Sister Takes the Cake, and Other Birthday Thoughts

(Another delayed Wednesday post. Gearing up to move…) Last week we celebrated the last 1st Birthday in our household. I was a mess. I can’t believe the baby years are already behind us. To illustrate just how bad of a mess I was… I… I… I… … considered having another baby. To clarify, there isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not... Read More

Turning One

My baby boy – the child who will always be my “baby,” the youngest of our crew – is turning one. The baby who arrived the minute my doctor could get there… (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Turning One)  Read More

Making Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade with Kids

This year my kids will be old enough for some of the activities that summertime allows. The thought of having soft green grass as a backdrop – in just a few more weeks! – makes me want even more to start blowing bubbles and collecting sand castle forms. This past week we had a little free time, plus eight lemons that had been sitting in my crisper drawer. The lemons... Read More

On the Heavy Side of Life: House Hunting and Adoption Issues

I had another post planned for today, but levity doesn’t seem to be the order of the day. My husband grew up as the oldest of five siblings. After he left for college, his parents adopted another sibling group of five, plus a sixth foster child who was living with them and who became available for adoption at the same time. Several years later, they added the seventh, a little... Read More

Definition of Kissability

One day last week while the baby was sleeping I took advantage of his stillness to practice manual exposure again. His face was in the shadows, but I wasn’t about to move him! The foreground and back of his head are overexposed. In this picture, I’m happy with that. My younger daughter has started calling him “Bungee.” I have no idea where she got this,... Read More

Pregnancy Brain (and Pictures)

Well, it is Wednesday night at 7:30 and the realization hit that it is, indeed, NOT Tuesday night, like I had thought! AAAAaaa! Sorry! So, I thought this would be a good time to sneak in some pregnancy pictures and put up a big sign saying “to be continued!” I guess I should at least defend myself by saying that this last week HAS been crazy, with Drew still gone after... Read More

The Things Kids Say: Bible Memory Verses

Scroll to the bottom of this post to view the list of verses, or printable PDF of the verses we’re using (plus how they fit with our school topics), click here. If you do use these, please double-check the verses for accuracy, in the Bible version you like to use. Some of the verses are only partial; older children could memorize the entire Bible verse. Also, several verses... Read More

Here We Go Again

This was my older son (and his twin sister) three years ago. He was receiving an albuterol treatment with a home nebulizer. It was one of many, many treatments over the course of two years. He had “reactive airway disease,” his pediatrician said. It’s a precursor to asthma, which apparently cannot be diagnosed reliably until age six. When I was a kid, they didn’t... Read More

A Marathon Field Trip

I had a another post planned for today, but I’m out of steam. There seem to be plenty of people I know who are out of steam lately. Can we just take a break today? Want to leave the house and worries behind and come with us on a field trip?! This is a virtual field trip, so we can visit the zoo, the gardens, and the aquarium all in one day! We can also skip the blowouts, the... Read More

Teaching Young Children Not to Lie

If I could have a superpower, it might be omnipresence. I would love to be at all places at all times, especially where it concerns my kids. I’d love to keep them from falling down, to make sure they didn’t eat crayons, to stop them from throwing sand at each other. And I would love to be able to witness all infractions of the house rules, so I’d never have to... Read More