Category Archives: Around Town

Live free or die?!

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Late winter in North Carolina was marked by lots of snow, ice, and extremely cold temperatures. This gave us a good taste of what life would be like in New Hampshire — not for a vacation, but for a relocation. And boy do I love the snow! 

“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” ― William Sharp

It’s not that anything’s going badly here. In fact, life is pretty darn good in NC. We absolutely love our neighbors, our church, our CC and Awana communities, the low-key vibe of our city, and being within a short drive of family, the beach, and the mountains.

Houston & Zeke have a blast sledding with neighbors on one of the warmer snowy days this winter.

But a few things have lit a fire under both Stephen and me to get us thinking seriously about a possible long-distance move:

1. As the boys get bigger seemingly by the second, we are outgrowing this 1,400-square-foot house. I wouldn’t want a huge house by any means, but we could definitely use a bit more living space (especially a couple of bedrooms for the kids, as opposed to the one small room shared by them all), as well as additional storage.

2. I’m burned out from being in the van so much getting to and from our many activities. It’s basically a 1/2-hour trek anywhere we go, so an hour round trip almost daily. We make the most of our commutes, doing lots of “car school,” listening to audio books and good music, and usually having deep conversations.

But I was seriously pricing foreclosures closer to town for a while, until Stephen said (and rightly so), if we’re going to go through the trouble of moving, we should really move.

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'” ― Lewis Carroll

Gabriel & Zeke shoot me snaggle-tooth grins before heading out into our backyard winter wonderland for snowy shenanigans.

3. We don’t have any really great friends here. We have many acquaintances, and people we care for and who care for us, but we just don’t hang out with these folks often enough to even make it an issue.

The kids are the same: they have lots of buds, but not any friends they see constantly, without whom their worlds would shatter. And the boys are so extroverted and outgoing, that I know they’d simply revel in a move. In fact, they dudes have said they’re ready for such an adventure!

4. For a few years now, we had been mulling over the possibility of relocating abroad, specifically to Chile, but that just seems so doggone permanent. A trek to the Northeast, however, could be undone without not near as much hassle and expense.

5. Our visit to New Orleans inspired us to seek a change of scenery and to want to mix things up. We’ve been in the Greensboro area since 2001 and in our current house since 2003, so why not try something different?!

6. The company for which Stephen works has offices in NH, so he wouldn’t have to change jobs. He would merely have to set up a transfer, so income could be immediate, and Stephen wouldn’t have to subject himself to the torture of a job search … unless, of course, he felt the urge to try something new.

Zeke nails Houston with a giant snowball during a friendly battle. Great aim, dude!

7. Most importantly, though, is that NH is and has been an island of liberty-mindedness in a sea of American socialism for a long time. In fact, there are literally 101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire. (This video can shed some light on many of the political and financial reasons we’re considering a move.)

“What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” ― John Steinbeck

Some of my personal favorites about New Hampshire:

  • it has a limited income tax, taxing only dividend and interest income at 5%, and has no capital gains tax;
  • it’s homeschool-friendly and doesn’t require parents to submit annual evaluations to the state;
  • it values all school choice, giving low- and middle-income parents more options by offering tax credits to corporations that make donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations;
  • citizens vote on their budgets line-by-line during town meeting;
  • it has small voting districts (only about 3,300 people per state House of Representative);
  • officials in both the legislative and executive branches are elected every two years, giving voters the opportunity to clean house more often than in other states;
  • legislators are paid a salary of $100 per year, helping ensure the existence of a citizen legislature committed to public service;
  • it’s the only state to pass a law with language supporting citizens’ rights to jury nullification;
  • it expressly protects the citizens’ rights to revolution and secession through the state constitution;
  • it has an abundance of pro-liberty media;
  • it rejected the REAL ID (national identification card) program;
  • its state law prohibits the use of eminent domain for private use or private development;
  • it’s the least expensive state in which to own a vehicle;
  • it’s the only state that does not have a mandatory seat belt law for adults;
  • it’s pro-gun and is the only state with no laws restricting knife ownership (except for convicted felons).

Gabriel takes it upon himself to clear the sidewalk of super-slippery ice. Now there’s a can-do attitude that’ll come in handy in New Hampshire!

The “Live Free or Die” belief of local control, minimizing the bureaucratic growth of government, and empowering the individual has a long tradition in the Granite State. This is precisely why it was chosen as the home for the Free State Project. So, liberty is not only alive in well in New Hampshire, it is on the rise!

