be 2Amys. It did not disappoint. (Well, Elaina wasn't a big fan.)</div>
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They had amazing pizza, amazing appetizers, and the most world-changing wild-flower honey sorbet. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizze d.o.c. means that these pizza had been recognized as official Italian pizza from the Italian government. </td></tr>
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Elaina's drink of the trip was Ginger Ale. She said this bottle was the best of the trip. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Risotto balls and delicious deviled eggs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizza for everyone!!</td></tr>
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We waddled out of 2Amys and made our way (much longer way than we anticipated) to the Metro station. It was a very rainy day and we got a little wet here and there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They had these funny picture things all along the street. </td></tr>
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Elaina worked on her Metro skills the whole day. I would try to explain to her where we were going and see if she could keep up with where and when we needed to get off the train.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading down to the Metro!</td></tr>
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Our first stop was the Natural Museum of American History. This is one of my very favorite places to visit in DC. There are always really interesting things to see.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lincoln's hat he was wearing when he was shot. </td></tr>
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Kathryn and I have a mutual love for food and how to prepare it, so we both get a little "fan-girlish" when we see Julia Child's kitchen.<br />
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The kitchen is her literal kitchen. They moved everything to the museum and kept everything in it's exact place. You can walk around and look at it from every angle. I could have spent a couple of hours looking at everything but Elaina was ready to move on to another exhibit. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved looking at the books on her bookshelf. I may copy every single thing. </td></tr>
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We finally left the museum and headed for the Mall. It was really looking very stormy at this point but we didn't let that deter us. I had bought a flimsy umbrella from a guy on the street but Kathryn held her ground and wasn't tempted. She later regretted that. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaina and Kathryn in front of the Lincoln Memorial</td></tr>
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It started raining really hard while we were at the Lincoln Memorial but we saw a taxi sitting by the curb and decided to make a run for it. Well... he wouldn't take us because we were too wet. And believe me, we were completely soaked by that time. My umbrella had decided to invert itself and be of no use and poor Elaina and Kathryn were just drenched.<br />
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At this point, we really couldn't get any wetter so we decided to walk back to the Metro station and go home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George!!</td></tr>
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The next morning, we went to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast. We bought every type of macaroon they served and a few other delicious pastries. We may have gained a few pounds during this trip. :) Seriously though, the grapefruit macaroon was heavenly.<br />
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Our location on the schedule for Wednesday was Colonial Williamsburg. This was by far the highlight of the trip for Elaina. She was desperate to completely envelope herself in the time and place so we decided her birthday gift should be a period dress and hat. She bummed hard that they didn't sell genuine leather hand-made shoes. Haha</div>
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They do actually make them there but they are just for the people who work there. Elaina has also decided that she wants to work there one summer. I have to say I agree it would be an amazing experience. I would try to get a job in the shop that made the rugs and cloth. (Plus, their shop had air-conditioning. )</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning to make a notebook with paper and thread. </td></tr>
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We spent as much time as we could at Colonial Williamsburg. It was so much fun. I hadn't been there since I was a teenager so it was fun to come back and watch my daughter have all the feelings I had the first time I went. It will for sure be a place that I come back and bring all the girls.<br />
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We went home again and visited a little with Mr. John, the man who owned the house where were were staying. His wife had left so we didn't get to meet her but she did write Elaina an email that I will attach at the end of this post. Mr. John is from England and his wife is from France. It was fun to listen to him talk and take notice of his impeccable manners. </div>
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The next morning we drove to George Washington's house, Mount Vernon. Now in hind sight, We should have gone there the day before. Once Elaina had been to Colonial Williamsburg, nothing else could compare. She liked Mt. Vernon but she kept mentioning that she would love to just go back and spend the rest of the day at CW. :) She did, however, wear her costume in case there were some other people in their costumes.<br />
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That evening, we went with Jason to an artists' dinner down the street at another old, historical house. This one even had the only kitchen in the basement. The poor women helping host the event went up and down the starts about 50 times. And they weren't exactly spring chickens! The granddaughter of the woman hosting the event was also there and she and Elaina struck up a quick friendship. Her name is Colette and they plan on being pen-pals. </div>
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We didn't linger long at the dinner. We were tired and Jason was completely exhausted. We came home and played some cards and watched a cooking show. The next day was Friday and Kathryn and I headed back to the airport. We got in extremely late so I stay the night and left early the next morning. I was very, very happy to see this sign. </div>
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Jason and Elaina didn't leave until the following </div>
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Monday. The spent the weekend picnicking with Mr. John and doing several Plein-Air painting sessions together. The did have an awful time getting home. They ended up having to stay the night in the airport and then catching a different flight home. At least Elaina had this memory to carry her through the ordeal. :)</div>
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The email from Mr. John after we were back home:<br />
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<i>Jason,</i></div>
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<i>I believe you are about to land safely so hopefully this will reach you just in time!</i></div>
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<i>Thank you so much for the absolutely wonderful painting - I showed it to Benedicte via Facetime as soon as I returned home and then I took a photo and sent it to her as well. I must say her initial intake of breath was sufficient, it really is beautiful and one we will treasure for all the time we have left on this planet - be in here in Richmond or back in England. It will hold a very special place in our home and bring back memories for me which I will always remember. </i></div>
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<i>Now - I do wish Elaina had her own personal e-mail address so I could communicate directly to her how much pleasure her drawing gave Benedicte and me today. We both thought it was SO SO SPECIAL - and we loved the real message you wrote to us. So Elaina - thank you so very very much.</i></div>
