Every year it’s the same story. The weather warms up and the kids and the insects take over the backyard. The insects want to feast on the tender green leaves. They want to burrow into our landscaping, eat bark, and drink the fresh rain water. They want to have a nice insect life. However The Insect Club...Continue Reading
The well-meaning advice from strangers has haunted me as a mom. Especially when my kids were very small, these older women would stop me to say, “Cherish these years. One day, you will miss them so much.” These warnings are the worst because parenting is so hard, especially parenting newborns and toddlers. It’s hard to cherish when you’re in...Continue Reading
This Christmas I had over 70 gifts to buy, and I vowed not to go to the mall for any of them. Any gift I could buy in a crowded store, I could buy cheaper online. Any toy, scarf, or coffee maker I could stand in line for, debating if it was the right choice, I could read hundreds of...Continue Reading
To celebrate Veterans Day, click over to my friend Amy’s blog for her story. Her husband, Nick, served in Iraq. He’s the twins’ Godfather, and one of our very favorite Veterans. Amy and Nick’s story is a remarkable one, a story they’re still living today. Through Nick’s deployment and PTSD, they both have learned so...Continue Reading
Hello, Friends…. Just a quick question: have any of you gotten rid of Facebook? More and more, I think I’d be better without an account. Often, I feel like I’m pressing my nose up against the glass of other people’s lives. This takes time away from those I really love to connect with. But...Continue Reading
Dear Sam… You are the most curious kid I’ve ever met . You are not only curious, you are impatient to understand every aspect of the world around you. So many other grown-ups tell us stories about the interesting questions you ask them. Kids tell us about your kindness. Daddy and I say to each...Continue Reading
For our sweet Bonnie, while she rests in a coma. Hi, Bonnie… The past couple weeks have been so surreal for me. To be clear, the past couple weeks have been WAY MORE surreal for you. But, wow, it’s been a really weird time for all of us. Maybe writing you a letter will help...Continue Reading
The beach is the orphan’s home. The very old and the very young claim the beach as their own. So do the philosophers, the body builders, the volleyball players, the sunbathers, the poets, and the drunks. Rednecks and DINKS and scientists and Christians and families and tragic people who have lost everything gather at the...Continue Reading
After seven years of raising twins, I’ve learned three lessons about celebrating their birthday: they relish their shared birthday because of the double attention; they also need individual celebrating; the party is really important. One day in the not-so-distant future the twins will want separate birthday parties, but since they aren’t asking for that yet,...Continue Reading
When other shoppers see our huge Target cart of blonde kids coming down the aisle, about half of them grin and tell me how wonderful big families are. The other half just kind of stare. And count. And check me out to see if I might be pregnant again. Or wearing an Amish hair...Continue Reading
