Last week Chris took the bigs (Evie and Mack) to a Jingle Ball concert hosted by a local radio station. He loaded up the car with their friends, watched five pop acts sing their one hit wonders, and returned home close to midnight. On a school night! It was a special memory for them to […]

When I was growing up my mom did a fabulous job making Christmas a special time for her five children. Now that I have six of my own, I appreciate the time and effort it took for her to give us such warm and comforting memories. Her example is what motivates me to keep on […]

Ok so I know there is a lot of terrible, awful, no-good stuff going on in the world, but something about the Christmas season reminds me that all hope isn’t lost (yet). Sure, we have awful politicians improperly managing natural disasters and man-made threats, but most of the everyday people I know are good and […]

And, just like that, Christmas is over. It seems like the season was especially short this year (probably because Mack’s winter break didn’t start until December 23rd!), but I’m not feeling the typical post-holiday blues (probably because we really did have a nice season of peace and love and toys). When I was growing up, […]

Like many (but certainly not all) homes in America today, Christmas fever is raging at our house. We’ve got the fireplace going, Christmas tunes crankin’, and we’re all still in our jammies while we finish up gift wrapping and cookie baking. I love it. My 8 1/2 year old Evie was on the verge of […]

Last week Evie and Vivian’s school hosted the annual Christmas show. The kids were adorable, the music was festive. It was all that is good about this time of the year. One song in particular caught my attention: One Little Candle. It is about how a little light in a sea of darkness can make […]

Christmas time. The time of the year when homes are cozy and warm, nights are quiet and peaceful, well-behaved children are wide-eyed and wonderful. Right. Right? Wrong. Earlier this month, as I have every year since Evie was born, I was stressing out with the expectations of what Christmas should be. Why did it seem […]

Living in the city with six kids comes with its fair share of urban struggles. Top of my complaint list is parking – too-small spaces, expensive street spots, validation required for shopping. It is so annoying. But, despite all the hassles city living with kids is awesome. The pleasantries far, far outweigh the frustrations. For […]

“It’s all a charade. The world has not understood the way of peace. The whole world is at war. A war can be justified, so to speak, with many, many reasons, but when all the world as it is today, at war, piecemeal though that war may be—a little here, a little there—there is no […]

OK, so I know this post will make it seem like I’m soooo on top of things, but let me assure you that I am most definitely not. But, yesterday, I received my order of holiday cards. I spent part of an evening last week knocking this off my future to-do list, and I’m so […]