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Grace to Grieve
On Oct. 14, 2014, my husband had emergency surgery for a mass in his colon. Two days later, Todd was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. My strong, healthy, 46-year-old husband,…
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Run
Midway through summer, wind and rain visited my home during the night. Had I been nervous about a storm, I would have been nervous for my tomato plants. I have two,…
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Mabel Laine
For singer/songwriter Julia Smith, music is art, created in the soul. Growing up a farm girl, she would spend her free time building forts among the trees, playing with her family’s…
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Kevin Zwingle Is Worth Fighting For
In mid-July 2020, right around his birthday, my husband, Kevin, began complaining of headaches. Headaches were unusual, but it was a hot summer, and we initially chalked it up to dehydration…
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3 Unexpected Lessons Learned
No matter where you go, No matter what you do, You’ll always be my babies. I’ve spoken those words to every student I’ve had over the last 13 years. The advent…
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Lightning Bugs = Fireflies
According to Dr. Katie Kilmer, assistant professor of biology and health at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, lightning bugs/fireflies are specialized predators and feed on other insect larvae, snails and…
Homegrown Journal 