Family

Suffocated

Mike was attractive and interesting. He was a bit older than me. There was something intriguing about him, about his stories, about his demeanor, about his life, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I wanted to figure it out. The problem was that Mike was smitten with me, much more than was appropriate [...]

Read the full article →

8 Ways to Count Down to Christmas

I’ve mentioned a time or two that Advent started this past Sunday, but do you know what Advent is? Advent is the season of waiting for Christmas. It begins on the fourth Sunday before November and ends on Christmas Eve, but some people celebrate it just from December 1 to 24. No matter when you [...]

Read the full article →

Coloring the Advent

Last year, I printed some coloring pages for Gracie. Each one was like a miniature Advent calendar, divided into 24 sections, and she loved them. If you have a preschooler or an older kid who really loves to color, you should consider coloring pages for Advent. You can download the ones we used, or you [...]

Read the full article →

How to Make and Use an Advent Wreath for Kids

Joe’s family used an Advent wreath when he was small, and he wanted to continue that tradition with our family. He grew up Catholic, and I didn’t, but I was happy to continue to observe the tradition. For our family, the Advent wreath is completely integrated with the Jesse tree as part of our evening [...]

Read the full article →

My Must Have Baby Gear

Rain forest Jumperoo - must have baby products

As Allie’s first birthday approaches, my baby days are over. Totally, totally over. I’m only a wee bit bittersweet. I’m sad about the events of the past year, but no so much about my baby growing up. Starting over with a brand new baby was much harder on me than I could ever have imagined. [...]

Read the full article →

Learning the Christmas Story – Jesse Tree & Truth in the Tinsel

Advent began this past Sunday. We started our Jesse tree. Each night after dinner, we read a short Bible story. We sing a song, light a candle, say a prayer, and then Grace hangs an ornament on the small white tree that sits on our dining room table. It takes less than ten minutes, but [...]

Read the full article →

Our Christmas Traditions

In honor of the beginning of Advent (which was yesterday for my family), I am posting kid-friendly Christmas traditions all week this week. I love traditions. I love predictability, knowing exactly how things are going to work. It’s just my personality. When Grace was born, Joe and I began traditions for our little family. I [...]

Read the full article →

My New FREE eBook – How to Celebrate Advent with a Jesse Tree

In 2009, I read about the Jesse tree, a kind of Advent calendar that traces the lineage of Jesus the whole way through the Old Testament, back to God Himself. Even though we hadn’t spent much time in church at that point, I wanted to focus our family’s Christmas holiday on Jesus. I needed time [...]

Read the full article →

Mercy House – A Charity on my Heart

I am at the Relevant conference in Harrisburg this weekend. Yes, I was just at a conference last weekend. No, I am not planning to go from conference to conference week after week. I did not stay home with my children to travel the country without them. I attended Relevant last year, and I was [...]

Read the full article →

Growing Up and Getting Brave

This may not look like an act of bravery, a sign of growing up, but it is one. Before this weekend, Grace had never allowed anyone to paint her face. Partially because she’s so ticklish, but mostly because she is anxious about strangers being in her space, she has only once or twice allowed even [...]