Real Life
I’m so grateful for all the interest in our story. And I love sharing the latest happenings. From things like the nitty-gritties of tantrums and how to finagle teaching kids to work when our kids were little, to Lucy leaving for college, I feel like YOU have been the most amazing village of support. Thank you! I love to keep a record of family life, thanks for coming along for the ride! XOXO Shawni
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My Favorite Things from Easter Weekend with My Grandkids
There is something pretty special about gathering for holidays, and this Easter weekend felt especially meaningful. Not only did we get time together as…
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2026 Snapshot: Life as Empty Nesters
I usually do a “snapshot” of how life is right at that moment at the beginning of each new year. And this year feels…
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Why the 2025–2026 Utah Ski Season Wasn’t a Bust for Our Family
Some may call the Utah ski season 2025-2026 a bust. I mean, it may be the season with the least snow on record from…
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Ada June Turns One!
A year ago from yesterday, it was Friday the 13th. Dave and I were skiing in the mountains and we got a phone call…
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A Round-Up of Things I’ve Found Very Inspiring Lately
Oh man, the world is such a beautiful place. And there’s something about being out in it that has given me so much room…
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Gathering Friends Who Have Held Me for Decades
During this week and a half in California, I had the chance to gather with three different circles of women who have shaped my…
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Gathering the Sisters I Married Into
Over the course of a week and a half in California, I had the chance to gather three different circles of women who have…
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Three Generations of Women, Together
Over the course of a week and a half, somehow the stars aligned and I had the opportunity to gather three different circles of…
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A Sunrise Challenge and a Study of Morning Light
Oh my goodness, I’m just coming up for air after a stretch of gathering with women I love—so much learning, so much gratitude. But…
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Finding Comfort Through Music at College
There is not a day that goes by that I don’t sit in wonder that Lucy is doing what she is doing up at…
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A Birthday Hike
Once a year, around my birthday, I make sure I do one specific hike. This is not just any old hike, but a wing-dinger,…
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Today is Claire’s 22nd Birthday – in the Wake of an Adventure in Australia
Today Claire turns twenty-two. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!! I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this girl than highlighting a few moments of…
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Some Questions about a Baby Snow Skier
We have a first time skier around here. And I have some questions about our newest “baby snow skier.” As I mentioned in the…
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All the Hoopla Leading up to Christmas
I am looking through pictures from all these December days and feel so overwhelmed with gratitude for all these people I got to be…
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Two Birthdays in Three Days
We have two birthdays right after Thanksgiving in our family. David and Abby. David’s Birthday Dave lucks out that his birthday is right during…
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The Turkey Trot – Version 15.0 – 2025
Yep, we’ve been doing this sucker for FIFTEEN YEARS. And when I say “we,” I mean the wonder turkey trot team. I’m waiting for…
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The Marvelous Business of Gathering Family for the Holidays
I was going to title this post as the “crazy” business of gathering family. Because any of us who have adult kids spread out…
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An Invitation from Lucy – A Visit to My College Girl
People have asked for an update on Lucy. And now is a good time because I just finally got an actual invite to visit…
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A Wedding and a House Full of Girls
My beautiful niece Ava got married last weekend. It was such a happy day. There is just something so very special about two people…
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A Paint Project for Lucy – a Small Labor of Love
Lucy is a creature of habit. She likes things how she likes them, and that is that. There’s not much changing the mind of…
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Newport for Fall break
We don’t even HAVE fall break any more as empty nesters, for crying out loud. But Lucy happened to. So this is what happened.…
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The Restore Conference Mixed with Beautiful Utah Fall Foliage
Last weekend, while Dave was in China, I got to be with some of my other favorite people in Utah. These guys: (Can you…
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Lucy’s 19th Birthday Celebration: Letting Go and “Letting Them”
It was Lucy’s birthday yesterday. And I have some things to share about it. So if you’re sick of hearing about Lucy, you may…
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Labor Day and Lucy Love: Joining the College Cousin Gang
As an update for those following along with Lucy’s journey, she is still at college and mustering through all the adjustments. There are hard…
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Does Grandparenting Live Up to the Hype?