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<i>In particular will always remember you and our talks together -Paris, tailwinds, currencies ( 2000 lira = $X), the Boston Tea Party, Donuts (thank you Daddy!) how I met Benedicte (and thus discovered how your parents met) the picnic (and your multiplication tables - 9X9 !) English crumpets ( so-so) and marmite (awful !) ice-cream ( my apologies Mummy !) and I loved to see how you looked at Daddy - that was, in the best American way I know, - "real neat". So - thank you so much for our picture - it's so very special. </i></div>
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<i>What I did forget to do was give you Collett's address so here it is. Do hope you can find the time to write to her. ( You could always suggest to Mummy that it could be an English lesson !) </i></div>
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<i> Colette </i></div>
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<i> *removed for privacy*</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>So - Jason and Elaina - thank you so much for staying with us - it was a real pleasure to get to know you both !</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>John and Benedicte ( from London)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>I told her all about our adventure together </i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">p/s Just as you are </span>both landing it has start to pour down with rain in Richmond - so you see we are not happy to have lost you both and the sky is angry ! <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></div>
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And this was the email from his wife, who we never met in person but was still a gracious host.<br />
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<i>Jason and Elaina,</i></div>
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<i>I certainly couldn't have put it better than John. </i></div>
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<i>I really was so happy to see both painting and drawing. It is one of my favorite view of Richmond, we often go to the park for a walk and look both to the river and the town. </i></div>
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<i>Thank you so much for your wonderful gifts, with their own personal and special message, I will treasure them very much. I am just sorry I was not in Richmond for the event as I enjoyed it so much in the past. </i></div>
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<i>I know John enjoyed having you to stay and I see that Elaina experienced Richmond to the full.</i></div>
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<i>Hope to see you again next year.</i></div>
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<i>With all my thanks</i></div>
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<i>Benedicte</i></div>
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-74857840416390557452016-07-10T20:28:00.000-07:002016-07-10T20:28:13.215-07:00Apparently I'm chatty now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Not that that's a new thing, it just hasn't been a current thing when it comes to the blog.<br />
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We buried my little nephew yesterday. His name is Able Isaac. He was born at 19 weeks but lived 18 weeks. It was a sweet, painful, God-honoring service.<br />
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Training for Classical Conversations starts tomorrow. Life just keeps going no matter what's going on during the day-to-day. Eily is with Mom and Dad, the older girls are taking a sewing class, and Nora is going with me to the training.<br />
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I have so many friends going through such hard things right now. I feel helpless so I just pray for them. Adulting is no fun sometimes.<br />
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Females, do you shave your legs every time you shower?<br />
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Whole 30 can be easier than you think. Try it.<br />
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Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-85507001073576132262016-07-06T14:57:00.001-07:002016-07-06T14:57:15.401-07:00Whole 30- Day 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I guess that I started the Whole 30 (my version) today. That means that sometimes I eat cheese and I still put creamer in my coffee. I thought I had started it a few days ago but then I found out that a smoothie I was eating to kind of beat the sugar craving had tubinado in it. Super Bummer. So I've started back in on my exercise routine that I was doing before the recent trips, and I ate a smoothie- minus the sugar.<br />
Breakfast- egg white omelet with sausage and salsa<br />
Lunch- Strawberry Limeade with Mint Smoothie<br />
Supper- Zucchini/Sausage Hash stuff that I made up and enjoy, Fried Egg<br />
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That's my Day 1.<br />
I feel sleepy but pretty good.<br />
What I have not done well- drinking water</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-41452719754515143042016-07-04T10:12:00.001-07:002016-07-04T10:13:07.679-07:00July 4, 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This seem like a good day to take up blog writing, yet again. It's America's birthday!<br />
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I've been on hold with American Arlines for 22 minutes and 57, 58, 59,...seconds. I have yet to talk to an actual person. It's just great. Oh wait. I finally talked to someone and and she said you can't actually talk to a real person. you have to go online and fill out a report and just hope that you get what you need. Yeah right. I'm thinking we are just going to forget the compensation thing. Moving on.<br />
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So that's my holiday so far. I'm hoping the rest of it is more pleasant. If I ever feel like spending a lot of time typing, I'll tell you about Maui and Harmony Hill and Virginia.<br />
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Happy 4th!!</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-50194285806211648702016-03-22T06:16:00.000-07:002016-03-22T06:16:05.924-07:00The Wolf in the Woods<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's coming for us, no doubt about that. We had our annual Family Day last weekend with my Dad's side of the family. We all visited and hing out together and the locals hosted the traveling family members in their homes. And now at least seven people are down with a stomach bug. I'm just waiting. I know it's out there, like a wolf prowling in the woods. I just don't know when and where it's going to strike. We've been using some essentials oils in hopes of keeping it away, but we may have started using them too late. At least this week is spring break so we don't have CC, music, or ballet.<br />
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This not knowing is driving me crazy.</div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33022730.post-75825056822626455022016-03-09T20:29:00.001-08:002016-03-09T20:29:26.775-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh man. I am so tired. How are you doing? I feel very disconnected from everyone sometimes, even though I really hear from you all fairly often. I just get so busy with what we have going on in our household that I can't even deal with what is going on in your household. Sometimes I love the busy and sometimes I hate it.<br />
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The girls are doing great. Elaina is writing some pretty cool stories these days. Claire is rehearsing with Eily for the upcoming ballet, Alice in Wonderland. Eily is also mastering the violin. Nora is large and in charge. So nothing is new there. :)<br />
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Jason has started his 2016 season of traveling and competing.<br />
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Life is pretty much consistently changing and evolving. </div>
Rebekah Sacranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902828682149907356noreply@blogger.com1