This is beauty to me: my sweet ten-year-old in his new arm cast. I’m not saying that I’m happy my son broke his arm, but you have to admire his all-in-spirit. It reminds me of that quote from Finding Nemo: Dori tells Marlin, the helicopter dad, “Well, you don’t want nothing to EVER happen to him, because then nothing would EVER happen to him.” Never underestimate the power of beauty. Beauty! “Joy is a net of love by which you […]
» Read moreDid any of you see the news? The Josh Duggar news? Turns out the latest is that he has cheated on Anna, using an online cheating service. I will not advertise them by even mentioning their name. I have followed the Duggar family since 2009. That’s 6 years. I’ve read their books, I’ve watched their show. I’ve been influenced and inspired by their values and practices. I feel so incredibly sorry for Anna. She married a man that she thought […]
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To begin with, I will say that no one ever said overcoming evil is easy. This has been an exhausting week, with both Art Camp and Vacation Bible School going on. It’s hard to explain why. It’s difficult to tell you what it’s like to get 4 little boys ready to leave the house 3 times a day, wake up early, and stay up late. It’s hard to explain why I completely melted down yesterday morning, but I did. Let’s […]
» Read moreThis weekend is a big deal. -Tomorrow is Caleb’s 24 hour EEG to test for seizure activity. -We have family arriving to help us out. -JD has a double ear infection and conjunctivitis. -Daniel has a touch of croup. Don’t worry. Croup is not contagious. It is a barking cough resulting from the size of his air passages when he is sick. Only some small children get this problem, and Dan is our only child to ever have it. It […]
» Read moreWe look super happy in this photo, didn’t we? We were sort of happy, but we were stressed. Alan has enough school and family work to fill his plate, but he does well. I’ve already said a thousand times that the first year of home schooling has been a huge challenge for me. I was surviving, really. There was more stress than joy in my days. I was living frustrated. I ran into a mom that I sort of know at […]
» Read moreOn day four of our vacation, we went to the San Diego Zoo. I even managed to arrange to meet my college roommate and her family there. I was so excited and nervous to see them! I haven’t seen Jason and Heather since 2002! They don’t know Alan! Weird, huh? Many of you know that I met Alan in college, where we began dating. Most of you don’t know too much about my life before Alan, and digging up all […]
» Read moreTomorrow we have family arriving, and it makes me feel like “Ahhhh, peace.” I know things will be crazy around here, as the kids will be all excited, and there will be 8 people in the house, but the thing is that I am seriously in need of reinforcements! Some days I’m all about the home schooling. “Oh, sure. I think it’s great! I love it.” Then there are days like today, where I’m more like, “Home school is ruining […]
» Read moreToday, as I sat rocking my sweet, snotty little JD to sleep, I was reminded of a part of my love story with Alan that I don’t think about much. It’s a story I don’t recall sharing on my blog, about the boldest thing I’ve ever done for love. Bold, outspoken, and controversial are not words that I believe apply to me, especially when I was young. When it came to boys, romance, love, and all of those sorts of […]
» Read moreLately I’ve felt a little discouraged by the national and international news. Ugh. I hate to think about all the problems we are not dealing with and are instead handing down to our children! How do we keep on going and enjoying life, and not shutting down every social media account that we have in the face of great fear and opposition? How do we resist the urge to lock our children up in their rooms and bolt the doors? […]
» Read moreI love Thanksgiving. Today I am thanking my Heavenly Father for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us this year–this wild and crazy year! 2014 was EXCITING. It has been a challenge, full of change, and full of learning. And I am thankful for it. I’m thankful my dad is such a FUN Granddaddy. Having a scooter hasn’t slowed him down at all. As Caleb would say, “Granddaddy, you’re just as crazy as ever,” as Caleb grins from ear […]
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