I have to admit I was skeptical about how “grand” grandparenting would be. I mean, there was a whole lotta hype involved in describing…
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The Eyrealm Reunion at Bear Lake – 2025 Version
Oh man, there was a LOT of love at the Eyrealm reunion at Bear Lake this summer. It’s so cool how love can multiply…
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College Prep for Lucy and the Angels who Showed Up
Preparation for sending kids off to spread their wings starts early. I mean, from the time kids are born, we are teaching them and…
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A Quick Visit from Claire Before Lucy Left
There was one magical week in between summer and the beginning of college where the stars aligned and Claire came home to work for…
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Utah Mini Reunions Pre and Post the “Big” Reunion at Bear lake
With Lucy tucked safely into college, ups and downs abundantly abounding, I’m trying to catch up on record keeping around here. I want to…
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Some Thoughts about Carson’s Dad’s Funeral and the Legacy of Love He Left
Thank you so much for all the love as Lucy has taken the plunge into college life. This is not for the faint of…
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Hong Kong Called her Back: Claire as an HXP Leader
Little did we know when we spent our first summer in China all those years ago that we would be back. We ended up…
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Some Snippets into the LIfe of My Birthday Girl Wellesley Jade
It’s Wellesley’s birthday today. She turns 27 years old. And as I have been going down photo-memory-lane, sinking more in love with her with…
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A Rodeo for the 24th of July in Utah
There are some perks to having all your kids graduated from high school and not starting school in mid July. One is that you…
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Two Weddings in Two Days
There is just something so very special about people finding each other, and binding themselves together. I mentioned my missionary nephew’s thoughts about what…
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A Challenge to Find Little Ways to Give More
I was asked to share another message on the “WeBelieve” app today. For those who don’t have this yet, WeBelieve is the BEST app…
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Planting Summer Flowers in the Desert – An Analogy to Parenting
Flower gardening in the desert isn’t really my normal mojo here on the blog. I’m here for family life, travel and sharing the motherhood…
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A Great Way to Connect With to Neighbors
A great way to connect
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the 4th and Being “Better”
One of Lucy’s teachers at her college prep course gave us a thought I’ve been thinking about. He said he likes to ask the…
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Happy Birthday Miss Grace Jam!
Oh my goodness. The older my kids get the harder it is for me on their birthdays. Sifting through literally thousands of pictures filled…
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Lucy’s Graduation Trip to Newport
I quite often look at Lucy quite amazed at how she maneuvers life. We went to Newport Beach to celebrate her graduation and she…
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Why Family Reunions Matter: The Emotional and Social Benefits
Ok, so is everyone done with school or is it just us desert dwellers who start school in the middle of JULY? It seems…
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Twenty-Eight Years of Maxwell David
Twenty-eight years ago Dave and I sat in the hospital with our first tiny newborn. If I could only describe how much joy filled…
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Graduation Hoopla – The Last
A week ago from yesterday Lucy sat on the same football field where all my kids have graduated, adorned with her own cap and…
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Thank you to the Village: Why Community Matters in Parenting
Leading up to Lucy’s graduation, I was carrying a heavy load of emotions. I knew that having a daughter with special needs graduate from…
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2025 Snapshot
Grace had the opportunity to spend two and a half weeks in Portugal this month. She was absolutely glowing on FaceTime every time we…
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A “Not-Hot-Seat” Celebration for Lucy’s Graduation
I mentioned yesterday with all the graduation prep hoopla that we had to kind of cajole Lucy into a graduation party. She was not…
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The Business of Getting Ready for my Baby to Graduate
Lucy is graduating this week. And life has been filled to the brim with festivities as well as mountains of homework and sleepless nights.…
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The Desert in All It’s Glory – flowers amidst Thorns
A couple weeks ago I finally got out in this desert glory: Is it just me with my desert-loving-eyes or is that just breathtaking??…
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How I believe God is looking out for Lucy
I am a big believer in looking for the miracles. Especially in the tricky times. Because Dave and my mantra is true, to be…
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Lucy’s Very Last MCO Concert – The Beginning of the “Lasts”
Recently I saw this quote on Instagram that said “In motherhood we are raising the one thing we can’t live without to be able…
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How has it Been TWO Years? – HAPPY BIRTHDAY Murphy!
