Unexpected Peace
Blue shirt. Blue leggings. Blue-tipped snowmen socks. Pink sweatshirt. Pink fleece pants. Pink striped socks. Pink hairbow. Ballerina dress and shoes. Crown. Wand. Green tee shirt. Green fleece pants....
View ArticleMake Them Talk
“Make them talk, Mommy,” A pleads, clutching a toy horse family to her chest. She drops them to the ground and begins to stand each horse up. The dappled gray. The fancy circus horse. The brown mare....
View ArticleOf Rabbits, Bears, and Grouchy Ladybugs: Intentional Reading
Before we begin, let me introduce my littles! If you’re new here, or didn’t catch the last post, I am giving my kiddos new blog names today, as the old ones were basic, and kind of confusing. And...
View ArticleA Heritage of Faith: Intentional Bible Study
In my memory, my mother sits on the porch swing. At the far end of the enclosed porch, the swing hangs from chains and is made of slatted, cherry-stained wood. There is a pillow, though the swing...
View ArticleBreathe Deep: Intentional Rest
The past couple of days I have really been weighed down by all the things I don’t do well. Or, don’t do at all. The phrase, “I should be…” keeps popping into my mind. I should be a better homemaker. I...
View ArticleBehind the Toys: Intentional Play
“Play is the primary engine of human growth; it’s universal – as much as walking and talking. Play is the way children build ideas and how they make sense of their experience and feel safe. Just look...
View ArticleWhere Do You Color If There Are No Lines: Intentional Art
I realized today that we don’t have a single coloring book in our house. Honestly, we don’t even notice. We had a few awhile back, but Plum hardly used them. She does, however, go through stacks and...
View ArticleInconvenient Value: Intentional Mess
Waking up in the wee hours of the morning, I heard the coughing first. Then the dreaded cough-gag. I fumbled my way to the kids’ room and reached in the crib to retrieve the crying, vomit-soaked baby....
View ArticleIn Rain and Shine: A Peek At Our Week
Spring is finally here (I think)! With the crazy snowfall that happened just a couple weeks ago, it seemed like spring was taking its sweet time to arrive. And just like the change of the season, it...
View ArticleA Magnificent Source Of Awesome Power
My 11-month-old son loves the vacuum. He flaps his arms and shrieks with giddiness as I wheel it out of the closet. He crawls to it with unprecedented speed. Wasting no time, he greets his friend by...
View ArticleA Story To Tell
“Tell me the astronaut story,” she says. The air is crisp and whips our hair in our faces. Plum hops onto her swing as I buckle Little Bear into the baby swing. I look up and her face is beaming. Her...
View ArticleUnwanted And Beautiful Good
Before Mother’s Day, a friend asked if it would be a hard day for me. It really depends, I said. It’s been over twenty years since my mom died. Mostly the feelings of loss come in everyday moments. I...
View ArticleThis Is One
This is one: The leaning head against my shoulder. Head butts are his hugs. That contagious smile. The racing crawl, trying to follow his sister. Stairs and more stairs, up and only up. Squirmy diaper...
View ArticleA Chosen Sacrifice
One ordinary day, I was irritated and snappish. I need a break, I thought as I prepared lunch. Oh, wait. I just had a break…this morning. Almost as quickly a quiet thought nudged, Do I need another...
View ArticleA Padded World
My son is walking. He stood up one day and just began taking steps. His falls do not dissuade him. His steps are confident, determined, and not at all slow. By the second week he was cruising around...
View ArticleDaily Rhythms
Sometimes I think it’s impossible to have a maintain a schedule with any regularity when young children are involved. They always like to surprise you by changing things just when you are feeling...
View ArticleThis Summer, The World
In June, the book Give Your Child the World by Jamie Martin, was released. It is a fantastic resource for finding books for children about cultures and different areas of the world. It is essentially a...
View ArticleTreasure Hunts and Flower Dissection
We trudged through swamps and had crocodiles snap at our heels. We squealed as we ran through a tiger-infested jungle. We shivered through a snowstorm, tiptoed through a cave, and discovered treasure...
View ArticleBorn Silent
With his birth, I came undone. The final pushes were frantic and seemed impossible. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he had meconium in his mouth. He was born silent. The months prior...
View ArticleInvestigation and Adventures
“Let’s go on an adventure walk!” Plum yells enthusiastically. We’ve dubbed our time in nature as explorations; finding leaves and rocks are akin to finding treasures. Stopping a hundred times while...
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