2024-03-11 15:40
Many years ago, there were two kids who loved adventuring together. Early in their marriage, they stepped off an airplane and onto magical soil where they fell in love with a foreign, yet, s… Read More
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Blessings And Raindrops - Seeking Joy In The Midst Of The Ordinary Blog
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seeking joy in the midst of the ordinary
2023-06-13 13:59
We currently have twelve renovation projects going and on any given day, we are getting up early and hurrying out the door to check in on multiple houses per day (usually with a camera c… Read More
2023-05-15 12:10
When I was in fourth grade, I wrote a book for class titled “Run Away Horse.” It went on to be entered in the young author’s conference and I received a button that said &l&hell…Read More
2023-03-05 17:31
Dave and I are home after a week in Italy. Even now, just 24 hours after departing, it feels a bit like a dream. The fact that we were there to help friends with a project still feels surre… Read More
2022-10-22 15:35
Dave and I were traveling home last Friday after a long week of filming in Colorado for Hometown Takeover. We were tired and really, really ready to be home.
After we went through securi… Read More
2022-07-23 14:24
My top traveling-with-kiddos tips:
1. Embrace the adventure. Magical moments happen when you release your plans and set down the guidebook. Things won’t go perfectly but remember: i… Read More
2022-06-30 16:32
This is the story of a little girl and her pet donkey.
The little girl loved the miniature donkey from the moment he arrived at her farm. She spent hours in the pasture brushing his mane… Read More
2022-03-10 21:48
Rest in Peace, Larry-the-llama.
We loved you so very much, buddy. You have no idea how much I’m going to miss your goofy smile and your lopsided gallop toward me whenever I stepped… Read More
2022-03-05 19:09
“Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.” (Exodus 7:7)
I believe every word of Scripture is God-breathed and written do… Read More
2021-12-19 15:28
I’m no stranger to the in-between. The waiting. The expectant Hope. The held breath.
Ann Voskamp’s words jumped off the page earlier this week, “in that moment of surre… Read More
2021-10-04 15:37
A quick google search generates 206 verses on the biblical command to rest. Yes, we must work and toil and seek our purpose while here on earth, yet, in order to be truly effective, we must… Read More
2021-06-24 15:40
When God planted the seed of the idea of starting a blueberry farm about eight years ago, it seemed pretty crazy. We weren’t farmers and planting 1,500 blueberry plants in the ground f… Read More
2021-05-26 13:05
I’ve recently started reading “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer and his words resonate so deeply with me.
We all have our own story of trying to st… Read More
2021-02-14 21:13
My grandparents owned a small cabin nestled in the woods of Beech Mountain, North Carolina when I was a kid and my family spent one week every February there throughout my childhood. My pare… Read More
2020-12-11 15:35
Once again, I’ve neglected this space for way too long. In all honesty, this year has just been too much for me to even find the brain space to sit and type out a coherent thought. I&r&hell…Read More
2020-08-28 14:19
I distinctly remember the day Dave took me and the boys for a walk over the grass field and up the rickety steps leading to the back door of an old farmhouse he had been asked to demolish. H… Read More
2020-08-20 14:18
I was flipping through an old journal this morning and came across a quote I had written on August 24, 2009:
“If your situation looks hopeless, remember God can do the impossible.&r&hell…Read More
2020-07-19 21:56
The thing about having one for-sure, for-sure last baby is that you’ve done this all before and you know how quickly the itty-bitty-baby days and months fly by. You know that your slee… Read More
2020-06-28 19:16
From mid-May to mid-June, FOUR of our five kiddos’ have birthdays. It was a month of celebration at our house. Balloons were permanent decor and leftover cake could be found on the cou… Read More
2020-06-24 15:47
This morning, I received some hard news about someone I love.
Just to be honest, whenever I’m confronted with any sort of bad news, my natural tendency is fear. As I stood on the b… Read More
2020-05-31 16:08
Recently, Dave spent the night patrolling the pasture for predators. This spring, we lost five sheep to predator attacks. We’ve grieved each loss immensely. We’ve triple-secured… Read More
2020-05-02 15:24
I came across a long-ago written post in my draft folder this morning. I had shared a condensed version on my friend, Amber Haines’, site four years ago, yet something about this longe… Read More
2020-04-26 16:31
For the first time in my lifetime, humanity – with all of our differences and cultural realities – feels united. Albeit, by a terrible virus, yet united nonetheless. The world ha… Read More
2020-04-15 21:21
By nature, I’m an optimistic person. Often, I’m so hell-bent on Hope that I appear to be naive. And, I’m okay with that. Because I’ve lived enough life to know that e… Read More
2020-03-15 13:33
I’ve been quiet in this space. It hasn’t been intentional. I’ve just had so much to share and absolutely no time to do so. My words swirl in my brain and often end up writt… Read More
2020-01-12 19:11
This Tuesday is a big day for our family! At 9|8c, the final episode of our first season of Fixer to Fabulous will air on HGTV. I can’t believe how fast these few months have flown by… Read More
2019-11-30 14:39
When People.com asked if they could share our adoption story, Dave and I agreed only because our intention for saying yes to a show on HGTV was always for God to use this platform for His gl… Read More
2019-11-25 15:47
Throughout my childhood, the Saturday after Thanksgiving found me and my entire family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, making a commotion at the tree lot agonizing over our choices fo… Read More
2019-11-03 14:36
Meet our newest farm baby, Clara Belle. She has nothing to do with this post but I couldn’t NOT share her photo because she’s the cutest calf in the history of ever.