Abby send this picture in our group family text yesterday with the words “her last day being 1” and it really hit me. How…
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Springtime in Utah, A School for the Blind, and My Mom’s Birthday
There were two important things I was able to slip up to Utah for a couple weeks ago. One was to attend an open…
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One Last Visit to Iowa – A BBS Clinical Trial, and Good Friends
Dave, Lu and I left Dave’s family birthday/visitor week to head out for one last visit to Iowa. For a good doctor who is…
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finding paths in our wakes
Sometimes, when we don’t know which way we’re going and we feel kind of lost in life, we need to look back. When we…
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A Little Extra Encouragement At My Cello Recital
I performed at what I think was my fifth cello recital a week or so ago. Yep, my fifth recital where I was surrounded…
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Togetherness With Dave’s Family in the Desert
Dave’s oldest brother had a big birthday. AND his little sister and family came to town for their spring break. This, in Pothier terms,…
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Back to Utah for a Quick Minute
I joined the kids up in Utah for a quick 30 hours. Claire was moving into her new place, Abby got horribly sick right…
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Cashing in on our Christmas Gift from our Kids
We dropped off Claire at the airport and got to hit the tip of the iceberg of all our catch-up work for a day…
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We Got Claire for a Month
The passage of time is so interesting. It just seemed like Claire had been on her mission for fourteen years and we’d never get…
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Adventures in Utah for Spring Break
We were up in Utah for a week of spring break. It was so strange that this is Lucy’s last spring break ever. So…
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How Claire’s Girlfriends Reunited with Powerful Mission Stories
While we were in Utah for Spring Break, Claire got to reunite with her girlfriends. The majority of them have served LDS missions all…
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Growing Flowers in the Desert – Ranunculus
After putting in some heart and soul, I have some tips on growing flowers in the desert. I have been hard at work learning…
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The Story of Ada June’s Welcome to the World
Speaking of sisters (my “theme” this week)…wait for it….Murphy got a new one. Ada June Her name is Ada June, and she was born…
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Power in Sisters – Hiking and Painting with My Sister
Ok, this week I’m going to have a theme: Power in Sisters. Because there have been several things lately that have reminded me there’s…
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Claire’s Homecoming at Church, and a “Hot Seat”
The Sunday after Claire got back, she gave her homecoming talk in church. And had this crew to support her: As well as so…
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Kids Come Back! – What We Did When Claire Got Home
For all those moms waiting for their missionaries to return, or waiting anxiously for any long separation to come to an end, I’m here…
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A Grand Reunion with With Our Australian Girl — Claire’s Return
CLAIRE IS HOME! And we have all been in such a beautiful little cocoon of family for the last week. I look over at…
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Claire Comes Home from Her Mission TODAY (!!) – Her Last Email
Claire is making the grand return from her mission morning. In a matter of a few hours to be exact. And there aren’t enough…
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One Great Way to Eat Your Greens – “Salad Group”
Let’s talk about one great way to eat your greens. Because lots of people have asked about the “salad group” I’m in. And you…
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Cousins Make High School Dances Even Better
Lucy went to another high school dance. And this time around I realized that cousins make high school dances even better. But before we…
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The Power of Love and Valentine’s Day this year
Oh gosh, I love Valentine’s Day. And I know it’s ancient history by now, but I love to reflect on the power of love.…
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A Super Simple Idea for Fixing Miscommunication
Leading up to Valentine’s Day let’s talk about a secret my wise sister taught me last weekend. It’s a super simple idea for fixing…
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“You Discover Your True Self in Loving”
As Valentine’s Day approaches I keep thinking about the power of love. Love as a verb. Loving people that are easy to love and…
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A Well-Celebrated Birthday
January 24th was my birthday. Another year older. How is that possible, I was just in high school making floral dresses for dances out…
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My Favorite FaceTimer
I feel so lucky every time this little face pops up on my phone. And I feel so thankful her mom and dad facilitate…
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Utah Gatherings to Bring in the New Year
We had some good Utah gatherings to bring in the new year. With groups of all sizes and configurations. And I want to remember…
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Lucy’s Undying Love for Nature
I love nature. It might even be safe to say I gather a few eyerolls from my family with my obsession. Every bud and…
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Weddings, Friends, Sisters and Oranges
The weekend before last was filled up with weddings, friends, sisters and oranges. And I just want to record it here because I do…
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Claire is TWENTY-ONE Today…and She COMES HOME NEXT MONTH!
