It was the day that my younger children and I walked around our neighborhood, tugging leaves from a variety of trees to identify at home. We walked with growing piles of green filling our hands, a diverse bouquet of chlorophyl. I noticed the perfect heart...
Their eyes wide with wonder, the children watched as I made them hot cocoa. Then, they sat and savored their warm beverages, each choosing precisely when to eat their marshmallows. Some saved them until the end and others couldn't wait that long and picked them...
I sat on the beach and watched the waves form, crest and then roll steadily towards the shore, leaving their mark on the sandcastles before retreating back into the ocean. The kids played alongside the water while doing their own repetitive work of building, tearing...
My Dear Chesed Joy, Today you are eleven! And what a way to begin the celebration of your birth than your baptism yesterday, which is the celebration of your new birth in Jesus. I am grateful for your public profession of faith which strengthens my own...
It was a lazy Saturday and we were about to leave the house to join some neighbors on an apple picking trip. I asked my daughter Abigail to bring her bunny Fuzzy inside so that we could head out. A few moments later, I heard...
His crime was a common one among young siblings. He had called his sister a name. His consequence was writing sentences. For my newly-minted six year old, writing "I will not call my sister __________" ten times seemed as insurmountable as climbing Mount Everest. A predictable...
I padded across the bright green carpet of my backyard, my eyes set on the tree house my husband and father built with the help of several strong and willing neighbors a handful of years ago, when my youngest was still in diapers and my...
Coffee in hand, I walked into our sun porch which is also my younger kids play room which is also where I like to have time alone in the mornings before the kids wake up. Each morning when I enter the room, I notice creations...
The moon cast a soft glow off my son's small face, which wore a concerned look as I tucked him into bed. "Mom, if we take Fuzzy to Chicago with us, what will happen if he doesn't know where he is and tries to go...
I pulled into the parking lot behind the Franciscan monastery in D.C. and turned off the ignition of my car. I paused briefly, eyeing the steady downpour before deciding to "make a break" for Hermitage #1, a cozy studio apartment constructed for spiritual retreats nestled...