As with everything, there are inevitably a few cons:

1. NH is in New freakin’ England. Gasp! Being a Southern gal, I fared well in Wisconsin and Colorado, but the West and Midwest are much less abrasive than the blue-blood lineage and our-poop-don’t-stink attitude of Northeasterners. Bless their hearts!

I mean, c’mon, Massachusetts would be directly south and New York just a stone’s throw away. Eek! Yet, we do have Mass neighbors, whom we adore, so perhaps I’m just painting with way too broad a brush.

I’m certain there are salt-of-the-earth people there, just like everywhere. Plus, folks come from all over the country to take part in the growing liberty movement in NH.

The 3 Amigos get silly w/ Maddie & Dixie during a sledding snow day!

There are too many things I’d miss about the South to list here. But suffice it to say, I’d be approaching this move as if I were relocating to another country. Different culture. Different language. Different kinda people. So, open-mindedness would be an imperative!

2. It’s far from family. There’s no getting around this. It would suck, but we would definitely travel back South and hopefully folks would come visit us in beautiful NH. There are the Green Mountains for snow sports during the winter, and the Atlantic coast and Lake Winnipesaukee for beach fun during the temperate summers.

3. Libertarianism is just brimming with atheists. As an ardent supporter of religious pluralism, this is not a problem for me at all. However, just as in greater American society, there is often hostility toward Christianity, and castigation and pigeon-holing of the Christian as being backwoods anti-intellectuals.

But no one ever said following Christ was going to be easy. In fact, the Bible explicitly states the opposite. So, we would have to be both bold in faith and nonconformist in deed.

Houston & Stanley are what I call “partners in crime.” Simply put, they have a reached a point in their relationship of mutual admiration & love. It’s so endearing to see these two “cool cats” hanging together.

Still, my hope is that liberty lovers will practice what they preach and be open to heterogeneous peoples. I want to be judged by the content of my character, as an individual, and a person willing to engage all different stripes, even if I march to the beat of a different drummer.

My hope is for honest discussion and mature debate with folks with whom I disagree. Perhaps the process of hashing out philosophies, world views, and guiding principles will help us to grow in our understanding of truth … or at the very least, be good drinking buddies!

Diversity of thought is a good and necessary thing that is way too often ignored in our coarse culture. But I’m hopeful that freedom of opinion and belief systems will be of the highest regard with Free Staters and in NH at large. Civility is really all that is necessary.

Moreover, some of libertarianism’s deepest thinkers and vocal activists also happen to be Christians. This cool list includes Tom Woods, Lew Rockwell, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Norman Horn, Laurence Vance, Ron Paul, and Jeffrey Tucker. So, we’re among good company.

We’ll seek out like-minded folks in both faith and liberty, and sometimes those two will cross paths. But we’ll just have to remain cognizant of the pitfalls and trickery of this world, and be sure to keep our armor of God on snug and tight.

All the dudes are creative, but I find it particularly cool how Gabriel really goes out of his way to turn pieces of trash into art … like this homemade “flaming car jump,” which he crafted out of pieces of cardboard and paper leftover from another project.

Staying strong with and through the Lord will allow us to keep focus on the narrow path: following Jesus, sharing the good news, and doing our small part to try to bring about the kingdom of heaven here on earth. Just like good theology, a political philosophy always has room to grow and mature, so we look forward to living, learning, and loving! 

“Our footprints always follow us on days when it’s been snowing. They always show us where we’ve been, but never where we’re going.” ― Winnie the Pooh

I know the grass is always greener, but Stephen and I aren’t going into this possible relocation haphazardly. In fact, we don’t plan on doing much of anything (besides keeping our debt low and tending to some home repairs) until after we take the family to PorcFest 2016.

Misc. 3-Amigo updates

Gabriel finally lost both his front teeth. He’s looking so darn cute that it’s difficult to discipline him. Zeke has lost only one front tooth. But that stubborn tooth was loose since before Christmas and didn’t come out until … March 8!

Here are the dudes numbers from their annual wellness appointments: Houston weighs 63 3/4 pounds and is 53 1/4″ tall; Gabriel 54 pounds, 46 3/4″ tall; and Zeke 53 1/2 pounds, 46 3/4″ tall. Growing like weeds!

And the boys main obsession these days (besides Minecraft, of course) is “Where’s Waldo?” Thanks for all the hand-me-down books, Cousin Rick and Aunt Lisa!

Sweet things

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“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Clan Dillingham kicks back during the annual hay ride up the mountain to get our Christmas tree. (This year, we named our Fraser fir Navi.)

