Welcome sleepy friends. I'm Joanne, your host, and tonight we continue our journey through by the

shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In these next chapters, we follow Laura and

her family as they travel westward, embracing new adventures, wide-open landscapes,

and the quiet beauty of the prairie.

It's a story full of wonder, resilience, and the simple joys of frontier life.

A quick note before we begin.

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Your support helps keep this show going and allows you to enjoy bonus episodes each month.

You can find those links down below in the show notes.

As many of you know, this has been a challenging time for me.

And while there have been some bumps along the way, my daughter Emily is still

plugging along with so much strength.

We're just a couple weeks away from her final round of chemotherapy, and then hopefully surgery will be the next step.

I also just want to say how incredibly grateful I am for all the kind messages and words of

encouragement that continue to come in. It truly warms my heart and means more than I can say.

Your kindness and support have been such a comfort during this overwhelming time.

To be honest, I've been feeling quite stressed and emotionally drained, and like so many

of you, I've been turning to bedtime relaxation stories and meditations to help me settle my mind at night.

When my thoughts start spiraling, worrying about everything, and imagining worst-case scenarios,

I find it really helpful to have something gentle and soothing to bring me back to the present moment and help me rest. So if you're feeling a little

overwhelmed too, I just want to remind you to be kind to yourself. Take a deep breath, let go of

what you can't control, and know that you're not alone. And with that, let's take a few moments to settle in

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