“Happy birthday, Baby Jesus!” I whispered to myself through clenched teeth.  Of course, while the words were pleasant enough, the tone inside my head was considerably…not.  This is supposed to be the joyful week of Advent, I thought.  But if these children keep bickering on […]

Maybe it’s the fact that our second kid in as many weeks is down with a nasty stomach bug.  Or maybe it’s that in 10 short days, we’ll be celebrating Christmas with my parents, siblings, sibs-in-law, nieces and nephews.  Actually, I guess you could say […]

This week, we light the second candle on our Advent wreaths.  To the Hope we found last week, now we add an Advent of Love.  Love of the Father who sent us His Son.  Love of the Son who humbled himself to be born into […]

Do you ever get so concerned with the big picture that you miss what is right under your nose?  I know I do.  Especially around the big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, we moms have a tendency to think big all the time.  We need […]

One more week until Thanksgiving and I can’t wait!  I love to cook and can’t wait to host our family again this year, but without two things in particular – planning & timing – I’d be lost. But that’s the question, isn’t it?  It’s one […]

If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d be happily hosting 40+ people for Easter, I would’ve questioned your sanity.  However, for the last several years, that’s exactly what I’ve done! Since living here in Jacksonville for the past 15 years, we’ve had […]

It is official, winter break is over.  The kids went back to school this morning and my house is finally quiet again. Cue Andy Williams and sing with me now, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Don’t get me wrong, though!  I love […]

This is it, kids.  We are in the final countdown and Christmas will be here one week from today.  Baby Jesus will be in the manger.  Santa will have visited.  And your family room will be strewn with all manner of wrappings and trappings and […]

To paraphrase the brilliant Jane Austen, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a modern child in possession of everything (s)he could possibly need, must be in want of more.” This is true whenever grandparents come to town, when their birthdays roll around, and most […]

So, heyyyyyyy…it’s still November, yes? I thought so. And, yeah, I get it that I only have about 4 more days to stand on that particular leg of my argument.  But hear me out, OK? IT’S STILL NOVEMBER AND IT’S NOT EVEN ADVENT YET AND […]