We Do What We Have to Do, Even Solo Vacations
Warning: This is a rant. I am indulging because it will make me feel better. Yes, I realize that this is selfish behavior. Feel free not to continue reading.
Warning: This is a rant. I am indulging because it will make me feel better. Yes, I realize that this is selfish behavior. Feel free not to continue reading.
Lisa-Jo over at The Gypsy Mama wrote the other day about how working moms need grace – grace to handle the daily good-byes, grace for handing over their children to others, grace for the guilt they carry. In my journal where I count gifts from God, I write “the ability to work from home, not…
I love this trend in the blogging world of choosing a word to focus on throughout the year, and I’m hopping on the bandwagon for 2014. As I’ve mulled over what I want 2014 to look like, a few different words keep coming to mind. So I’ve chosen three words, not just one, to be…
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm…
2013 has been a big adventure for us, our first full year with L. Last New Year’s, she was just beginning to sit up on her own and was still very much an infant. Today, she is a strong-willed little girl with more personality than me and E combined. It was a big year for…
Like most families, we have traditions. Holiday rituals. Seasonal activities. Anniversaries we celebrate. Annual birthday meals (April, for example, finds us drooling over my husband’s perennial choice of birthday cake–dark chocolate with peanut butter frosting). These sporadic events are special in our home, and we cherish them. But as my oldest has grown from infant…
My husband’s father came to the U.S. from the Netherlands when he was four. His parents settled in West Michigan, long known for its heavy population of Dutch immigrants and their descendants. When I moved to Grand Rapids, I noticed every name seemed to begin with “Van Der” or end with “-ema.” When E and…