The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist -

© 2026 Freya Theme by Sparrow and Snow | Disclosure Policy

Happy Things… Wednesday?

I had this post ready to go live on Friday morning and then life happened and I posted an update from… the ER instead of a Happy Things Friday post. But all the things I had intended to post on Friday still happened and were true. Also, life is still feeling chaotic and if I…

Cardiff Catchall: Cardiff Castle, Castle Arcade + Welsh Food

This is the last set of pictures from our time in Cardiff. More dramatically, this is my very last summary of adventures FROM THE ENTIRE TRIP. (I’m sure I’ll do a few more…

Continue Reading

Update: Home + Tired + Grateful

I spent all day Friday supporting my parents at the hospital. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I got up at 2:30 am to help meet a need. Sunday morning (this time it…

Continue Reading

Friday Update: The ER Edition

Hey friends. I had a long, typical Happy Things Friday post all ready to go live this morning and then life threw me a bit of a curveball.

One of my parents recently had a…

Continue Reading

Hard Things
Aug, 28, 2026
22 Comments

One Day in Bristol: A Day Trip From Cardiff by Train

For months, I’ve had a seemingly endless backlog of stories to share from our trip to Europe. There was always another city! Another museum! Another train ride! Another set of pictures waiting to be…

Continue Reading

How Our Family Mealtime Habits Have Changed

Growing up, my family had very structured eating habits.

Breakfast was eaten together. After we finished, we’d read the Bible and a little devotional, pray together (we had a list of different people and situations…

Continue Reading

I’m on Best of Both Worlds! Let’s Talk Extended Travel to Europe with Kids + Work

Apparently August is my month for podcasting?!

Last week, I was on The Reframe with Kathleen Paley, talking about our 110-day family adventure in Europe—why we decided to do it, what a trip like this…

Continue Reading

Euro Adventure, Guest Post, Podcast, Travel
Aug, 25, 2026
15 Comments

© 2026 Freya Theme by Sparrow and Snow | Disclosure Policy | Privacy Policy