Our lives have been filled with many sweet things recently. First, we successfully wrapped our fall semesters of CC community and Spanish lessons just before Thanksgiving.

School still marches on around here during the holiday, though, since I’m the queen of playing catch-up. But it’s so nice to have a much less hurried schedule.

The extra time has allowed the twins to do speech therapy twice a week just for December. Their therapists say they’ve both made tremendous progress and are so close to nailing all the sounds with which they formerly struggled, so this is simply to give them an extra boost.

The obligatory dudes-with-Santa Claus photo taken during our annual holiday outing to Sugar Plum Farm.

Doing extra appointments was my idea, since we have decided not to do speech therapy in the new year. It’s insanely expensive, and we have no plans to meet our insurance deductible in 2015. (Of course, we say that every year, and somehow, we always do.)

But more importantly, the therapists and I agree that it’s really not necessary, since Gabe and Zeke are on the right path to better articulation, improved mouth and tongue control, breaking old habits of improper speech, and self-correcting when they say something incorrectly. Way to go, boys!

Sure Gabriel and Zeke face challenges in some areas (as we all do!), but they also excel in other areas, like their natural musical ability. In fact, they’ve really shown an impassioned interest in piano as of late, so much so that Houston has been giving them “lessons.”

A napping Granny makes a comfy pillow on which Houston relaxes during our time in the mountains for Thanksgiving.

Therefore, we thought it was high time they has their “official assessment” with Miss Julie, Houston’s beloved piano teacher. Turns out that Gabe and Zeke passed their tests of fine motor skills, basic knowledge (like knowing right from left), musical understanding (such as repeating rhythms), and overall maturity with flying colors. Yee haw!

So, once we find an open and easy spot on our calendar, and tweak our budget to be able to afford triple the lessons, they’ll be tickling the ivories just like big bro. This will probably happen in late spring-early summer, once CC and Spanish wrap. Until then, they’ll keep on happily improvising with Houston and jamming out their own original ditties.

Much like the twins speech therapy, I won’t be going to physical therapy in 2015, since I’ve also improved dramatically. Thank the Lord … and thanks for paying for all my PT and chiropractor visits, Stephen! I’ve gotten way stronger and more flexible, and am in far less pain than I had been.

The 3 Amigos enjoy our educational jaunt to Linville Caverns, located within Humpback Mountain, just outside of Marion, NC.

Do I still have occasional issues? Sure, but at least now I feel like I now have the body of 43 year old, and not the body of a decrepit, debilitated geezer of 83.

Plus, I know how to manage and diminish my aches and pains now: daily stretching and strength training, frequent low-impact exercise, using a heating pad nightly, and glopping on the icy hot when need be. It’s all finally under control.

We went to Granny’s for Thanksgiving, and got to see a ton of family. From the Norwoods of Michigan, to the Biddix crew, who are spread far and wide across Carolina, it was a holly-jolly good time!

Houston & Zeke play around in Sugar Plum’s toy train — always a favorite during our time @ the choose-and-cut tree farm.

In addition to making our annual trek to Sugar Plum Farms, we also ventured to Linville Caverns. This was the boys’ first taste of learning about stalactites and stalagmites, and they seemed to appreciate exploring this cool geological wonder. (Getting them some fool’s gold from the gift shop didn’t hurt either.)

Another night, we adventured to an overlook near Marion to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Brown Mountain Lights. No such luck witnessing the fabled “ghost lights,” but it sure was fun trying.

What’s interesting is that their most talked-about memory of Thanksgiving was a commercial they saw of young girl twerking in her “skivvies” (as the boys, in all their beautiful innocence, describe undies) while watching a Christmas movie on a supposedly family-friendly channel. Uggh! Oh, how I love my Netflix.

Gabriel rides on Clifford the Big Red Dog during our outing to Safari Nation.

It’s happening: Houston is finally starting to have doubts about this whole Santa thing. During our first viewing of “Elf” for the season, he asked, “So, do parents really leave the gifts?!” My response was vague but effective, I think: “Just believe what you want to believe, sweetie.”

More proof of the kids growing up way too fast: “Mommy, I want to be a policeman,” explained Houston the other day. “Why is that?” I inquired.

“Because I like manhandling people,” replied the very-tall-for-his-age child who has been known to rough-house way too often with his little bros. Such a matter-of-fact worldly comment from such a still-so-young dude.

Zeke decided to cheers Navi with his hot cocoa. If that’s not holly-jolly enough for you, you should hear his impromptu Christmas singing … so cute!

