Mindfulness
Emotional Learning Helps Children and Parents Get to the Heart of Connection
Please help me help keep Social Emotional Learning in my local community. There’s no denying it; living tiny with kids is challenging. But isn’t challenge what forces us to grow? We have grown tremendously as the tight quarters challenge us to find a way to thrive in this space. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been the key to our success. I’ve shared about my friend Kari’s SEL music program at Ella and Archer’s school before. We are blessed to have her guidance as we learn this way of connecting with each other. In order for Kari to continue bringing this much-needed program to our rural community, she’s turned to crowd funding....
Read MoreI’ve Got the Power
I am so excited! This is the first day of my freelance writing career, and we are featured on HuffingtonPost Home. I’ll take that as a great big (((YES))) from the great beyond. Thanks to Amy Marturana for the fun interview! Read her article and tour our tiny house. These are the power lines at the top of the hill where we live. I don’t love that we have massive power lines nearby, and am thankful to the trees for hiding them from our view, but standing up there last night, I felt gratitude for them. I squinted to see them as they climbed up and down these Blue Ridge Mountains bringing power to all sorts of endeavors. As I soaked in the beauty of the amazing...
Read MoreMy First Blog Post: A Year Later
I am enjoying an online writing class with Tammy Strobel of RowdyKittens where I am reminded of how much courage it takes to click publish and share with the world. Thank you, Tammy and classmates! It’s been a year since I first clicked publish on TinyHouseFamily, and what a ride it has been. I remember posting about how I’d like to get someone to come over and take a video for me, so the camera wouldn’t be so shaky. I never thought it would be two cool guys straight off a plane from the Anderson show. Or that we’d fly to New York and share our tiny house on national television. All of this publicity has been exciting and fun, but when I read...
Read MoreSlow Down
I sat on the deck last night and looked west. The sun was casting long rays across the garden lighting up the rain droplets on the butternut squash. The chickens were eating the cabbage worms from the cabbage leaves I spread out for them, and the kids were running around down by the creek. I could hear whoops and screeches as they played with the neighbor kids. The crickets were humming and the birds singing. We just ate dinner on the deck, the dishes still on the table, with pieces of cucumber salad, cabbage and pork stew, mashed new potatoes—the garden is feeding us. I looked at Karl and said “This is my favorite time of year.” Though, I may say that again in...
Read MoreHow to Site a Home: Making Way for Our Bigger Tiny House
We’ve lived on our property for one year and one month now, watching the sun go through her seasonal dance through the sky. Being on the north side of our hill, we don’t get as much direct sun as we’d like, so we’ve spent a lot of time considering the best spot to site our bigger tiny house. I am thankful for the time we’ve had to watch the light change through the year. Where should we site the house? Tucking the house in the woods would be lovely, but in summer, we get lots of rain. Being totally shaded would encourage mold and mildew. Moving the house out of the trees and into the open spot right in front of the tiny house, would not only block the tiny...
Read MoreA Year of Tiny House Living
It is the solstice. Sunna, our sweet puppy, is barking large, fast circles around the property. I am up early to write from the garden, strong cup of coffee in hand. The sun is rising over the ridge and together with the forest paints designs on the wet soil. The bird songs are many and harmonious. Our woodpecker makes its echoing sounds trailing off to silence. The air is cool with a tint of warmth that tells me this will be a hot day. Summer solstice is here. I am happy to report that we’ve made it through a full cycle of seasons plus six-weeks in the tiny house. Has it been easy? No. Has it been worthwhile? Yes. When I look back through my journal, I see growth. The...
Read MoreWhy I Want to Be My Daughter When I Grow Up
Last week, I got a text from Karl with a picture of Ella dressed in one of her amazing fashion creations. “Best one yet,” the text read. I was already at school (work) and wondered if he actually put her on the bus in that outfit. I knew he most likely did, as he has been great at encouraging Ella to be herself and not worry about what other people think. I tell her that too, but my actions say otherwise. Maybe because I know what happens at school. I don’t think I would have let her wear that outfit to school. I guess it’s a good thing I am not home for the morning routine right now. But, I got the aftermath. She got off the bus crying. A second...
Read MoreMama’s Haikus for Winter Solstice
Crammed in small space, I open my heart to find room. Closets full: pain, patience. A friend gave me a cup made with bare hands. Smiling coffee warms belly. A tiny house in winter teaches things we can’t name. Oh, but we feel. Share this:EmailStumbleUponFacebookDigg
Read MoreTiny House as Experiment
As I always have the tiny house family blog somewhere in my mind, I am looking for the story under our daily life. I feel appreciation for you, the reader. Knowing that I am writing for a real audience helps me to find the treads of meaning and try to weave them together with some sort of focus. Thank you for taking this moment to read these words. Tiny House as Experiment The true test of this experiment is winter. She’s been standing up the hill casting her growing shadow for a couple of months now. “I’m coming.” She says, with cool nights becoming cold and darkening mornings. She cast her shadow on my spirit. Oh no, where do we put our coats? How will our...
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