Home for Christmas
This is an article I have been looking forward to writing for a very long time. As I type this, I am sitting in an apartment in Bogotá, Colombia, with my husband and our two sons, whom we have just…
In Defense of Screen Time
I’ll be the first to admit that the overabundance of screens in our lives can have a damaging effect on our families. We so easily become distracted by and addicted to them, and the tendency is for each person to…
I Need to Explain.
One of the hardest things for me as a parent is wanting to explain myself and be understood by (Read: approved by) others all the time–especially by other parents. When my babies were actually babies, I wanted to be ready with…
Olympic Dreams…and Realities
I absolutely loved watching the Olympics! I love the competition, the excitement, the dreams, the challenges, the emotions, the life stories. I cannot imagine all the time, work, and dedication these athletes have put into their sports. And I’ve noticed…
On Going Back to School
I imagine that there is a wide range of emotions among us concerning back-to-school time. Thankfulness for a return to schedule and routine; sadness over the ending of long days at poolside; excitement about a fresh start; uncertainty about new…
Lost Rings
My family and I were playing in the waves in Destin, Florida this summer when my eldest daughter Callie suddenly realized that the ring she had been wearing had fallen off her finger and into the water. We all stopped…
Ready or Not, Here We Go! (But It’s Better to Be Ready)
You can refuse to flip the page on the calendar. You can walk swiftly by all those aisles of pencils and paper at the store. You can even hold your breath and submerge yourself underwater in an attempt to avoid…
Kids and Their Talents
My firstborn, Callie, recently had the privilege–and joy!–of performing in her first big musical. She played the role of Narrator 4 in Ridgeland High School’s production of Aladdin, Jr. I cannot describe how much I loved watching her on that stage! Performing…
School Choice
I went to a parochial school kindergarten through college, with the exceptions of a six-week stint in a public school in third grade and a year of homeschooling in fifth grade. After five years at Mississippi College (Yes, I took…
Ode to Disney and Good Attitudes
My mother-in-law recently turned 60, and how did she choose to celebrate? She and my father-in-law took my family and my brother-in-law’s family to Disney World–the magical place where celebration lingers in the air all year round! It had been…
