In my experience, babies sleep through the night when they are ready and each child is different. Like us, they have good days and not so good days, but one thing I’ve learned and I try to encourage my girls with this truth- appreciate, even celebrate each milestone, just don’t depend on it. Even the …
Each New Generation
Why is it true of human nature that we put off things we dread, choosing every possible option to busy ourselves until the dreaded thing is upon us? Taxes. Essays. Doctors. Mopping. What is true of trivialities is also true of essentials. We take stock at the start of a new year and resolve to …
All I Want For Christmas
I lose track of my phone more often these days. I check my email less frequently. I scroll social media less often and more quickly, scanning for birthdays and baby pictures. I don’t have dementia (at least I don’t think so!) I have grandchildren! It’s so much easier to put a pause on my devices …
Happy Birthday, Jesus
We’ve decided to celebrate Christmas a little differently this year with our little ones. Christmas is, after all, Jesus’s birthday and our celebrations should reflect truth more than culture, so this is the year we will start a new family tradition. Since our married children have their own families, we’ve settled on the morning of …
Impress Them
My precious sister loves my children well, loves them like her own, even before she had two girls of her own. She and my daughter are very much alike as God designed them. Both taught 5th grade for three years before staying home with children. Both love to bake and their love language is giving …
We Can’t Get Around It- We Need Each Other
“We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We’re not scared. Oh-oh! A snowstorm! We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh, no! We’ve got to go through it!” -Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury Thomas loves a bear hunt. It doesn’t matter if …
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Trust Fall
As I sat rocking her, my granddaughter, Amelia, jerked suddenly, enough to wake herself from a sound sleep. As I tried to soothe her, an image from the past appeared vividly in my mind. My husband and I were at summer camp with our kids and the teens from our church. Our group was divided …
Meaning(Full) Life
I sat with my dad on the eve of a second heart surgery. His thirteen year old replacement valve now needs replacing. We talked about his great-grandchildren and how quickly they’re growing. We caught up on the day to day and tried to solve the world’s problems, but I could sense what was really on …
Living Under A Shadow
Thomas is one and a fledgling walker. His mom insists that he hold her hand for safety in parking lots and on sidewalks, but he is free to roam inside his playroom or fenced yard. Sometimes he still chooses to hold her hand if the ground is particularly uneven or he’s in unfamiliar territory. I …
Eavesdropping
I thought I heard my granddaughter stirring in her crib as I brushed my teeth in the guest bath across from her room. I stood outside her door, holding my breath to listen, as I’ve done hundreds of times before with my own children. I waited for the sound of her rhythmic breathing before heading …
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