I could tell you our lives have been in minor upheaval for months and we are just beginning to see normal again. You might nod your head in understanding, as you’ve been through those seasons, too, where routines just fall by the wayside. As a consequence, we often find ourselves dealing with something more time-consuming after […]
“I saw the lake first!”
and other treasured family traditions
July 2, 2012 By 17 Comments
“I see the lake, I see the lake!” Every year, my six siblings and I would crowd and elbow one another as we jockeyed for the coveted spot in the Volkswagon bus so we would be the first to see Shadow Lake as we drove the final stretch of narrow, winding road to my grandparent’s summer […]
3 Simple changes to grow a happier family
June 25, 2012 By 36 Comments
You carefully prepare the soil and plant two identical gardens. In the first, the little seedlings are nurtured, fertilized, mulched and weeded with an abundance of love, patience and attention. The other plot gets nothing from you except for an occasional condemnation: “Why can’t you grow up big and strong like your sibling?” Oh, fine. […]
In grateful remembrance
May 28, 2012 By 1 Comment
June 6, 1944, D-Day, marked the day our military landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, and Operation Overlord began. Thousands of our service persons died in that initial assault and over the course of World War II as we battled against evil. That willingness to serve to the death is what Memorial Day is […]
What if I lose my identity?
May 11, 2012 By 19 Comments
Who am I? What is my identity? I can hear the legions of women asking themselves that question as they ponder Lisa-Jo’s weekly prompt over at The Gypsy Mama. I’ll bet that “Mom” tops the list. After all, when you have children, you become a parent. You might still have a job outside the home, […]
The Secret to choosing a Mother’s Day gift that hits the heart
May 7, 2012 By 7 Comments
Tell me if you’ve been here before. You spend a great deal of time, energy, thought, and money to pick out the absolute perfect gift for your mother. Just a note here for husbands: this could equally apply to how you choose the gift for your wife. To keep this simple, however, we will […]
Four Insights for Moms from
Lucille Ball and The Chocolate Factory
April 30, 2012 By 15 Comments
Whether you’ve previously seen the clip of Lucy and Ethel working in a chocolate factory or not, you need to watch it below before you go any further. Go ahead and enjoy a bit of humor for this morning. I’ll wait. Their frantic behavior and makeshift solutions hit home every time and make […]
Five Minute Friday-Together
April 20, 2012 By 10 Comments
“Let’s have a monthly family dinner night gathering!” Ideas. I have so many. And typically they involve quite a few people. And a scope and size that doesn’t scale most of the time. But this one did. I think naming it as a goal and giving it a deadline certainly helped. So we made plans, […]
Is your Supermom cape taking you to the breaking point?
April 12, 2012 By 15 Comments
As moms, we often work so hard living up to unrealistic images of perfection from society, our families, our mothers and our own personal DNA. We buy into the culture of being a supermom, even if it just about kills us in the process. Lisa-Jo of the Gypsy Mama wrote an uplifting post about it […]
Moms-Take five for a date
April 9, 2012 By 21 Comments
Moms, we are notorious for not taking time for ourselves. Do our kids need help with homework? We’re there. Is our child’s sports team asking for volunteers? We’re on it. Does someone need to get to an appointment? We’ll drive them. We will just keep scraping the bottom of the barrel for any […]
