Family Ties

When asked about his greatest achievement in life, George Bush answered, “That my children still want to come home to visit.” My parents can boast of the same success. Having four married daughters, all with children now, my parents have made it easy and enjoyable for us to visit for holidays and vacations. We had…

Dallas Area Family Activities

We’ve lived in the Dallas area before, so we didn’t feel like we had to hit all the attractions, but I’ll list some of our favorites for those who are traveling this way with kids. 1. Dallas Arboretum – This was my favorite beautiful place in Dallas, along White Rock Lake with gorgeous landscaping, a…

Anywhere and Everywhere

One of the things about us Dalrymples is that we do not like to waste time. Wherever we are, we try to be all there as we mentioned before. We look for fun anywhere and everywhere. It’s not hard to do in strange places because we do it in familiar places as well. I guess that’s…

Getting Rid of Stuff – Part 2

“The Giveaway Spree” One of the most enjoyable parts of getting rid of stuff was to give things away to family, friends, and neighbors. We had clothes and toys that the kids would likely outgrow by next year, so it made sense to pass them on to someone who could use them now. Our daughter…

Freedom and Tears

These last few days have been both remarkable and heavy. We are on the open road with our life on a roof cargo box, bike rack and our REI gear. It was a flurry of gatherings for our family from my birthday to a neighborhood party and then our final hours and send off with…

I Love Relationships More Than Stuff

Getting our life to zero and hitting the road for this adventure does require quite a bit of focus and energy on stuff. We live a minimalist lifestyle, but for a five person family, there’s still a lot of stuff to deal with. One of our favorite parts of the last 30 days has been…

Wherever You Are Be All There

I remember reading those words from a journal in Jim Elliot’s, Shadow of the Almighty. Sonya and I try to live this out continuously. Maybe it’s the way we were both raised. We were used to transitions and realized that quality of life is measured by the depth of friendships and relationships, not just mere face…

You Need a Great Partner

Going through this journey could be a total disaster if I had a totally different partner. Marriage presents plenty of challenges. In a large part, my wife is a mirror to my faults and shortcomings every day. It’s part of the beauty of growing as a person. I adore Sonya and love so many parts…

Overcoming the Gravity of Life

I am not sure why we assume that the status quo is the way things should be. I may be a different type of person, but I always question what I am doing, where I am and how my life is set up. I would not say it is just pure restlessness. It might be better…

What To Do With LEGOS

We are probably like most homes of elementary-aged children. We could “tile” the floor and decorate every shelf with LEGOS (just slight exaggeration). We definitely went through a phase a couple years ago of purchasing and receiving many new sets. They seemed to be the perfect birthday and Christmas presents for our collector kids, wanting…

Getting Rid of Stuff – Part 1

People always ask us, “What are you going to do with all your stuff? Get a storage unit?” The short answer is, “No.” We will inevitably store a few boxes full of photos and albums, as well as instruments, random memorabilia, and just a couple wall hangings, but the rest of our stuff will have…