Before I had kids, I thought I would hate to see them growing up. Even when they were just little, I thought I wanted them to stay preschool and under forever. Sometimes I still do, because baby time is one of the favorite seasons I’ve had in my life. Change arrives, though, even if we…
Someday I’ll be a white-haired lady talking with friends or gazing out a window alone with my thoughts. My conversation and thoughts are sure to center around moments when my life was busy with little people who called me Mom. Among the everyday moments, other memories will float to the surface and demand my attention…
With three children ages five and under, I’ve mandated a one-hour quiet time—also known as nap time —every day from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. That time is sacred. It’s my time. I don’t answer my phone. If somebody comes knocking at my door, I answer with a scowl and an angry whisper (as intimidating as…
Driving with two of my boys (ages two and four) to the grocery store can be entertaining, but I never know if I’ll get happy kids, crying kids, interested-in-what’s-going-on-outside kids, or demanding-a-movie kids. This time a movie wasn’t possible because we’d driven Daddy’s car, but I heard this animated request from the backseat: “Let’s play…
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell My oldest son went on a reading binge during Christmas break this year. In the course of a week, he traveled through time and space to fictional lands with heroes like the Igiby children in Andrew Peterson’s…
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads….