faith, family, wellness
Oh, the feeling of not belonging begins early. I picked up my daughter from preschool yesterday, and I asked her my usual question, "How was your day?" To this question, she usually gives me a thumbs up or a big grin. But this time, she hung her head and said, "No one played with me … Continue reading On Belonging and Finding Home
We swaddle and cradle our children for a split second, and then we do the hard work of slowly sending them off. So that's why I took a step back, and really looked at my oldest son one day, and wrote this ... a letter to a 10-year-old -- still very much a kid, but oh my heart, … Continue reading Grow up My Child, But Always Stay Small
The moment has finally arrived. My 4-year-old girl started her first day of preschool this week! I am so excited for her! I know that preschool is just preschool. And she's not leaving for college or anything. I've sent two other boys, now eight and ten, through these rungs ... I can do this. But there is some genuine sadness … Continue reading How to Really Send Your Child Off to Preschool
I know what it's like to wake up and feel exhausted. Even the smallest of frustrations can so easily snuff the joy right out of me these days. Joy so often hangs there in the balance, so fragile, vulnerable to the slightest shift of wind. It's hard to juggle life and the raising of three kids -- period. But then add to that the … Continue reading Seeing in a Looking World
On the morning of the first day of third grade, my 8-year-old son nervously and quickly set his well-loved backpack against the brick wall in front of his classroom. "Oh no," I noticed. "Your name's not on your backpack. Where's the label?" "Uh ... that's okay. I don't really want my name on it anyway," my son said quietly, shuffling … Continue reading 6 Things Late Bloomers Need to Know
So I am driving to my parents' house this afternoon. My three kids, ages ten down to four, are making one big raucous in the backseat. There's crying. There's irritation. We are basically a zoo on four wheels (and it's smelling only marginally better in here, too). There's a four-year-old screaming at the top of her lungs, "They won't … Continue reading A Glimpse of My Stress Free Life ~ Not
Back to School sales are in full gear. And I think back on our summer -- these exhausting memory-filled three months -- and I wonder if I did enough of this one thing ... *** So my daughter, this four-year-old going on fifteen, loves to be silly. She likes to be the life of the … Continue reading What You Shouldn’t Miss This Summer
I never thought I would miss having chickens hang out around my feet. But I believe the Hawaiian countryside has grown on me. And even on my city slickin' kids. Yes, it'll be good to have some relief from these horrific mosquito bites, but I'm sad to go. Actually, when we first walked into this beach … Continue reading Why Every City Kid Should Spend a Week in the Country
Sometimes you just have to pretend there's a little pixie dust. You learn this quickly when you have a four-year-old girl in your home. She wants to wear a dress with so much fluff it adds an extra yard to her circumference. She unapologetically fastens on sparkly shoes to dig in the dirt mounds at … Continue reading Pixie Dust (& Other Good Gifts for Daughters)
invited by grace 