In thirteen years of homeschooling my children, I’ve gotten quite adept at refuting the claim that homeschooled kids are unsocialized and locked away from the world. I’ve pointed to their myriad of activities and the hoardes of friends who have swarmed through my house throughout the years. I’ve argued vehemently against the idea that closing out the world was our goal so vigorously that I’d failed to see that in some ways they were right, and that it wasn’t necessarily... Read more
My eldest daughter’s cat, Yzma, has been visiting us for a few weeks while my daughter moves into her new apartment. Yzma was scheduled to be spayed this past week, but went into heat instead. For the last four days, she’s been yowling incessantly as the rest of us have struggled to stay sane in spite of her. This morning, my 5-year-old decided that he’d heard enough, and sat down to have a heart-to-heart with the kitty. He’s a big... Read more
Back in December, I asked my children to describe Mary for me. It went so well that I thought we’d try it again, this time with John the Baptist. Once again, my questions/comments are in blue. The rest is all them. Heaven help me. How would you describe John the Baptist to someone who’d never heard of him? “He was stinky.” Lots of head nods. Do you really think that’s the important part about him? He was stinky? “It... Read more
“Advocating for abortion makes you unfit to parent,” at least that was the legal claim made in a custody battle involving the actor/rap star Ludacris. I can see where his Baby Mama was going with that claim, and why she would think it had merit. It didn’t work. In this case, the judge disagreed with her, and ended up granting Ludacris 100% full custody of 1-year-old Cai. I’m fascinated by the “wanting to kill the baby means you shouldn’t be... Read more
A very dear friend called me earlier today to alert me to the situation of 12-yearold Joe Cronin. He’s in a coma at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi following an asthma attack. The hospital is pushing to have him removed from life support over the objections of his family and despite the fact that he is not brain dead. You can read more about his situation here. His family is in need of prayers and is asking everyone to... Read more
I was flipping through my archives last week in a mad search for a picture I knew I’d posted a few years back, and I began to notice a theme for the past few years. Over and over again I repeatedly mentioned how weary I had become. I blamed it on stress, my busy schedule, the children, the constant clutter in my house, and a lack of sleep. I lamented the exhaustion of body, mind, and soul and would resolve... Read more
**This post was approved by my 15 year old son. You’ve been warned** Like all well brought up Texas girls, my love of football is second only to my love of God. Now I will freely admit that I had my panties in a twist after America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys, were robbed of victory by a bad call. Anyone with eyes could plainly see that he had caught that ball, but I supposed eye-sight isn’t required to be... Read more
My previous post about abortion has sparked some interesting conversations in its comment box, on Facebook, and Twitter. One of the most common views expressed by those who hold a Pro-Choice position is “you don’t have the right to force a woman to be pregnant.” I know it will shock them to hear this, but they’re right. I don’t have the right to force someone to be pregnant. I don’t have the right to force someone to continue to be... Read more
It was last year about this time when I was curled up on the kitchen floor sobbing in despair over an unplanned pregnancy. My doctor had warned me about becoming pregnant again, and yet there I was with a positive pregnancy test on the floor beside me. I’d been unexpectedly pregnant before, and learned to find the joy in it, but this time was different. This time it was a bone crushing devastation. The timing was disastrous. My health was... Read more
I’ve begun to write at least a half dozen blog posts today, and have finished none of them. No matter how hard I tried, my mind kept wandering away. It went to the same place that it always goes, and I can’t tell you why. My mind’s favorite resting spot is a summer afternoon when I was 13. The moments when I am the most over-tired, over-scheduled, or over-stressed will send my psyche tripping down the memory of that one... Read more
Shoved to Them
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