Author: Emily Sara Smucker
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Kenya Part 2: The Most Epic Day
(To read Part 1, click here) I guess Joe wanted to ease us in to Kenyan food and culture, because he arranged for our first culinary experience of the trip to be a rather American-style breakfast at Java House in Nairobi. It was a chilly rainy day and the seating was outdoors, so I was…
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Kenya Part 1: We Made It!
Kenya never ceases to make me catch my breath. Beauty overwhelms my senses. The cool morning air and lush greenery. The tea. This is where I first fell in love with tea, 18 years ago. As you know, we had a bit of a rough time getting here. Dad was able to get his passport…
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A Slight Change of Plans
Well, it has been an interesting couple of days. The plan was to leave for Kenya early Friday morning. Now, both Dad and Steven have fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants personality types. (I do too, frankly, but compared to them I seem like I don’t.) So a few things were left until the last minute, which made me a…
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A Month of Gratefulness: My Final Thoughts
I’m in Oregon right now, and so far this has been kind-of a weird trip. First we were over the mountains attending Alison’s wedding, and then we came home but didn’t quite do the traditional Thanksgiving because we’re prepping for Kenya. Heading out tomorrow. Woo-hoo! So this will be the last post in my gratefulness…
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The Bus, The Moon, and The Kitchen Floor
Monday: Kitchen floor chats with Jenny I’ve been pondering the way it is to live with family, and the sorts of places you all find yourself inadvertently hanging out. When I was very young we all hung out in the corner where the furnace spat heat into the room. As teenagers, when the older siblings…
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Gratefulness, Clichés, and Mini Miracles
Every once in a while, when things in my life get extraordinarily bleak, I try really hard to fix the problem by “cultivating gratefulness.” Gratefulness is one of those things that I deeply believe in, yet I also roll my eyes at because it can become so cliché. Like we get it, everyone is grateful…
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Giveaway Winner (Turtle Heart)
The Turtle Heart giveaway is now closed, I have picked a random winner, and that winner is…Jo Hendricks! Congrats Jo! I sent you an email. If you can’t find it, check your spam folder. For everyone else, thank you for participating! Remember, you can always pick up a copy of Turtle Heart on Amazon.
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Turtle Heart, by Lucinda J. Kinsinger: Review and Giveaway
Luci Kinsinger just came out with a new book, Turtle Heart. I agreed to read and review a copy because based on her first book, Anything but Simple, I knew she was a good writer. But I was unprepared for just how much I’d love and relate to the stories and ideas inside it. Turtle…
The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots 