Today you drove to the University of Maryland as I rode in the passenger seat beside you. You studied the traffic at each junction, listening to my instructions and stopping completely at each stop sign. When you pulled up in front of the swimmers entrance...
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...
Before Abigail could speak, she told us through her actions that she loved animals and all living creatures. She communicated delight with squeals of joy upon encountering a frog in a pond, hushed silence while witnessing a butterfly gracefully alight upon a flower. When she...
Tomorrow we will turn the page on a calendar into a new year. Perhaps this year more than any in our lifetime, we sense the need for a clean page and a new start. And yet the turn of the page on a calendar does not...
My Dearest Grace, Today you turned 12 and we took a walk just the two of us through the mountain trail that leads from our family cabin in the woods of Cashiers, NC to a little stream with a waterfall I used to go to as...
My Dearest Abigail, You are my effervescent child. Bubbling over with joy, all of life is your celebration. I crave your energy and very literally can't keep up with you at times. October 8, 2012 we welcomed you into the world here at home, in our...
My son stands up high in our treehouse, waving at me from his perch among the oaks. "Momma, come play with me!" I don't hesitate. "I'm coming! What are we playing?" His response is certain, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. You are Queen...
My Dear Joseph David, Today you are five! A whole hand! Your excitement about turning five is contagious. "What will it be like when I am five?" you asked your Dad as you snuggled next to him at bed time. "Well, it will be a lot...
Every year on my birthday I spent time with the Lord reflecting on the year behind and praying into the year ahead. I have done this since I was 19. This year, upon turning 40, I have been extra reflective. Something about the idea of...
I ran quickly through Six Flags Great America, chasing my ten year old daughter, Grace, and my sister in law Lisa, who both had caught the roller-coaster bug. It was only a few days after Christmas and happened to be a warm-ish day for Chicago,...