One thing… Read More
2019-10-24 14:39
In April of 2016, I received an email in my personal account from a programming executive with HGTV. Assuming the email was spam, I deleted it and moved on until a friend who had passed alon… Read More
2019-10-16 21:57
Over the past several years, Dave and I have had the opportunity to physically move and restore a few homes that were otherwise slated for demolition. Our family’s farmhouse was our fi… Read More
2019-10-08 14:18
There has been a tension in my heart lately. I can’t quite articulate it and I certainly can’t wrap it up with a tidy bow. Yet, it’s there. I have struggled with anxiety an… Read More
2019-10-07 18:35
It’s October!! I don’t know about where you live, but here in NW Arkansas we are finally seeing the first glorious glimpses of vibrant color seeping into the leaves outside. It h… Read More
2019-06-25 19:10
Sitting at a stoplight this morning, tears pricked my eyes as the lyrics drifting in through the speakers transported me right back to the years of tears, frustration, anger, confusion, loss… Read More
2019-06-18 20:38
June 18th. My calendar has been marked for months. This day is highlighted, circled and there are plenty of exclamation marks — The Day We Meet Baby Luke!!!!!
Change of plans&hellip&hell…Read More
2019-06-11 16:43
One week from today, we will meet our newest little love. (If not sooner, I’ve been having a lot of contractions and I’m exhausted and sore and tired of not knowing if this is th… Read More
2019-06-08 16:19
My sister-in-law and dear friends threw me the sweetest, most special little “sprinkle” for baby Luke this past weekend {last weekend was jam-packed – we had the boy’… Read More
2019-06-07 15:41
Halfway.
Someone nonchalantly made the remark that the boys turning nine marked the halfway point in their childhood. I had to catch my breath at the thought. The past nine years have bee… Read More
2019-06-05 16:12
Laundry is quite possibly my arch-nemesis.
On the very rare occasions I find myself with empty hampers and all of the laundry washed, dried, folded, hung and put away…it’s J… Read More
2019-05-31 14:28
I’m trying to get caught up on ALL.THE.THINGS before baby Luke arrives in t-minus 18 days!! One of the things I’d like to do is share a few of the completed spaces at the farmhou… Read More
2019-05-29 00:34
Several years ago, Dave bought a little slice of land on the shore of a nearby lake. He bought the land sight unseen at a tax auction and, because the price was extremely low, we assumed it… Read More
2019-05-22 14:17
My dearest Charlotte (aka – little bug, buglet),
It’s so hard to believe you are now five! These past five years have gone by in a flash and I have treasured every singl… Read More
2019-05-22 13:36
I am working to get caught up on personal posts (because I’m several years behind on photo albums and my nostalgia-memory-recording self has kicked into overdrive with a baby on the wa… Read More
2019-05-14 19:02
Two years ago, we took in a baby lamb in need of bottle feeding around the clock. I thought it would be fun and the lamb was pretty adorable so there was a zero percent chance of me turning… Read More
2019-05-07 23:22
I have to admit, our kitchen is now my absolute favorite room in the house. The light in here is amazing and bright, we’ve tripled our cabinets and storage and the space is just so muc… Read More
2019-04-26 14:43
Two years ago, we took in our first bottle-fed baby lamb. Admittedly, I was caught up in the cuteness of her soft fur and her ever-present smile, I wasn’t thinking about the long-stand… Read More
2019-03-22 21:29
In the busyness of life, white space often feels illusive. Days are brimming with obligations and unread emails and making beds and renovation decisions and laundry and conference calls and… Read More
2019-03-05 17:41
We are made to be in relationship with one another. We are meant to share meals and celebrate joys together. We are meant for actual, in-person, face-to-face interactions. Too often, we (mys… Read More
2019-02-19 18:10
As I was updating the Berry Farm website this morning, I was overwhelmed by all that God has done there over the past five years. What started as a simple idea to purchase a little plot of l… Read More
2019-01-18 22:54
Hi friends! Oh my word, life at the Marrs’ residence has been WHACK-O lately. {I feel like that’s saying a lot since things are always a bit chaotic over here}.
