This picture is from Sam and Ellie’s three-year-old birthday party. They had the time of their lives playing on gymnastics equipment, dancing, and eating cake. It could have gone either way. Because for every party that our kids have jumped right into the action, there’s been another that they’ve sat on my lap the whole...Continue Reading
I have an ugly confession. When I was in college, studying to be a full-time youth worker, I had a prejudice about VBS. Actually not about VBS at all. Since I was a kid, VBS has been craft-making, Kool-Aid and homemade cookies, middle-of-the-summer awesome-ness. I’ve always loved it. My prejudice was against the parents who...Continue Reading
“Travel is about the journey, not the destination.” For the Hergenraders, travel is about the packing. The kids (except Sam) love to organize and reorganize their suitcases. Checking into a hotel does not mean jumping on the beds or picking up the anachronistic corded phones. For Catie and Ellie, those first few moments in a...Continue Reading
So, the kids are heavy into some strange phases around here. Which is nothing new. On any given day, they’re all in the middle of a phase or two. I wonder if I’ll remember these when they’re older? Or will the phases, that seem like such big deals right now, be the parts of their...Continue Reading
So my new haircut doesn’t look exactly like this. But it’s close. I guess the main difference is that the brunette shag I somehow ended up with after requesting “a little darker highlights and a trim” is not as cute as Joan Jett’s hair was in the ’80s. And no, I’m not exaggerating. I went...Continue Reading
As a former Galvestonian, hurricanes–no matter how big, small, far or near–are a big deal. It’s ingrained in me. If there’s a storm in the Gulf, I must know what it’s doing at all times. My house growing up wasn’t protected by the seawall, and my family was frequently in the mandatory evacuation zone. Even...Continue Reading
Deep down every mom hopes that her kids will stay friends with each other well into adulthood. Not that they have to be best friends. Or even wear matching outfits. But they should know they can trust each other. And they should feel confident that if they need help, they can rely on one another....Continue Reading
Could someone please tell these kids dancing in joyful anticipation for their new brother that it’s going to be a while? It’s my own fault they’re so sure the baby will be born any minute. That’s what I’ve believed too. We’ve set up the nursery. We routinely go into the nursery and talk about how...Continue Reading
So, it’s happened. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be un-pregnant. I look at this picture, taken four years ago, and I wince at the 30 pounds of Catie crushing my uterus. My urge is to protect myself, even though I know that there’s no reason because I wasn’t pregnant when this picture was taken....Continue Reading
A quick review: Last week I discovered that Sam was really a laid-back kid. A couple weeks ago, I lamented that my kids don’t like toys. Everything has changed. Sam got a motorized Jeep for his third birthday. Apparently everyone else has heard of these–I guess there’s also a Barbie model. To a kid who...Continue Reading
