There’s been a lot of discussion lately about how to talk about the reality of Santa Claus with your children. Here’s how we did (do) it : Last night, on our way to Confirmation prep class, Denis (then 13) was talking about Christmas and Santa Claus. After a bit, I asked him, “Do you still believe in Santa Claus?” “Yes.” He replied confidently. “Lots of my friends don’t, but there are all kinds of things we don’t see or understand... Read more
It’s 4:00 on Thanksgiving Day. The dinner has been eaten. The pies are about to be. The boys are washing the dishes, and most of the adults are watching football. In a couple of hours, the women/girls are out of here. We don’t get together as often as we’d like, and while we’ve spent the past 24 hours together, most of it has been spent cooking. While the men have gotten to hang out and enjoy each other since yesterday,... Read more
Yesterday, we noticed a glimmer of improvement with Ella’s nerves. One of the tiny peripheral signs we had noticed has taken a step closer towards “normal.” We should have been elated. We should have been celebrating. We broke down and sobbed. She curled her body into mine and wept. We don’t have the energy for hopefulness. It’s incredible the amount of stamina it takes to be constantly optimistic, and we have burned through our reserves. I had no idea how... Read more
If I were in charge of PR for Ferguson, MO. I would want nothing more than to sway general public opinion to sympathize with the police and those in authority. One of the easiest ways to do that would be to vilify the community from which Michael Brown came. I would delay the reading of the grand jury’s verdict until prime time viewing. If I waited long enough, there would be ample time for a large crowd to gather. I’d... Read more
A girl we know got engaged recently. The lovely photographs were all over social media, and she retold the story of the “romantic surprise” proposal. There were squeally comments and “weepy glees” over the romantic setting and the perfection of his planning. And it’s all a farce. The bride had gone with her now fiance to pick out the ring. She’d been there when he picked it up from the jeweler. She’d told her closest friends months ago where he... Read more
Later today, I’ll be putting my 13-year-old son on the train to Oklahoma. He’s going to be spending Thanksgiving week out hunting with his grandfather. It’s one of those rites of passage in Texas and Oklahoma society that boys (and a lot of girls) grow up and go hunting. While I’m not an avid hunter myself, I am a fan of the venison which will fill our freezer if this hunt is successful. I’m also a proponent of the self-sufficiency... Read more
“Mom, do you ever just hold God’s hand?” He asked me. “You know, like close your eyes and see God reaching out to you, and reach back? Do you ever just sit there in the quiet with your eyes closed tight and feel Him holding on to you?” No, son, not until today when you told me that I could. Read more
After an exciting day and an emergency c-section, Lucy is here at last! Weighing in at a perfect 8lbs and 6oz and measuring 20 and a quarter inches, she was born pink and crying. Thanks be to God! After an express trip to the NICU, she was placed on a vent to help her breathe until she has surgery to repair the hole in her diaphragm and put everything back where it belongs. She was baptized this morning, with her... Read more
I moved to Patheos months ago, and just never got around to transferring or updating my blogroll. Many of the people I used to read have stopped blogging, and I haven’t gone in search of new ones. I realized what a loss that was yesterday when I had some free time and didn’t know where to begin. So I’m asking you, who’s good? Who’s funny? Who makes you think? Who needs to be on my “daily/weekly reading” list? Whom should... Read more
My very dear friend, Kara, will be induced tomorrow with her ninth baby. Lucy is the girl her mom waited for patiently – two daughters, and then six boys in a row, before she once again will have a little bit of pink. It is a day that she has looked forward to with a complex mixture of anticipation and fear. You see, Lucy will be born sick. She has a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. The hole in her diaphragm has... Read more
Shoved to Them
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