• Family

    O, Christmas Tree

    I love Christmas trees. I love the way they smell. I love the way they look. And I love the thoughts and feelings they evoke. I have fond memories of decorating the Christmas tree with my family when I was…

  • Family

    Purging

    Every once in a while, I get the urge to purge. I start feeling overwhelmed by all the clutter and excess of stuff in our home, and the longing to pare down overtakes me. Some things are easy to get…

  • Family

    Driving Down Memory Lane

    Recently some friends and I got together near my old hometown. At the close of our reunion, I decided to make the old, familiar drive from my high school to the house that I lived in with my family from…

  • Family

    The Big Family

    As the second of five children, I grew up in a big family. For the most part, I enjoyed having so many of us in the house, but there were definitely some challenges, too. Now I have five children of…

  • Family

    Nesting

    I am in full nesting mode. Mamas, you know what that is. There is something inside of us that naturally longs to prepare the home for the newest person coming along to join the family. In this case, I am…

  • Family

    Roll Film!

    During one of the ice days last month, when my children were home from school, we decided to watch some of our old home movies. Through the magic of video, we were able to relive so many wonderful momentsโ€“births, Christmas…

  • Adoption

    Our Family Is Growing

    A few years ago, Kevin and I began to feel that we should expand our family. Itโ€™s not that we thought that having three kids wasnโ€™t enough. We werenโ€™t bored. We werenโ€™t missing the baby days. Rather, we felt compelled…