In case you m… Read More
2018-12-22 17:17
Three days.
Only three more days to finish the shopping, wrapping, baking, card sending… the rushing… the crafting of Christmas, the creating of memories.
What if we loo… Read More
2018-12-12 19:53
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation.&n&helli…Read More
2018-10-17 14:11
My days currently have the most unexpectedly sweet rhythm. Now that we’ve wrapped filming for our first season of Almost Home (and, by the way, the network is considering a name change… Read More
2018-08-24 14:39
It’s been quiet here on this little corner of the internet as I’ve kept up with photos and life stuff on Instagram (so that I can easily print off photo books) and have igno… Read More
2018-06-01 18:22
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,” {Zechariah 4:10}.
I’ve been mulling this verse over for the past couple of days, try… Read More
2018-05-31 16:18
My boys. Eight Years Old.
Every year feels significant but eight feels especially full of a weightiness I can’t quite articulate.
They’re on the fragile cusp of their futur… Read More
2018-05-16 14:18
I’ve unintentionally neglected this space. Life has been so hectic lately and I just haven’t had a spare moment (or an ounce of spare brain space) to sit and type any words… Read More
2018-04-09 14:57
It’s funny how much has changed since I wrote these words a year ago. Yet, in many ways, so very much is the same. At the time, life was hectic from an unexpected new role as a tempora… Read More
2018-03-20 21:01
The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.” Psalm 95:8
The Israelites were so convinced that God couldn&rsq&hell…Read More
2018-03-05 15:12
This morning, I happened upon words written online about my husband. Sarah’s words took me by surprise and made me a little weepy. The fact that she was able to see the hear… Read More
2018-02-16 15:38
I’ve been studying 1 and 2 Kings and, most recently, a lesson from the life of the prophet Elijah has deeply resonated. In 1 Kings 17, God sets Elijah apart and prepar… Read More
2018-02-02 20:24
Not unlike generations of boys who have gone before them, my seven-year-old twins, Ben and Nathan, spent summer afternoons exploring the thick, lush woods surrounding their self-appointed f… Read More
2018-01-23 18:35
As we celebrated our Sylvie-girl turning 6 last week, it was not lost on me that this was the year we celebrated twice as many birthdays together as we had spent apart. The other… Read More
2017-12-31 17:48
2017 was a full year for our little crew. As we prepare to usher in 2018, I can’t help but look back over the year in awe. When I think about the moments that defined our path, a… Read More
2017-12-22 15:53
Christmas is close now.
I am a planner and I had this week planned out – Monday and Tuesday were set aside for last minute shopping, planning the Christmas eve and Christmas day… Read More
2017-12-18 16:29
After praying over a really hard situation a friend is walking through this morning, I was led to the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel and a couple of verses jumped off the pag… Read More
2017-12-08 15:13
1 am found me tossing and turning. As the clock ticked, I wrestled with sleep. As it always goes, the more I tossed and tried to will myself back to dreamland, the more elusive sl… Read More
2017-12-04 15:31
As I sit by the glow of the tree, steaming coffee in hand, reading about hope and fear and faith… I glance up, right into these eyes.
My Sylvie girl… the ornament we hung… Read More
2017-11-14 20:37
I’ve been dying to share all of the details with you about the home transformation from the pilot episode of Almost Home and now that the show has aired, I can share all the … Read More
2017-11-03 14:41
I can’t stop scrolling through these gorgeous images of last week’s Help One Now gala at The Berry Farm. Our talented friend Brennon captured the evening so beautifully… Read More
2017-10-30 16:50
I can’t help but laugh at the wild and mundane craziness of my life at the moment.
I mean, y’all. In this last week, we hosted Willie and Korie Robertson at our house (… Read More
2017-09-26 15:30
We’ve been busy preparing for an event we are hosting a month from today in the barn at The Berry Farm. The evening will benefit the work of Help One Now and there will be an… Read More
2017-09-01 14:59
I grew up in central Florida – shielded from the coast by a mere 40 or so miles. My childhood memories of hurricane season include board games and stocked pantries while storms raged o… Read More
2017-08-18 14:00
This week, I’ve shuffled all four of my little loves off to a new school, full of new people and new routines and new places. They have been so very brave – not without slight tr… Read More
2017-08-10 21:16
I’m feeling all sorts of nostalgic today. We’re back home, settled into our space and looking to the big week ahead – the start of a new school year.
