Maintaining Connection in a Busy Life – Quality Time
f you are a parent—perhaps especially a mother who works outside the home—you’ve heard all about Quality Time. When it comes to my kids, I’m more about quantity than quality. But in my marriage, it’s a totally different thing. Quality Time is one of the Five Love...
Adventure Time! (Sponsored)
John and I are going on a trip! This will be the farthest we have ever traveled without our kids, and only the second time I can remember that we’ve ever traveled alone by plane. We are going to San Francisco! Obviously, we are going because Teddy is there,...
Not of This World: Finding Peace through Minimalism
There’s something about a new year. isn’t there? So fresh and clean with none of the last year’s mistakes . . . yet. It’s natural to want to apply the newness to our lives, to make them fresh and clean as well. I’m sure I’m not...
12 in 2017: A Year in Pictures
And now for a quick trip through 2017, with some of my favorite pictures! JANUARY: Along with millions of women (and men!) around the world, Emily and I participated in the Women’s March. I wrote about that here and here. It was pouring down rain–an...
2017 in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites
At the end of each blogging year, I like to look at my WordPress stats and do a post about my five most-read posts of the year. Many times this list will include some evergreen content from years gone by–last year not a single 2016 post made the top five! ...
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Very interesting article, but what strikes me most is the idea that the reason we have kids is to make us happy. I am not saying that my kids don't make me happy, but that's not what my primary motivation for having children was.To me, the opportunity to be a co-creator of unique human beings is the primary reason to have kids. What do YOU think?
Since I share a post yesterday sharing what I DON'T know, today I will tell you what I DO.I wrote this many years ago, and nothing has happened since to change my mind.My basic parenting philosophy for ALL kids, from birth to adulthood can now be boiled down to just this: Love them and make sure that they KNOW you love them.That much, I know I did right.
THINGS I KNOW: Raising Teenagers - Life in Every Limb
lifeineverylimb.com
In an uncertain world, there's a certain appeal in believing that there is anything we are sure about, and pride in celebrating and sharing lessons learned and wisdom gained. And I do know a lot of th...
I first wrote this when my boys were 15 and 16. Let's just say that I had no idea then just how terrfying teens could be.Having by the grace of God raised five children to legal adulthood (my baby is 21), I can tell you that I still know very little. I have regrets and things I wish I could go back and do over. But my kids survived, and they still come home.
The Terrifying Teens - Life in Every Limb
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The thing about being the mother of three preschoolers is that eventually you will be the mother of three teenagers. You hear a lot about the Terrible Twos, but what about the Terrifying Teens? With t...
This falls into the annoying category of "they grow so fast" posts (spoiler alert: I have MORE), but, y'all, they DO.The "baby" in this story was 19 when I first posted this well over ten years ago, and my actual "baby" is 21 now and spending July in Germany. I've got one grown son in Philadelphia and one in San Francisco. I have no clue where all that time went.
She'll Be Gone - Life in Every Limb
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It's late, and I haven't had time to post anything today, so I thought I'd share something I wrote a long--VERY LONG--time ago (about 15 years ago). [edit: this happened in 1993] The incident I recoun...
I wrote this a long time ago, and I stand by it today. Maybe I am not 100% sure about the secret to a happy life, but I definitely know what it isn't.
The Secret to a Happy Life - Life in Every Limb
lifeineverylimb.com
The following is a reprint of a column that appeared in The East Tennessee Catholic in 2002. When I was pregnant with my third child, friends, family, and strangers in the mall all seemed desperate to...
