I feel like you all have been with me on a crazy journey this summer as I planned to let my kids fully participate in our neighborhood swim team even though I was going to have a baby on the very first day of the season. That baby is one month old today, and we had the last regular meet. As you know from my last post, our routines fell apart, and it was a groan to the finish line,... Read more
What is a mom on the go in need of coffee to do? Whip some up in your coffee-maker equipped car! Genius! Now if only Fiat made a 9 passenger car… h/t: my wonderful husband who doesn’t rely on coffee, unlike me… Read more
As a family, we are heavily dependent on our systems. I am not organized by nature and can barely find my own glasses when I wake up in the morning, so without good systems in place, this busy household of 9 people would fall apart very quickly. An organized pantry means I can see in a second if we are almost out of peanut butter. If the swim towel bin in the laundry room is empty I know that towels... Read more
I was talking with Kellie yesterday about a family’s near-miss with drowning. It involved a 2.5-year-old at a lake and thanks to the heroism of an 11-year-old girl, the baby is still with us. Praise God. But immediately my mama mind goes to forbidden, sinful places–what about the times where things don’t work out? What about the near-misses and the misses to come in my future? What about my family? My brain takes over and my body shuts down while... Read more
Monday was a pretty crazy summer day in our household. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, but let’s just say that one minor catastrophe followed another. Miraculously, at the end of the day we were all still smiling…Sometimes I think that I am better at handling chaos than I am at enduring the not-so-exciting challenges of daily life with young children! In any case, it all started with an innocent game of “mommy goes to the beauty... Read more
So I have a bunch of different things that I have wanted to write about over the past few days or weeks. But it is summer and life has been very full. Between swim team and my oldest daughter performing in the musical "Annie," all my good intentions of blogging failed. Like most summers, I am spending my time living life rather than documenting it. But in an effort to catch up, here is a summer update post with some links, photos, and thoughts... Read more
My husband was born on the Fourth of July. As a small child, he really thought that the fireworks were for his birthday each year. That leaves a lot to live up to in the celebrating department. He is also an extrovert who loves to be surrounded by people and at the center of attention, so his birthday is his second favorite day of the year. (His absolute favorite is Christmas Eve). Usually we are at the beach on the... Read more
My 8 year-old son, in addition to consuming larger-than-ever quantities of food, has started to consume enormous quantities of books, and we can’t seem to keep up! As I speak, he is sitting on the couch reading through the third book that we picked up yesterday afternoon at the library. He has always loved being read to, and we have had such fun with him over the years tackling one adventure after another in The Chronicles of Narnia, The Magic... Read more
Summer is a great time for a family vacation! But the thought of dragging 4 car seats onto a plane (and 4 kids through airport security) and then reinstalling them into a rental car is enough to stop me in my tracks. We have made several long car trips a year to visit family for the last two years, but this is our first time doing it with an infant. Our little guy is 10 weeks old. Any tips for little, little ones in the... Read more
She is bashful of candles. She is enamored of bubbles. She is “assisted” by generous brothers. She eats cake with the help of her daddy. And she charms all around her because she’s so darn sweet… Thank you, Lord. Read more
Building Cathedrals
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