Why should my teenage daughter ask for a cinnamon roll when she can sneak one into her bedroom under her bathrobe? Then she can eat it alone in her room after everyone goes to bed and nobody will know. The trouble with little lies or little thefts is that they have a way of finding you out and growing. One little white lie can turn into a huge sin if we let it grow instead of confessing and seeking forgiveness. You see we have a house rule of “No eating in bedrooms.” We also need to brush our teeth before bed to get rid of the sugar bugs, from our treats, that like to cause... 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

Well, we’ve made it through to the evening, after a few rough patches in the day!

After posting this morning, I doubled over in pain. My “monthly visitor” came for a visit, and I spent most of the next few hours under a heating pad!

After a nap, some tea, and lots of acetaminophen, I woke up refreshed! We all went out shopping for the house, and then stopped into a nice restaurant for a bit of dinner. The kids sang “Happy Anniversary” to us, and we came home.

We’ve had... 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

My kids know that tomorrow is our anniversary. They aren’t exactly sure what an anniversary is, so I explained it’s like a birthday for the day Daddy and I got married. Yeah, as of tomorrow, Daddy and I will have had eighteen of those “birthdays”!

From reading this blog, you may have figured out by now that hubby and I are very traditional in our values, but pretty unconventional as far as just about everything else goes. That includes anniversaries, too. Many of our friends are “confuzzled” when they learn that we’ve taken our oldest son on most of our anniversary... 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

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

Part of it is this crazy revved up time of year for children. Part of it is just sibling life. Part of it is acquiring two siblings overnight after nine years alone. Whatever it is, today it hit a fever pitch. The children have been squabbling about toys, turf, and tiddly stuff.

Since waking up on Monday morning, it’s been one roller coaster ride after another. A looooong drive, not sleeping in our own beds, lots of food, toys and presents, another looooong drive home, and more, more, more!!

Each meal... more

I’ve been playing around with an idea for awhile, and thought this would be a good weekend to roll it out. Here at Casa Stro, every Saturday is Pancake Saturday. It’s a tradition that began when I was a child growing up, and one that I have carried over, now, with my children.

In a pancake recipe, as you know, you put in a little of this, a little of that, and that is what I will do in this new... more