Today, on her birthday in the United States of America, my daughter has already stepped into her twenty-second year of life over in Australia…
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My Parents Came to Visit Just in Time to Save December…and Win some tennis
My parents came to visit in December. It was for a tennis tournament for my Dad. And also, I like to believe, to see…
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Lucy went to Winter Formal
Here we go, back to the grindstone after the holidays because school starts today, dang it! So much has happened over the last two…
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To Be of Use
My brother shared this poem with my sister who shared it with me. And I read it through tears. How do words sometimes have…
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The Little Things are Sometimes the Big Things
Lately I’ve learned, once again, that the little things are sometimes the big things. I’m jumping into the last week of Christmas prep with…
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How to “Hear the Angels’ Voices” at Christmastime…
…Go to an MCO Concert. Or, if you want to be more formal, a Millennial Choirs and Orchestras concert. Yow. This girl has put…
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The Rest of Thanksgiving Weekend — With the Kids Home
We thought at first that only Grace was coming home for Thanksgiving. It was going to be a small little intimate gathering. But then…
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It Was Abby’s Birthday Too
Gosh I love this birthday girl. It was her birthday right after Dave’s (on the 2nd), and she was still here in the desert…
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How to Be Still – A 45-Day Christmas Challenge
Two things led me to take my quest for stillness more seriously this Christmas season. 1) A very frank conversation a month or so…
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David’s Birthday…and I Love Him
Yep, Dave’s birthday rolled around the very day after all the hoopla of the Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving. Not to get cheesy (he’s not…
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Each Year We Gather for the Gilbert Turkey Trot…
…and it gets bigger and more complicated. And also more fun. With more money raised for our two charities. Yow. Preparation Oh there is…
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October Little Things
Phew, who cares about October when all this gratitude is swirling around us finding the goodness of life, right?? But really, I’m grateful for…
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A Missionary I’m MISSING! And Another Mission transfer
We are smack-dab in the middle of gratitude month and I want to say how THANKFUL I am for my missionary and all she’s…
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Little Things Lately with the Three of us at Home
Gosh time is just flying on by around here. We tried on this get-up for Lucy the other day and it started getting more…
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Saturday Chores
There is something so satisfying about Saturday chores I tell you. Especially when you finally get a weekend to really dig right in. That’s…
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Small Miracle
I say this is a “small” miracle but in our family’s hearts it’s a pretty huge one: Lucy requested to talk to Murphy on…
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How Halloween Wrapped Up in 2024
I wrote about my feelings about Halloween this year, and all those cherished memorized moments from years-gone-by in my heart. But this is how…
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Fall Break in Utah
My heart was stretched so thin in Utah this time around because there are so many people to love there! I do realize that’s…
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A New Little Sister for Murphy
We got some pretty special news a few months back that I’ve been waiting for permission to share… These screenshots can’t quite contain all…
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College, angels, and a Little Hope Shining on the Horizon
Lucy, along with her parents:), did two college tours while we were in Utah for Fall Break. There were angels touring Utah State University…
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Our Fortnightly Call on Friendship & Friends in Jackson Hole
Since last Christmas my growing-up family (the Eyres) has been trying to have a “fortnightly” zoom call. Something to gather us together to connect…
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How Lucy’s 18th Birthday Rounded Up
I’m still a little bit in denial that Lucy turned 18. How did that happen so quickly? I wrote all about 18 reasons I…