Growing up, mail during Advent was a really big deal to our family. We received lots and lots of Christmas cards, filled with those goofy family letters, beautiful pictures of Jesus, and thoughts about His birthday. I remember sorting through the evergreen and cherry envelopes, recognizing some senders by their distinct handwriting, giddy to know...Continue Reading
For just about the first decade of raising kids, I had a wonderful relationship with 100-calorie snack packs. Or, really, any portable food. Who wouldn’t adore pre-packaged energy for hypoglycemic, grumpy toddlers and kids? The right snack in those bright, little packages (Oreos come to mind), could bribe kids into their car seats, halt temper...Continue Reading
Seven years ago, when we found out we were having twins, both M and me began to prepare in our own ways. I bought approximately four hundred blue and pink outfits. M bought a minivan for our (suddenly large) family. With our two-year-old, our new colicky babies and our new van, we started a cycle:...Continue Reading
Fall is in full-swing here in Texas. The temperatures dipped into the 70s this week, which is still not cool enough for these kids to wear outfits. You know, with shirts and actual pants. But this cooler weather has invigorated our family. With shorter days comes the promise of holidays, tastes of pumpkin-everything, and s’mores...Continue Reading
Today’s FAQ is with Nate. We’re here to discuss Nate’s phenomenal gaming skills…specifically his skill at finding anyone with an iPad in a one-mile radius. FAQ #1: Who is the friend you’re playing with here, Nate? Someone from your school? A classmate of Sam’s? Nate: That girl? I had never seen her before in my...Continue Reading
Dear Catie… I’m writing this on the day of your last volleyball game. Your coach predicts you might win this game, which is good news for your team. They seem tired of losing. You seem a little tired of losing. But really, you’re fine either way. This is you, Catie. You’re just happy. You rarely...Continue Reading
When I was growing up in Galveston during the ’70s and ’80s, we had one shopping mall. Galvez Mall was the perfect size for our small-ish city. There were the usual ’80s staples (Limited, Corn Dog Factory, arcade, movie theater), but also a couple fancy, locally-owned department stores and more than one t-shirt shack. Really,...Continue Reading
When I found out I was pregnant with Nate, the twins had just turned two. Catie was five, and we had moved into our new house a few months before. We were busy settling into our new town, unpacking boxes, and shuttling Catie back and forth to Kindergarten at our old church. The twins were...Continue Reading
Here’s how it went down… Wednesday, After School 3:30 PM: Elisabeth announces she is finished with her homework, even though we have only been home for four minutes. She’s not faking. Homework is her love language. She usually tries to finish it on the ten-minute drive home. Or, at least, upon walking into the house....Continue Reading
Life has been fierce around here this week. If you’re my Facebook friend, you saw the ferocious picture I posted of the kids on Sunday morning in Galveston. We headed down to the beach for the night, but we had to leave early Sunday morning to make it back to Houston for M to catch...Continue Reading
