Every night at our dinner table, each member of our family shares their highlights (or lowlights, as we call the hard moments) of their day. Many times, these highlights are predictable, but always they are valuable and we treasure hearing them. My nine year old daughter,...
Our family ended 2019 by going on a Caribbean cruise with my parents and my brother's family. As we packed for the cruise, I reminded my kids that there would be no opportunity to wash clothes on the ship, so they needed to be thoughtful...
It was 2 A.M. when he crawled into my bed, shaking with terror. "Mama, the bad guys were in my bed." "You mean you had a nightmare, baby?" "Yeah. I need to stay in your bed." "Ok, honey. You can sleep on Daddy's side" (Daddy's...
It was a lovely day at the park, a time of play and fun and sunshine. Laughter rippled across the playground and swings lifted little legs high until they felt they could fly. It was then that I heard her cry. In the midst of play,...
The Chronicles of Narnia have been a gift to our family as I am sure they have been to many of you. I've been thinking today about the transformation of Eustace in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Lewis writes about this boy, "There was a boy...
This is what I wrote in my journal last Monday: "It's an amazing thing to have nothing (absolutely necessary) to do right now. While the girls have swim team practice for an hour each day, other than that we can pretty much go at the...
We just did something pretty ambitious - we took our four kids ages 10, 8, 6, and 3 on a European tour of four countries in about 12 days. It was a whirlwind adventure across the ocean for one main purpose: We long for our...
My house was totally clean and stayed that way for two weeks once. It was unbelievable, really, and my husband and I stood in awe of the order and quiet in our home while our three girls were in Chicago staying with their grandparents after...
Only a few days ago, my neighbor began to prepare the soil of his garden for spring. "Wow, is it time for that already?!" I thought, considering the snow that loomed on the horizon. And yet, before we know it, the first buds and blooms...
As a mother of four, I am regularly faced with a child who has fallen or been hurt crying to me for support and love. What tenderizes my heart in these moments is that usually the physical injury they have incurred isn't that bad, but...