Today’s Fraudulently Asked Questions is with M. We’re talking about the Hergenrader’s summer hobby of launching fireballs flying lanterns into the sky. Almost August and no house fires! Fingers crossed we make it through the whole summer with no trips to the ER. At least no trips for burns. FAQ #1: Oh, wow. Is that a...Continue Reading
In Subrubia, the good summer camps and VBSs fill up around Spring Break. This past April our summer calendar was still wide open, and I still hadn’t gotten around to signing the kids up for some activities. Just when it was time to panic, my friend Barb, the director of our old church, called. She...Continue Reading
For fifteen years I’ve been learning what works in our marriage. After fifteen years, here’s what I’m good at: forgetting what works in our marriage. We can learn a lesson the hard way, come to a realization about what gives us the deepest happiness, know for sure what puts the sweetness in our marriage. And...Continue Reading
Conventional wisdom may say it’s location, location, location that sells houses. Parents with young kids will tell you what sells houses: playrooms. Back when we lived in the mildly urban suburbs, the houses were smaller and older. Builders in the ’60s didn’t have time for playrooms. Kids played outside more, or at Grandmas. I don’t...Continue Reading
Today’s Fraudulently Asked Questions is with both Sam and Elisabeth. Once and for all, we are killing the dream that Texas will pass a law allowing boy/girl twins to marry each other. (Although these questions and answers are fraudulent, we actually do have this conversation a couple times a week. The whole situation is both...Continue Reading
Blame it on One Direction. Blame it on Pilates. In the past couple months, I’ve realized our family needs to get its groove back. Or find its groove to begin with. We don’t have enough music in our lives. Like most things, this all started when we had kids…. You know the scene in Sound...Continue Reading
Dear Catie, Sam, Elisabeth, and Nate… Here’s what I know: each of you loved our family vacation. Here’s what else I know: one day, when you all are nineteen, sixteen, sixteen, and thirteen, you might not love spending two weeks with Dad and me. When that happens, and we have to bribe you with trips...Continue Reading
Every year we travel to the Midwest to see my family in Kansas and M’s family in Nebraska. The trip is a nice break from Houston’s heat, and a fantastic chance for M and I to share our four rambunctious and inquisitive kids with their grandparents for several days. In the past couple years, it’s felt...Continue Reading
Today’s Fraudulently Asked Questions is with Catie. And we’re going old school—all the way back to July 4, 2013. Which, when you’re on vacation seems like TEN YEARS AGO. FAQ #1: Catie, how did you celebrate America’s birthday this year? Catie: We rode on the back of my Papa’s truck in a parade. It was...Continue Reading
Dear Nate… Last night, when you put your pajamas on all by yourself, we discussed what a big boy you are. I said, “You are growing up so fast!” And you agreed, “I AM, MOMMY!” You have the attention span of a fourteen year old, the vocabulary of an eight-year-old, and the interests of a...Continue Reading
