I happened to pass a home lavishly decorated for the holiday season. What’s the big deal, 'tis the season! Yes, it’s true, and a joyful Merry Christmas to you. I made a point of going back the following day out of curiosity and to check it out after dark. The front...
I remember one of our daughters sending me a photo that, at first glance, looked like a happy toddler in a car seat. Upon closer inspection, her daughter was covered in chartreuse vomit. She had colic as a baby, and her little tummy was still trying to figure out...
You never know what cartoon characters you’ll encounter at the airports these days. Today, my flight had Plum Pudding, of Strawberry Shortcake fame, and Mercury Moon, from the Manga series. Really? No, they’re fictional characters. However, these mature women...
We have been married over forty-five years and counting, and it wasn't all roses and rainbows. Yet, over the years, what constitutes a loving action has changed. Initially, when we were living overseas, I enjoyed the sparkly things I could put on my fingers. I loved...
Moms, the best thing we can do is avoid smothering our children and instead train them for battle.
All we wanted to do was to get the three kids in the car and arrive at the appointed time. The bottle was filled, and extra formula and diapers were checked. Snacks? Are there enough snacks for the fifteen-minute round trip? Potty, did everyone go potty? "I don't have...
"Unplanned" is often used as a scapegoat and reason to justify the unthinkable. This is not what I planned... fill in the blank. Most of my life was not what I planned. Yet as I look back there is evidence of God doing something good in all those unplanned moments. I...
It's Mother's Day here in the USA. Why should we bother to continue this day of remembrance? Well for one thing, we all have mothers. Mothers are indispensable, a necessity whether they are our biological, adopted, or spiritual mothers. Mother's care, or at least they...
Ever since moving back to Arizona in ’97, we have lived in the same neighborhood; quite a feat these days. Only a few houses were finished back then, and the desert seemed to begin right where our yard ended. We had met on rare occasions, as our homes were being...
This is the second year I have decided to invest in a home garden here in the desert. That means we start planting by late February or March when most places are still shoveling the nasty white stuff. The only reason I toy with this fantasy has everything to do with...
Twenty six years of kids will leave you with a lot of accumulated junk. Lost and forgotten treasures lurk within every box, stuffed in long forgotten tubs and drawers, all for the unsuspecting mommy to go through when the brood flies the coop. They seem to only take...