Have you ever been tempted to give up what you want most for what seems right at the moment? As a young mother, one such event happened to me that has become a bit of a parable to look back upon and ponder. While my husband was completing graduate school…

Family prayer had just ended on a Saturday night. Pajama-clad people were standing and trudging to their sleeping quarters. Then I remembered. “Oh, yeah. Big Brother just messaged from the party and asked if anyone would be willing to milk the cow.” Silence. Younger siblings, suddenly unbelievably fatigued, disappeared into…

Do you enjoy a good jabber or adding to some general clatter? Admittedly, I do. A minivan full of teens, tweens and one mother---me---was cruising to a high school concert in a neighboring city. The backseat riders were singing while they played card games. Movie quotes unabashedly elbowed their way…

Once upon a time, I thought I knew something about raising 2-year-olds. And then I had one. No longer do I claim to know anything about raising 2-year-olds. As near as I can tell, every child is VERY different. Every day is very different. …

"You look like you need a hug." My 15-year-old son held his strong arms wide, ready to comfort his 3-year-old sister. She was having none of it. A thunderstorm in princess pajamas, the little girl crossed her arms, scowled, and spat out, "NO." Ever persistent, next her brother knelt so they could be at…

"So....when does it go away?" Our 14-year-old son stared curiously at my protruding abdomen. Following his gaze and shaking my head at his innocent, yet pointed question, I looked at his 18-HOUR-old sibling next to us and said, "Not for a long, LOOOOONG time, Son." I'm not really a health…

Bits and fits. When there is an infant in the house, daily chores are completed in bits and fits. During one such fit of kitchen cleaning activity, our once-content baby began to stir in her seat. Knowing the “baby alarm” was about to go off, I started desperately tossing breakfast…

All Is As It Should Be About a year ago, I had some very personal and special experiences about bringing more children to our home. At that time, I felt very close in spirit to our Heavenly Father, which led to some important discussions and decisions in our marriage. Months…

Empathy stems from experience. ’Tis the season for illness. Even as I clean up vomit and work with all the sickies, as a mom I have been blessed to seldom be sick myself. So when my husband was recently flattened by the flu, I dutifully went about the business of…