At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me (Matthew 18:1-5).

My youngest son really made his older brother... more

Before my kids arrived, I blogged a bit on making one-on-one kid time. I've posted a little bit here and there, now and again, but I'm really seeing the dividends.

My daughter is just... more

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (James 1:2-3)

I've mentioned previously that my daughter is a mermaid – part girl, part fish. She's been tenacious and fearless in the water – until today. She's been swimming so well that her teacher pushed her a little further than her comfort zone allowed for and she absolutely freaked. She was crying really hard and would not discuss... more

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The Mother/Daughter “Mutual Admiration Society” continues this week! One of the gifts my daughter received at the Mother/Daughter Tea was a little diary. Every day she asks me if I will write something in it “about... more

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you (Philippians 1:3)

In an interesting display of “harmonic convergence”, cable television played both versions of The Parent Trap on two different channels during the same time slot. As I flipped back and forth between them, I noticed both versions had the scene wherein one of the twins meets the grandfather for the first time and begins sniffing him. The grandfather asks what she's doing and the twin replies, “I'm making a memory. Years from now when I'm a grown up, I want to remember that... more

My two sons are very different in a couple of profound ways: 1) they are not related biologically, and 2) they were born 4.5 years apart. Beyond that, they have uncanny similarities:

Appearance: When we first began the adoption journey, the social worker sent us pictures of the children who would eventually become our son and daughter. The day the e-mail came, my husband was at work, but my oldest son and I sat at the computer as the picture downloaded and began to fill our computer screen. I was floored! The children looked so much like our family,... more

My daughter reminds me of me in so many ways. She's had some behavioral and emotional issues; my ADD was undiagnosed until adulthood. She has very large, expressive eyes – in fact, in pictures, it's the first thing you notice about her. Every picture of me that my mom has shows that same wide-eyed expression on my face.

I remember as a child sitting at my aunt's feet as she did my hair. I have very textured, ethnic hair, and a very tender scalp. My daughter sits at my feet, now, and also has a tender head. We use hair time as bonding time, and talk about various... more

Today my family went to a family reunion with my husband’s family. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, some they knew from the last one last August, and some who were new to them. And, being the youngest of this particular generation of cousins, they reaped a bounty – they got cool cast-off toys that the older ones had outgrown.

It was a time to reminisce about family members no longer with us, and the hope that the new generation brings. It had been a really long time since some of the family had seen each other, and commitments were made... more

Did you grow up hearing the Golden Rule? The verse that is frequently referred to as the Golden Rule is found in Luke chapter 6, verse 31 and it says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (NIV) I think that most children, even those who are not part of a church family have heard this rule. One of the purposes of learning Bible verses is so they can come into your mind when you need them. Believe me, after helping many children memorize verses to recite on AWANA club nights, I have learned many. Obviously, the children recognize these verses when I recite them as well.... more

Recently an email came around as a forward on our homeschool loop at Yahoo groups. Frequently, I just delete forwards without even looking at them, but something made me read this one. Maybe it was a little nudge from the Holy Spirit. Shannon Ethridge who is the author of Every Woman’s Battle and coauthor of Every Young Woman’s Battle wrote the article being forwarded. The article was only about the way women dress, teenager girls in particular, as that is Shannon’s focus for her books. However, as the mother of several teenage boys, I also insist that they take care in their... more