Some other “sweet things” we’ve been up to:

  • Going to Asher’s 8th birthday party, held a week before the J-Crew’s big move south;
  • Spending some last memorable minutes with the J-Crew while helping them pack up their moving truck;
  • Attending a Mercy Hill homeschool playdate, where we feasted on potluck goodies and the boys made Jesse Tree ornaments;
  • Meeting out our old pals, Miss Beth, Mr. Alan, Matthew, and Jonathan, for lunch and then lots of shenanigans at a bounce house;
  • and the boys enjoying lots of map drawing and chapter-book reading … Houston even read “Moby Dick.” Yep, sweet for sure!

Fall’s a-flying

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Stephen and I went to our very first marriage retreat the weekend before our 14th anniversary on 10/14. We have been talking about attending one for a few years now, but we finally made it happen … and boy, was it worth it!

“Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener!”

These “getaways” are aimed at Christian couples, from newlyweds, to folks whose marriage just needs a tune-up, to some who are even on the brink of calling it quits. Stephen and I fell in the middle category, so we chose break-out sessions that met our needs for enrichment.

Here we are on day 1 of our LIfeWay Marriage Getaway @ the Ridgecrest Conference Center, near Black Mountain, NC.

The themes were varied, but the overarching message of the weekend is that God designed marriage to be a celebration and reflection of His love for us. So, why would we willfully want to degrade this beautiful gift that God has given us?

After all, God is the Creator of diversity. It’s a declaration of his handiwork, so we need to affirm the differences between a husband and wife (which can so often be the cause of marital stress), instead of condemning it. Of course, this can be difficult sometimes, as a man and woman’s nature are oftentimes seemingly so at odds.

But God created us to have unique roles that reflect the divergent aspects and characteristics of Himself, so those differences which can divide are actually assets, not burdens and stresses. And harmony in marriage will result from embracing our complimentary variances.

Check out Zeke and Gabriel’s serious-to-terrified expressions just before riding the Haunted Train on 10/24. Don’t worry … they survived unscathed, and declared it to be “awesome!”

As author Gary Chapman put it during his session: “Each of us has a primary love language. Seldom do a husband and wife have the same, and by nature we speak our love language.

“So, we must learn to speak their language … (and) if it doesn’t come natural, it’s an even greater act of love. Love is something you do for the other person, not for yourself.”

“If I have all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” — 1 Corinthians 13:2

But for a spouse to do this effectively, he or she must get right with God by first utilizing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

And by opening ourselves to God and His abundant strength, we can grow in dealing with our own flaws and sins, which then filters into our marriage and our treatment of our spouse. In short, it’s a heart issue. Like our pastor at Mercy Hill always says, true Christ-like behavior works from the inside out.

Zeke & Stanley admire “Turkey” the pumpkin. Don’t ask me … Gabriel named it.

The even bigger news of that weekend was that Stephen and I renewed our vows. Some of you may recall that we went way out of our way to exclude God from our very atheistic wedding, with our vows being more about each of us separately and what we brought to the table, and less about our union.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:12

Our old vows were so much about self, instead of selflessness … hopes, instead of heartfelt promises … feel-good notions, instead of serious submission to one another … a 50/50 arrangement, instead of a devotion of each giving 100%.

Houston was originally going to be a “medieval zombie executioner,” but it eventually morphed into just a good ol ‘zombie. Scary!

In retrospect, it is so clear that God has always been with us, even back during our hostile-toward-Christianity days. And this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to publicly renew our commitment to one another by attesting that Christ is our foundation, and that through Him, we can win “the race.”

“Let us throw off everything that hinders & the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” — Hebrews 12:1

But how do we train for this race mentioned in Hebrews? Well, by being intentional in our love for Christ and for our spouse, and then we can achieve oneness in our relationship. But we must remember that marriage is a marathon, and each day is just part of the worthy and fulfilling quest.

Zeke & Gabriel are Steve from Minecraft. Great job on your homemade costumes, boys!

Gabriel and Zeke celebrated their 6th birthday on 10/16. Since this was a Thursday, we got together with some of our fave homeschool families, including crews from CC and church, as well as our wonderful homeschool neighbors, Shawn, Dixie, and Milton.

We started off at Putt-Putt for miniature golf and video games, and then hit Chick fil-A, where we took over the outdoor seating area for feasting on chicken and chocolate cake on the gorgeous fall day with which we had been blessed.

