Growth Spurts: A Farewell and a Letter to My Younger Self
Note: This post was the final installment of my “Growth Spurts” column, which I wrote for Parents & Kids Magazine for nearly a decade. Please enjoy… I started writing “Growth Spurts” almost ten years ago. My three biological children were…
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…
Your Home: A Powerful Arena
This quote on this actual same piece of paper has been hanging in my kitchen for more than 15 years. In fact, it has hung in three different kitchens now. With each move, I’ve packed this piece of paper as…
Doing What We Need to Do Isn’t Always Easy
I started writing for Parents & Kids Magazine in 2008, and I joined the office staff in 2011. I had been a stay-at-home mom for ten years before taking this part-time job. Since my youngest child was starting kindergarten at that time,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 moments–births, Christmas…
Our Family Is Growing
A few years ago, Kevin and I began to feel that we should expand our family. It’s not that we thought that having three kids wasn’t enough. We weren’t bored. We weren’t missing the baby days. Rather, we felt compelled…