A first-time pre… Read More
2017-08-01 14:07
Good morning from Michigan!!
A summer stop in Michigan has long been on my travel bucket list and we are finally here! We are all looking forward to a relaxing, slow-paced, water… Read More
2017-07-28 17:56
Because our summer officially started in July, we decided to hit the road and get on with summer vacationing already! After a mere 18 hours in the car (insert emoji for I&rsqu&hell…Read More
2017-07-17 16:22
July officially kicked off summer for our little tribe.
I knew in advance June would be insanely busy — thank goodness Nana came to town to watch the littles while Dave and I put in&n&hell…Read More
2017-07-06 17:57
I’ve written before about simply focusing on the one thing before you. And, how the next thing is often a small, seemingly insignificant, step of obedience.
Till the soil.
In… Read More
2017-06-14 01:49
Every so often, I find myself reading articulate, powerful, soul-stirring words written by others and I think, “Who Do I Think I Am?!” Who would want to read my paltry words… Read More
2017-05-31 15:04
Our weekend was packed full of party fun (read: craziness)! We had a blast celebrating the boys turning 7 on their actual birthday on Monday.
I really am loving this age with the boys… Read More
2017-05-28 15:50
We waited to celebrate Charlotte’s 3rd birthday until this weekend so my parents, sister, and niece could be here. We had a low key Peppa Pig party with lots of sugar and little p… Read More
2017-05-18 00:50
Want a little friendly advice on what NOT do on the day your youngest celebrates her 3rd birthday? Listen to the song, “Slow Down,” by Nichole Nordeman. On repeat… Read More
2017-05-12 14:59
Two days ago, I read right past a sentence inconspicuously tucked into a larger story in scripture. This morning, I was drawn back to that seemingly insignificant line. I glanced at the wor… Read More
2017-04-26 21:41
The storm raged under the cover of night. We awoke to hail battering the glass window panes, gusts of wind howling and the violent clapping of thunder. Dave leapt out of… Read More
2017-04-10 14:38
I have a history of visiting our neighbor’s sheep and bottle feeding the babies. I think he finally tired of my littles and I dropping by every time babies were born and asked yesterda… Read More
2017-04-01 15:57
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
– Margaret Atwood.
Rather unexpectedly, I am now proudly wearing the battle-worn badg… Read More
2017-03-18 16:37
“The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”
– John 10:10, emphasis mine
One of my very real fears for… Read More
2017-02-28 16:18
Yesterday, I wrote a few words from a place of brokenness. I wanted to record my commitment to release expectations and renew hope in my heart. And, wouldn’t you know, God met me right… Read More
2017-02-27 16:07
I spent the weekend purging unwanted items and unworn clothes from my closet shelves and bathroom drawers. I filled seven (seven!) trash bags and three giant totes with “things.&r&hell…Read More
2017-02-12 19:43
I’ve been reading the story of Gideon this week and, I have to say, I really like the guy.
When first meet Gideon in Judges 6, we find him hiding out, in a wine press, thresh… Read More
2017-02-07 17:41
Truthfully, I hadn’t realized how deeply I had buried the trauma of leaving my daughter (in a place that absolutely terrified me) to fly home without her in my arms over thre… Read More
2017-01-24 08:23
I’m spending my birthday in Cape Town, South Africa. If you would have told me six months ago that my 38th birthday would begin with breakfast on the patio of our vacation r… Read More
2017-01-17 05:33
I’m typing these words from the front patio of our “family cottage” here at Mongena Game Lodge near Pretoria, South Africa. The thatch roof effectively shielding me from th… Read More
2017-01-07 07:52
If you’ve seen my photos on instagram (sporadicly shared photos – internet connection hasn’t been reliable so far), you know our family has arrived in Africa! The LONG flig… Read More
2016-12-23 16:05
Christmas is two days away.
Life hasn’t exactly slowed. Demands continue to assault my desire for peace and stillness. Chaos replaces calm. Noise so often permeates our home… Read More
2016-12-15 16:18
I desire a simple and holy Christmas this year.
A release of excess and rushing.
White space on our calendar and in our home.
Many things about this season may demand significant t… Read More
2016-12-09 18:37
The Christmas tree hunt was a tradition started in my childhood, always held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. No exceptions.
This year, we were somewhere on a highway in the middl… Read More
2016-12-01 15:37
I wanted to write a post about our little family’s Advent traditions this morning. I wanted to share something light and straightforward.
Yet, here I sit, my hands hovering above… Read More
2016-11-15 16:32
This weekend, I piled all four kiddos plus our little dog, Chiquita, and drove a couple of hours to nearby Springfield, MO to meet with Pastor Loma from Congo. He flew to the US at the last… Read More
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