That night we had a sleepover with the twins’ buddies, Jackson and Alex. Gabe and Zeke had a blast during every part of their big day, as did I, since I was pretty doggone diligent about planning as low-maintenance and stress-free a day as possible.

Gabriel was the only Amigo brave enough to strike a pose w/ this huge skeleton & Mommy. The guy inside the costume explained that he crafted the long arms out of pool noodles and wire … so cool!

That Friday, Gramsey and Papa came to visit. They took care of the boys — thanks a million, y’all! — so Stephen and I could attend Poker For Preemies. This is an incredible annual fundraiser that helps raise money for premature babies, and special-needs and sick kids in our area.

It was an incredibly delightful evening, specifically because we got to hang with our great pals, Meredith and Greg (who happen to help organize the event). In addition to paying for our way into the gala, our awesome friends also hooked us up with starter chips for gambling. Mucho gracias, y’all!

The only gambling we did was Texas Hold ‘Em, but it was sooooo fun. I even won a hand! So, Stephen used all of our surplus chips, plus some additionally purchased chips, to enter a cool gift-basket raffle, which he then won. The odds were in our favor for sure!

Granny & I get prepped for a full night of spooky shenanigans & ghoulishly good times. Thanks for making Halloween so grand, Granny!

And did I mention there was an open bar, our local cigar guy doled out complimentary stogies, and we took a cab home?! Yep, we had a rockin’ wild night indeed!

Stephen and I took the kids to the Haunted Train in Burlington on 10/24. It was a short ride, but particularly sweet since Zeke didn’t get to ride the Halloween Train at the Transportation Museum some three years ago due to his fairly common tantrums back then. (If you recall, he didn’t get to go trick-or-treating that year either. Poor dude.)

So, this year’s jaunt was of especially significant to Zeke, who can finally say he has ridden a festive fall train. And it’s also a big deal across the board, as it was just a nice way to celebrate both his and his bros’ increasingly mature behavior. Way to go, 3 Amigos!

While @ the park on the twins’ birthday, Zeke masters swinging one high-wheel to the next — a feat that seems to impress onlookers Alex & Gabriel.

This was probably our most chill Halloween yet. We didn’t do any church trunk-or-treats or drive to any faraway locales to get candy. We stuck to our neighborhood, took a brief half-time to drop off the tired folks (Zeke and Granny), and then headed out for round 2 with the late-night adventurers: Houston, Gabe, Stephen, and I.

Dare-devil Gabriel even went up solo (with Daddy) to “the house with the bloody heads,” which the kids and I had been bike-riding to during the day as preparation for this All Hallow’s Eve night. Oh well, maybe next year, Houston!

Since they are bolting for a more Southern home this Friday, we have been trying to spend as much time with the J-Crew as possible. I recently had a girls-night out at a swanky tapas bar with Christie and her good pal, Tricia.

Some of our giddy birthday posse @ Chick fil-A on 10/16: (from L to R) Tyrnan, Houston, Jackson, Gabriel, Zeke, Eli, Briggs & Knox.

We also celebrated Asher’s 8th birthday; Houston partook in a last-hurrah sleepover; and then Stephen and I went out with Christie and Logan and their kind community group earlier this week. And I am crying just thinking about their move because Christie is so much more than a friend.

I joke to her, saying “Whose coattails am I going to ride on now?!” But it is the truth; she is my mentor in her faithful walk with Christ and her passionate call to homeschool her fearless threesome.

Christie is funny and smart, genuine and self-less, and always giving and grace-filled. She is authentic, never putting on airs. Her honesty, realness, and forthrightness are such rarities to behold in this age of pretend and plastic.

My great pal, Christie, & I in the only pic of the two of us in existence. Funny thing about that is that she & her hubby are professional photographers … memory-card-erasing slackers!

She is a lifelong-learner who is thoughtful, inquisitive, and opinionated, but not easily offended. Christie is also a person who is amazingly open-minded and ready to hear new things or just old things from a different perspective. Seems oxymoronic to possess such diverse traits in our coarse culture.

But that is precisely why she will be so missed. Thank you for making me a better person, Christie, and for welcoming my brood into the fold of your incredible family’s adventures these last three fun-filled years. May God bless y’all in the Holy City!

By the way, I’m in the market for a new best bud. So, if you enjoy a good intellectual challenge, like discussing controversial topics in a civil manner, love the Lord (but still say the occasional curse word), have a penchant for ’90s music, and consider the TV show “Portlandia” brilliant (hint hint: Tricia!), message me.