There is finally a glimmer of hope in our educational battles for #3.  I have said all along that the craziness, the tears, the agony of it all would be worth it if we could just get him to the special ed teacher.  We truly believe that she can, will, and wants to help him. Monday he got there.  She finally had the approvals needed to pull him from his regular classroom and focus her attention on him.  She started... Read more

This week we went to my grandmother-in-law’s funeral.  It was beautiful and moving, and I have so much I want to say about it….but I just have to know something first. Why do people take pictures of bodies in caskets? My family doesn’t do this, but the Computer Guy’s family does.  It’s a bit disconcerting to be looking through family photo albums and reminisce about Christmas, birthday parties, weddings, and then flip the page to see Uncle George laid out... Read more

I hate it when people touch the baby without asking.  Not people I know usually, but strangers in the store….wild-eyed craziness.  They can’t seem to keep their hands off of him.  He’s cute.  He’s friendly.  What’s not to like?  I have a strict “look but don’t touch” policy with my babies and I ruthlessly enforce it.  (I don’t know where people have been or if they washed their hands while they were there.) Today I took #1 to the grocery... Read more

We lost our family matriarch this past Saturday.  She was my husband’s grandmother, but even more than that, she was our champion.  When we announced our engagement, and were met with the disapproval of parts of his family, it was her quiet voice saying “Let them” which brought everyone to the church that day in June.  As our family grew and others’ opinions about the number of children grew also, it was her firm approval which calmed our detractors and... Read more

This afternoon I was listening to the sound of my children playing in the next room when I heard my 6 year old daughter say, “And then we laughed like circus clowns as they squealed for mercy….” Almost too afraid to know the answer, I queried, “Baby, what are you doing?” “Nothing, Mommy.  I’m just playing with my dolls.” Dude, I’m totally sleeping with one eye open around here. Read more

1. Vanilla Chai tea first thing in the morning.  It’s soooo good.  2. Yesterday, I dropped off dinner for an acquaintance who is in the midst of a difficult life moment.  I worried they wouldn’t like it.  I mean, I almost couldn’t sleep because what if they didn’t like it.  She emailed me this morning to say it was so good that they practically licked the bowl clean.  Aaaaahhhhhh…..the relief. ( I made up the recipe.  You know how those... Read more

It’s been a while since I counted my blessings, and today seems as if I may need a reminder of how good life really is even when it makes me crazy. 1. Warm fresh honey oat bread right out of the oven with a melting pat of real butter.  The making of it is almost meditative when life is stressful, and the reward at the end is predictably good. 2. Listening to #4 read an entire book out loud.  It... Read more

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (gasp..sputter..breathe) Please excuse the mess as I melt down and scream and maybe spit a little.  It’s not pretty around here today, but it’s real.  If you’re not into that…….I don’t really blame you.  I’m officially losing it here.  I cried on the phone a little bit hysterically today.  Okay, more than a bit. It’s about the ice again.  You didn’t really think we were done discussing ice did you? hahhahahhahhahahahahahahahahahahha you crack me up!  You’re even funnier than... Read more

After all of the worry, the work, the research and the specialists; we at last have a diagnosis for what is “wrong” with #3.  We spent the morning with the vision specialist.  It took two hours of testing for the doctor to tell his father and me that our son’s world is a confusing and bewildering place. He has an eye issue called Convergence Insufficiency.  In plain English, his eyes do not work together.  He sees the world with double... Read more

**I wrote this last year, and was asked to post it again. I’m happy to do so.  Happy Veteran’s Day!** There has become a tendency in American culture to assign the label “hero” to anyone who does the difficult, the frightening, or the unpleasant. Our society has become so hungry for heroes that we give the label to anyone and render it almost a useless word. Lest we forget what a true hero looks like: He marched for months in... Read more