It all started in the fall of 1996. Our five-year-old daughter wanted to play soccer. Since she was a very active and energetic child, we decided this could be a good thing. We signed her up. No other parent on our team …
Catching Up with the Seasons
No, I'm not confused about summer, winter, fall and spring. Lately I find myself running behind in the changing seasons of my life. Take the holidays, for instance. I'd been toodling along as usual, thinking I had plenty of …
A Memorable Last Homecoming
It wasn't the cold front that dropped the temperatures from the 80s to the 60s in the space of an hour or two and left me shivering in my skirt and flimsy top beside my son on the field with the homecoming court. It wasn't …
Last First Day of School!
Going to school has been a major part of the past 18 years at our house. Our oldest started pre-school at 3, just before our youngest was born. Now our youngest, three months shy of 18, traipses off to the first day of his …
Ownership vs. Stewardship
I ended up in Mark 12 the other day, reading again the parable of the vineyard tenants. You know the one, a man planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a vat and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to tenants and …
Let the Lasts Begin!
As of Wednesday afternoon, my youngest child officially entered his senior year of high school. We are now on a countdown of lasts. To be honest, I've never been sentimental about my baby's "lasts." I guess it is because he …
A Scrapbook of Motherhood Firsts
Yes, you get a bonus post this week! Aren't you excited? Yesterday, I highlighted my critique partner Mary's book. Our other critique partner is Leslie Wilson. She, along with Trish Berg, Terra Hangen, Cathy Messecar, and …
Considering Mary
I’m not really a baby person. I’ve said that here before. I struggled in those early years of being a mother. So I find it quite interesting that one of the things that touches me so deeply during the Christmas season is …
Look Ma, No Strings!
Through every stage of my own life as a mother, I’ve come to appreciate my mother more. While lots of reasons to praise her come to mind, the one that has been more glowingly illuminated over the past few years is her lack of …
Elizabeth’s Take on Emma
My children don’t let me see their writing assignments for school. I think it all started when they were in elementary school and I had to quit looking at those kinds of assignments because I wanted them to write at a level …