If you’ve been inside any stores since Christmas, you know that Valentine’s Day must be just around the corner. Heart-shaped candy boxes...

I’ve published a few books over the last eight or nine years, and something I’ve noticed when a person has read one of my books is her...

“They don’t know that it isn’t real.” This was the reply from Rodrigo, the man who took our family snorkeling on his little boat, the...

When our girls were little, one of their favorite games to play was hide-and-seek. They would tell me or my husband Brent to hide our...

Last weekend, our youngest son’s soccer team played in a tournament in Gatlinburg. Back in August, when they first listed it among the...

I have a sign in my kitchen which has been there for more than a decade. It reads: “GIVE THANKS: Oh Thou, who has given us so much,...

Last week, I sat in a chair facing a group of four-year olds as they sat “crisscross applesauce” and waited for me to read a book to...

A few weeks ago, I heard an unmistakable chirping sound as I walked through the basement to the laundry room. We had recently changed the...

Twenty years ago I had the shock of my life. After a year of unsuccessful attempts to have a baby, I had finally seen the coveted two...

As I was sitting on the sidelines of one of my sons’ soccer games recently, I heard a familiar question, “A little help?” It was part...

For the most part, my husband and I were raised as city people. A half-acre lot was plenty for our folks. They had their vegetable...

Our two sons are both on travel soccer teams. This means that they seem to be playing ball all the time. In the winter, we’ve watched...

When I was 6-years old, my dad bought our family’s first microwave oven. It was a giant behemoth with its own designated piece of...

I had a friend in elementary school named Jill who was allergic to chocolate. I knew she tried to avoid it, but I didn’t know exactly why...

One of my favorite words is the word wonder. As a mom, it reminds me of my kids when they were all little. I loved watching them as they...

I enjoy being outside in the summer, especially in the morning before the sun sends down the full force of its intensity. One of my...

A couple of years after our youngest son joined our family, I took Ezra to a birthday party for a school classmate. When the party was...

I’ve written before about the perils of broken bones. With four active (and possibly clumsy?) kids, we’ve had our fair share of trips to...

It’s funny to track the differences between my childhood in the 1970’s and 1980’s with the world that my kids live in now. The ways we...

When my husband and I were first married, we lived in an apartment which was conveniently located right next to a Kroger. There were many...

With all of the rain we’ve had lately, my son Ezra and I have noticed a common sight dotting the sidewalks while we’re on our way to...

Somewhere between 4th grade and 7th grade, it was a common pastime for girls in my school to rank their friends. “Tiffany is my first...

There are a lot of things to love about Easter—chocolate bunnies, new dresses, egg hunts, spring blossoms—but the thing I love the most...

When you’re the youngest kid in a family, it’s inevitable that you’ll end up with an eclectic treasure trove of toys/junk. At least...