A Place to Call Home
When Gary and Shouna Olson began planning for their son’s future, they found nothing in the state that met their desire: a Christ-centered group home. The Olson family attends Henderson Hills Baptist Church where Preston, an 18-year-old young man with Down syndrome, is involved in numerous activities. He is also active in the community.“I want…
Read More >Healthy Disorganization
The month of May has always been busy for me. Not only are there three family birthdays, but it is also the month for State Special Olympics, Mother’s Day and—drum roll, please—spring-cleaning! Yep, you read that right. Years ago, I would round up my kids, map out all the dirty chores (they didn’t know about…
Read More >Christmas in Any Language
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking and sharing homemade “goodies.” One year, just before Christmas, a new family moved into our neighborhood—two houses up and across the street from us. Since I was already baking some Christmas teacakes covered with red, green and yellow sugar crystals, I made an extra dozen for our…
Read More >Capturing Life Through a Lens
Darrell Barton has been in most wars since the mid-1960s. “I fought in Vietnam and filmed the rest,” he said, speaking of his years as a cameraman with ABC, NBC and CBS news. Born in Arkansas and growing up “all over” but mainly in Kansas, Barton had an interest in cameras from an early age,…
Read More >Love and Commitment
June is here and “weddings” are in the air! I often wonder why so many couples choose June to exchange their vows. I need only look back at my own wedding to answer that. Trust me, March is not the best month of the year to be married, especially in a cold climate. My husband…
Read More >A Happy and Thankful New Year
Nothing beats an “interruption” in life to shake us up and give us a new perspective. And what better time to happen than around the New Year, overshadowing those time worn resolutions to lose weight, exercise and eat healthy. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with those goals. In fact, we should make them part of our…
Read More >Natural Learning
Elementary educators John Duhon, Jenny Dunning and Risa Wilkins grew up in different places and a decade apart, but they had something in common. Each grew up with creeks, pastures and an outside world to explore, which led to endless discoveries of nature, imagination and self. They believe such unstructured time allowed for more creative…
Read More >I Want to be a Grandmother!
When I was a child my greatest desire in life was to become a mother. Not a nurse or flight attendant like my peers. Just “Mommy.” After my kids grew up I longed for another title—Grandmother. My oldest son, however, did not see “grand-motherhood” as a worthy goal. But when Aaron married a sweet, Catholic…
Read More >Heavenly Valentine
I have always had a special affection for valentines—not those five-dollar cards that require extra postage or the commercial packages of kid’s cards with their tiny envelopes. Not even the beautifully decorated heart-shaped boxes of candy, though I wouldn’t turn any of them down. No, my love of valentines goes way back to a…
Read More >Coffee Creek Riding Stable
How Animals Help Nurture ChildrenMiracles abound at Coffee Creek Riding Stable where “challenged children” are offered free therapeutic riding — gaining skills such as balance, eye-hand coordination, upper body strength and even sign language. Some of these children walk or talk for the first time at the stable. Some meet an animal for the first…
Read More >The Prince- A Christmas Ballet Production
With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, thoughts turn to holiday festivities. One "must see" event that has been inspiring Edmond residents for ten years is the annual production of "The Prince," a Christian rendition of "The Nutcracker." Written and choreographed by Katha Bardel, founder and director of A.R.T.S. (Arts Revealing the Son), The…
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