Our kids are back from a week of camp. Right before it was time to send them, I almost chickened out. But I kept thinking of this bit of wisdom,”Parenting is about preparing your child for the road, not about preparing the road for your child.” I’m good at road construction for my kids. I always believe they need...Continue Reading
Thanks to the constant rain this month, Texas is flooded. The bayous are swollen, the streets are impassable, and yards are like swimming pools. This kind of weather is so fitting for May, a month also flooded with commitments, parties, emotions, and stimulants. We introverts can handle the a light, steady rain of stimuli. We can smile...Continue Reading
The weather is warmer here, and the sunshine seems to have robbed our kids of their hearing ability. Yesterday I asked Catie to put her shoes away about 17 times. I’m not normally a yeller, but I’m starting to see the gratification. MAYBE YOU CAN HEAR THIS?! I’m sure the kids’ teachers are also struggling with the...Continue Reading
As a kid, I read more than I did just about anything else. Piles of my books were scattered everywhere in the house. Books stuffed in my desk drawers, in the bathroom, on our back porch, and in the backseat of our family van. I learned everything from those stories. I read about broken families, kids...Continue Reading
The title for this picture should be, “Idealistic Maniacs Before a 5K.” Because that’s who we are—unstoppable runners who will tackle any obstacle. Who cares it’s early and cold out? A little chill can’t diffuse our excitement for ROCKING this race. We are the champions. Cue Chariots of Fire music. But the caption for the...Continue Reading
Everybody’s got a story. What’s yours? What are your family heirloom stories, the ones you tell your kids about their grandparents and great-grandparents? When you think of yourself in junior high, which story comes to mind? What’s your best college road trip story? Tell the story of meeting your spouse and seeing each of your babies for...Continue Reading
Dear Lord, Give me a heart so peaceful, I can look at this picture and not cringe. Help me not to see the wrinkles on my forehead, the fine lines around my eyes, the dark roots, desperate for some highlights. Let me look past the poor photography skills that make my kids’ heads look like they’re...Continue Reading
This Christmas our family relearned a terrible lesson about holidays. Every birthday, every New Years Eve, and every Halloween ends with one or more of our kids crying. One day is just too fragile to hold our months of anticipation. Under all those expectations, the day usually falls apart. For our Christmas this year, these expectations meant our day ended in tears....Continue Reading
Last week we hosted the African Children’s Choir at our house. They came right in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of our year, including the kids’ Christmas Program, faraway basketball games, big work deadlines, etc, etc. Late at night, when I was exhausted and needed to go to bed for the night,...Continue Reading
Our family needs a different kind of Thanksgiving this year. We need a holiday like these homemade pecan pies. Our pies took a lot of time, but these were intentional hours. Unrushed hours together. We need that kind of a Thanksgiving. These pecans were from our friends’ orchard. They tasted sweeter because of the conversation...Continue Reading
