Praying for Our Kids Around the Clock
News reports and tears. How could they not go together at times? I don’t think my momma’s heart can handle watching the live footage of Oklahoma after a tornado, not when it crushed a school with other women’s babies inside. Still I wake up this morning and the next and the next and I rush […]
My Favorite Teacher Gifts and Why This Matters…
For ten years, it sat on my desk. And I’m not a “stuff” person really. I have kids. Things break. It’s a reality, not a nightmare. Yet, this I mourned a little, when I sat down at my desk and saw what a child-who-shall-remain-nameless broke this week. Ten years ago, in my pre-Mom days when […]
I Failed Napping
Part guilt, part pride. That’s the odd tangled mess of emotions I feel about rest. Yes, guilt. Napping is difficult for me; sometimes impossible. All those years of new motherhood when the wise older women are telling you, “Rest when the baby is resting….” and you understand their gray hairs mean wisdom, but your body […]
“Facts” About Mom and “Facts” About God:
It seems to be a Mother’s Day staple for elementary school children. Both of my older daughters made these projects and, according to my Facebook feed, so did the kids of most of my mom friends. On Mother’s Day, my daughters presented their handmade creations: An ice cream cone picture with six adjectives to describe […]
After the Parade Passes By
Yesterday, they formed a parade in my honor. I heard the commotion outside the bathroom door as I finished brushing my teeth on the morning of Mother’s Day. At the sound of the whispering and shuffling, I opened the door to find three daughters and one husband singing, “Happy Mother’s Day to you…” their own […]
Loving with Kisses, Band-Aids, and so much more
I fought the good fight. I lost. Every one of my daughters went through the Band-Aid stage and maybe still haven’t outgrown it. They fall for the magic of the Band-Aid for all bumps, bruises, minor aches, pains, and scratches. I gave speeches and endured the tantrums. You don’t need a Band-Aid for any casualty […]
How Was Your Day?
“How was your day?” It’s my husband’s first question to me at the end of his work day every single evening. This answer used to be easier. How was my day? Mostly that depended on work. How much I accomplished, how difficult the tasks were, how successful I was, how many goals I’d met, and how […]
A Prayer for When You Just Don’t Know
Years ago, a mom-friend of mine flopped onto the big blue couch in my living room and confessed, “I feel like all I do all day is tell my kids what to do and how to do it.” I nodded my head knowingly and sympathetically and absolutely had no idea what she was talking about. […]
Bending, Not Breaking
She’s my daughter, after all, a miniature me in many ways. So, why didn’t I expect it? Why treat her less gently than God treats me? Such a simple parenting issue: Daughter colored instead of reading before bed. She ran out of time. Lights out, no reading for the night. But then she exploded. It […]
Living the “Real”
Her “Other-Grandma” had a purple house. That’s what my three-year-old told me, not just once, but all through the day. Her Grandma had a purple house and her Grandma’s cat had shimmied up a tree and needed firefighters to rescue her. My preschooler’s imaginary friends expanded over time to include an imaginary “other” family and […]
