“Amelia keeps taking the stopper out and the water is almost gone!” Thomas announced, sounding none too pleased. Temperatures in the eighties meant I could finally say yes to the constant pleas to play water table outside. “Can we add soap bubbles?” Amelia had asked as I headed back into the kitchen to refill the …
Rich Enough
“Yolly, I’m going to Dollar Tree to win a prize!” Amelia cheered as she bounded into the kitchen waving her dollar bill in her hand. “You mean you get to choose a toy to buy,” her mom corrected with a grin. I was immediately taken back a decade and a half, thinking with a grin …
Behold Him
Thomas saw through my bag containing five tubes of peanut butter mini M&Ms meant for the grandkids’ Christmas stockings the day I bought them. His mama called him out with a grin, saying to me, “He’s a Sneaky-Peeker!” Later that same day, after celebrating a birthday party for Jesus, after opening his stocking and after …
Gain Your Footing
Our home was established thirty-four years ago when my husband and I married. We have inhabited many different dwellings but as the old saying goes, home is where the heart is and my heart is forever bound up in God-ordained oneness with Paul’s. In fact, these words were clearly communicated in our marriage vows. ““But …
Casual Conversation
Amelia has almost outgrown whining or groaning when she wants something but Timothy and Ezra have taken up that battle cry. Their words are coming now. They parrot new things they hear daily, some decipherable and some not so much. When I had a chance to say bedtime prayers with Timothy, I started with “thank …
Suppressing Truth
If you’ve ever had a standoff with a toddler then you know just how deep your humanity runs. It doesn’t take very many days for a newborn to effectively communicate displeasure and by age three or sooner, self will surfaces with a vengeance. No! Followed by foot stomping and back talking is just the beginning. …
Swinging Together
“I want to do what I want to do,” announced Thomas, insistently, raising his voice above Amelia’s whines of protest. At four and three, the cousins, close as siblings, are at that age marked by power struggles. Both firstborn of two, they lead naturally. You might call them bossy and you wouldn’t be wrong. They …
Did You Go To The Doctor?
II Chronicles 16:9 It’s that time again. My annual cancer screenings are scheduled every June around the date of my initial resection surgery. I still have blood tests and see my oncologist every six months but once a year, I have a CT scan and colonoscopy to be sure the cancer is gone for good. …
Leveraging Today for Eternity
Ezra climbs up steps and onto furniture easily at nearly nine months but he needs a spotter. He doesn’t think twice about abruptly turning or plunking down regardless of what’s behind him. He’s very cautious cruising on level ground. He carefully squats until his bottom finds the floor, but today he pulled himself up onto …
Gratitude of Grace
“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” “Thank You, Jesus, for this day. We love You, Jesus. Amen.” “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for this day, and our food, and our many blessings, and our many blessings. Amen.” Thomas, Amelia, and Timothy’s special blessings at mealtimes mean …
A Fitting Reply 