Would you take time to think about the full armor of God on Memorial Day? First, think about the soldiers protecting freedom all over the world. Pray that the soldiers and their families would gird themselves with the full armor of God to resist the obvious temptations that plague lonely adults. Pray that their children, missing one or both parents, would look to the heavenly Father for comfort in their time of need. Pray for the safety of the soldiers who are protecting freedom so that you may celebrate, read, write, and practice your faith.

Think... more

Today we celebrated my youngest son’s fifth birthday! Though today was truly a happy occasion, I remember how I felt last year at this time. We had been told that the adoption would probably be finalized by the holidays of 2006, thus my son would be here for his fourth birthday. When it became obvious that would not happen, I did what I usually do during times of duress – I knitted. I knitted him a little hat and scarf set. His former foster mom recently sent it to us with a few other things she found that belonged to the kids. My son saw it and remembered it!

So,... more

I’m big on resolutions for the new year - well, I’m good at making them, I’m not so good on the follow through!

I do have a few resolutions as they relate to being a parent of faith:

The elders of the congregation we attend are encouraging everyone to try to read the Bible through in one year. Hubby and I have had many stops and starts over the years, but this time, I’d really like to read all the way through!

I’d like to slow down a bit. Sundays are a mad dash out of the door ... and every day after it is much the same. I am trying to pare down our... more

Well, we had grand thoughts, at least! Our much anticipated anniversary didn’t start off at all like we had thought or hoped.

My youngest began the day as he often does, by making a discordant cacophony of noise in his room, enough to wake up everyone in the household. He got his radio taken away.

My daughter, for the second time in about three days, peed “accidentally” and “couldn’t control” it. She’s been on TV restriction (because that was when this problem most... more

We homeschool “year-round,” meaning we don’t have any long breaks (like three-month summer breaks). Part of this is because of the way I grew up. Traditionally-schooled as I was, and my ADD undiagnosed, coming back from a long break was really, really hard for me. So now that I homeschool, I deliberately chose to make our vacations much shorter, so that any breaks wouldn’t be so hard to rebound from.

Winter break is usually two weeks (sometimes three), but even then, the kids generally read or do some sort of educational activity sporadically throughout the time off. Next week, many of their outside classes will begin again, and we will get back to a more structured routine.

To... more

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my children respond best to “code words,” and one of them is bora, the Spanish word for erase. We erase whatever infraction has occurred, and start over again.

As we prepare to begin a new calendar year, the concept of a clean slate is appealing. Though we get a “mini” new slate every 24 hours, as God grants us each new day, the thought of a whole year to do something (lose weight, learn a new language or hobby), holds allure.

My... more

During this hectic holiday season, when our Western culture focuses so much on “getting loot,” it’s important to take the time to teach our children about giving.

Though the date of December 25th was one chosen arbitrarily to celebrate the birth of Christ, we do know that Christ was real, that He did live, and that He was the greatest gift mankind has ever received from a kind and benevolent Father.

So, during a time when children are revved up and often thinking about “what’s... more

For homeschool today, our family went on a field trip to see The Nutcracker. My oldest son saw it once before. This was the first time my youngest have seen it.

My daughter loves ballet. She loves watching Angelina Ballerina on Sprout. She longs to take ballet lessons (the only reason we haven’t yet is because of a scheduling issue for the class in her age group). This morning I dressed her in her finery, and the boys wore their Sunday best. To help set the mood, we listened to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite in the truck as we drove to... more

My children’s birthmother had a birthday today! I feel really bad because I have been furiously knitting to try to finish up the gift I have for her, and had hoped to get it out in time, but I am still learning to make “realistic” estimates of my time, now that I have three children. That combined with the holiday last week and the festivities around it, in addition to the mail holiday, added to the delay. Truth be told, I’m generally not a perfectionist, except when it comes to my knitting. I chose this yarn some time ago, and as I worked on the project, it wasn’t what I wanted. I am a pretty “mindful” knitter – I really pour over yarns trying to find just the right one; match the personality... more

Today marks our first Thanksgiving as a family, and what a day it was!

The excitement has been building all week. All the kids have been able to talk about was going to their grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. Their big brother gave out “mini-primers” all week about what to expect.

The children went to bed last night amid excitement about what the day today would hold. When hubby and I awoke this morning, two of our three children had already dressed! We made calls to loved ones and family, including the children’s birth mother and grandmother.

Then it was off... more