faith, family, wellness
One of the most powerful things we can say to a child is, "I'll play with you." I'll never forget the advice an older, wiser mom gave me when I was a new mom with a perpetual look of exhaustion all over my face. "I wish I had spent more time on my knees playing with my children rather than … Continue reading Dustballs are Forever
There were a lot of tears this morning, my friends. My daughter insisted that she wear her favorite white dress shoes to her Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. Her heart was set on these shoes, only these shoes. But these beloved favorites have become a size too small. "Does it hurt?" I asked her. "No it fits, Mommy!" she mustered, clearly in … Continue reading How Will You Breathe This Season?
My little girl was so quiet the other day. She's never quiet. But that day, to my surprise, she was silently sitting at the table diligently coloring away. After a few minutes, she came to me smiling, holding a wrinkled piece of paper in her hands. "Look, I wrote a letter to Gung!" "Gung Gung" is a Chinese name … Continue reading Postmarked to Heaven
For all that is wrong with this world. For all that is hard about life. For all that scars us and makes us want to hide. And makes us want to scream. There are simple, happy pumpkin patches. Drippy, sticky artwork smeared to life by little hopeful hands. Tender souls who take the time to make the small feel safe. … Continue reading Still
Our little preschooler has become such an expert in matters, that she loves to ask questions to test our facts. "What has a big long gray trunk, a tail, and three legs?" she asked the other night. My husband, mother-in-law, and I glanced at each other puzzled. "Three legs?" we asked her. "Yes, three legs," she repeated … Continue reading When Elephants Have Three Legs
At this moment, I am in bed at the ripe hour of nine o' clock. My son is lying next to me as I'm holding a cool towel to his little, sweaty head. He has had a fever for five days. Poor little man. While my husband is at work (thank you dear for bringing home the organic nitrate-free low sodium bacon!), I have been running a mini … Continue reading Wonder Woman Vs. Weary Woman
I'm not an artist. Just a mom of three. The only art I see, honestly, are the crayon drawings on my refrigerator door and sculptures made of Play-Doh. I couldn't tell a watercolor from a pastel, a Carravagio from a Rembrandt, art deco from pop art. But ... I am noticing lately, an art that pervades my life, … Continue reading The Art of Playing
This is likely very insignificant in the scheme of world events, but I just spent an hour brushing out this mysterious "gooey" substance from my 4-year-old's hair and gathering all of her not quite long enough strands into two neat pigtails. It took one hour, seven broken tiny rubber bands, and poor girl, a few yelps as I tried to get the … Continue reading Pig-Tales and Other World Events
A couple of nights ago, my-eight-year-old placed his head on the kitchen table, and announced with tears in his eyes, "I'll never ever get this." There before him was a slightly wrinkled paper with a long list of spelling words, all needing to be alphabetized ... words like "tired" and "tried" and the like. And poor guy, so used to blazing … Continue reading Stopping Perfectionism
My daughter and I braved the store today to get some eggs. I say "brave" because it's really an act of courage to go into that store known for its bulls-eye (you know the one), with a 4-year old skipping by your hip. Yes, you know the one, that magical place that sells eggs ... and everything your kid … Continue reading Making Happy Happen
invited by grace 