John Paul is fourteen. Repeat 5 times. Don't hyperventilate. These are the things I whisper to myself these days. All you mamas of littles, it happens faster than you think. I always love that I get to kick off a new year with a birthday letter to John Paul. Here goes, y'all. Dear John Paul, Since when are you an eighth grader? With Will it seemed like it took so long and with you, BAM, we're here. I must admit, though, I'm loving it. You're still working on getting the sarcasm down (don't worry, it will come), but you really are wicked funny. You have this little head tip, eyebrow raise thing you do without smiling and then we all crack up. You can make anyone in the family … [Read more...]
Still Fa-La-La-La-Laing
Advent started off so great - SO GREAT. I was the keynote speaker at a women's retreat in Dallas that first weekend. Even though strep had hit our house, hard, the day provided me an opportunity to speak, spend time in Adoration, go to confession and sit and chat with the loveliest of women. Boy, did my heart need all of that. I arrived home, riding the cloud, and we were stoked to participate in our parish mission with the ever-hilarious, ever-faithful, ever-awesome Fr. Leo. May I just say how much I *love* that our parish has an Advent mission speaker? The proceeds benefit our youth group, but I keep finding how much they're strengthening me and my faith. Will was even on Fr. … [Read more...]
Riddle Me This: A Puzzle Birthday!
It took us *forever* to decide on a theme for Luke's birthday. And, with sports schedules, life schedules and general craziness, we weren't able to formally celebrate the big day until well after his official 8th birthday. Life, am I right?! After watching him solve puzzles like a pro, it was at my mom's suggestion we give a puzzle birthday party a go. I will say, Pinterest was ZERO help in planning a puzzle party. It seems as if nobody even knows what those are anymore! Luke and I and the rest of the kids had a great time brainstorming ideas for activities, favors and decorations. Let's chat details! Luke invited a few of his best buddies to the house for lots of puzzle … [Read more...]
2017 Gift Guide
Hooray! It's almost Thanksgiving. I'm always grateful that holiday falls before Advent and Christmas. It is a tangible reminder to be grateful for a Maker who has given me this beautiful life, with all its joys and sufferings, all its love and sorrow. I pray you have a peace-filled week. As we look toward the season of giving, we're making the interior choice to give with purpose. It's easy to get into the rat race of flash sales! coupons! door buster savings! and all that goes with it. When I put together this gift guide, I did it with much prayer and thought about what I truly love to give and receive, an emphasis on small business and items that I love to have in my own home. There was … [Read more...]
Week in My Life: Sunday, Nov. 19
Once a year, I document our life for seven days. I share the real stuff, the hard stuff, the funny stuff and everything in between. Mostly, I do it because our lives are full and I fear I’ll forget the little things we do that really form our family. Maybe someday the kids will enjoy these posts as much as I enjoy writing them. Ha! You can read all about it: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. After a full, but fun, weekend we got a slow start to our Sunday morning. We enjoyed breakfast with cousins before they headed home and probably a little too much screen time. Oh well, vacation. Scott headed up to the church to assist with a class on stewardship … [Read more...]
