It was an exceptionally trying day. My energetic and precocious two-year old had gotten away from me more than once during our quick errands to the library and post office. Employees at both venues laughed and nodded and offered commiserating quips about the “terrible twos.” I forced laughter while wrestling my squirrelly toddler to the…
parenting
Simplicity and Front Doors
Dishes are stacked high in both sinks, spilling over on to the counter tops. Of course, there are also the stock pots on the stove, waiting to be scrubbed down. Trails of bread crumbs meander through the house, evidence of children who found the table to be too crowded with adult conversation. Hardened, dried spaghetti…
Memories and Remembering: How Advent Gets it Right {guest post}
A couple of weeks ago, I described my family’s tree decorating scenario to a friend. Full of whining, disciplining, grumbling, and short tempers, it was a not the memory-making night I had planned, and my friend laughed when she said she knew exactly what I meant. She gave me a rundown of the hectic experience…
I Don’t Promise My Kids That God Will Keep Them Safe.
I was five years old and tucked into a bed that was pushed up next to a quaking window. Outside, tree branches bent and swayed beneath slashing sheets of rain and house-shuddering winds. Tornado sirens were blaring while lightning lit up the sky every few seconds. I remember curling up into as small a figure…
Ordinary Grace
Concern sat in the passenger seat next to me on Tuesday, kept me company while the miles spun out in front of us with the familiarity that comes on a road well traveled. I’ve made this round trip three times in the past month. Concern is always a willing traveling companion. The last several weeks…
Just One Important Thing
It’s been nearly two weeks since things began to unravel. What has always felt strong seems laden with fragility, a thin layer of glass that could be shattered with the faintest touch of pressure. And I’ve learned that in the breath of a moment the phone can ring, the words can come tumbling out in…
{Leaving the Room}
It’s nearly 7 a.m. when I close my Bible, put the notebook aside, drop the pen in the coffee mug that holds its mates on my desk. I could use fifteen more minutes, but my time is up. My kids are stirring across the hall, and the serenity of this pale blue room, dimly lit…
{what I learned in May}
May wrapped up in a hurry over here, and I found myself wrestling two kids and a full grocery cart this morning on a very hot first day of June. The upcoming month is a busy one for my family as it’s birthday month for 3/4 of us, and our calendar is already full of…
To the Brink: a Tribute to Parents
The first eight months of our youngest son’s life epitomized uncertainty to me. I rocked a baby against my chest every night, a solid fragile weight pressed next to my heart, not knowing if I would ever be able to call him “son.” It was the riskiest version of love I’d ever known. As every adoptive parent…
{Saturday morning levity}
Everything has been a little heavy here lately, so for laughs… Things I have done this week: *Taught fourteen piano lessons (one absence) and held in laughter for two solid hours on my last work day because the excuses for not practicing were so ludicrous. Although, that one about not having a piano anymore was…