As much as I’d love to say that things are back to normal now that Momma has left the couch, I am realizing that is not quite accurate. There does seems to be a new normal developing, though. It seems to be the usual plan after any season of crisis-mode living, and with my fickle […]

In the comments a few days ago, someone made a statement that has been bothering me ever since. Since “Things-I-think-about-when-I-can’t-sleep” is always good fodder for blog posts, and because I just don’t feel comfortable letting the statement just dangle out there unanswered, I will now attempt a justification response.
When Melanie said, “I am not sure […]

When my girlfriend called to force me into submission blackmail me offer her family’s services in our preparations for some friends visiting, I caved willingly accepted their help. I know her family, and have seen them in action before… they work really hard. So when she and her four teen daughters […]

We should have crises more often. They can be very encouraging. Folks that have sane, quiet lives may never have the opportunity to be encouraged in the way I have recently. Of course, they may never have the need to be encouraged as I have needed, but still.
The first several weeks of morning sickness […]

My ponderings over the last few weeks have led me to begin a journal to correspond with the beginning of the new year. After praying about exactly what type I would like, I chose this plain, hardbound book with unlined pages, and am almost giddy thinking of all the potential it and the year hold. […]

This morning Babydoll climbed up to the kitchen sink and began splashing gleefully in the oatmeal pot that was soaking after breakfast. The picture doesn’t do justice to the soggy oatmeal floaters that flew in each splash, and truly the mess was minor compared to what I have experienced with my boys in the past, […]

So, we were in town some today. The kids were great…it was the other folks who encouraged me to stumble. Father saved the day just before I blew my testimony. He’s good that way. I submit this not as an example of righteousness, but as proof (only those who do not know me in […]

It really is freeing. Getting rid of all our superfluous stuff makes the days run smoother and creates a peace in me that is addictive. After a season of thorough decluttering, I want to always live like this! Without the follow-up step to decluttering ~ that of keeping the stuff out ~ I […]

As I begin this post, I feel led to remind you, gentle reader, that it takes a certain level of humility to engage in full disclosure in such a public arena. What I am about to share, I do because I feel compelled to in order to encourage and inspire others to tackle the difficult […]

Where we go doesn’t matter. The crowd we’re with seems to have no bearing on it as well. Wherever we manage to find ourselves, our family is an oddity. Wherever we go, whether in the world or the Church, we do not fit in with the folks around us. Two recent experiences have ingrained in […]

It must have happened when I was playing with Babydoll in the Red Clover field. I don’t know if Babydoll or the puppies were the instrument that caused it to come out, but either is equally likely. It is thought-provoking how they have survived this long, through this many grabbing babies, many moves, and lots […]

I know practical. I am a boring, no nonsense kinda gal. Although I can usually get the job done, there is often much to be desired in my fleshly modus operandi. I assess the bottom line and trudge in headlong without noticing or caring about the people in the process. But I am learning […]

I am always, no…frequently reminded by Mr. Visionary that I never see the good in a situation. After almost 17 years of marriage and many circular conversations, I have learned to not argue this point . My casually mentioning the fact that said visionary does not allow extremist words from myself the antagonist, as these […]

I surely would have thought the days of women swooning were over. What with the 1960’s having done their upheaval and corsets, too, being a thing of the distant past, fainting was, in my humble opinion, only for the overly dramatic. Recent events however, have caused me to rethink my position.
Not having bounced back from […]

A rumpled brow, a furitive glance behind each shoulder…then ‘the question’. With obvious trepidation in their voice and fully expecting the worst, they ask, “What do (gulp) the children think of her?”

If these folks could be a fly on the wall in my home…

“Hurry up you guys! Everybody come quick-she’s doing it!”

From every corner of […]

The rules have changed. And no child in my family is the least bit disappointed. Under normal circumstances, the words, “OK kids, we have a new rule…” are met with groans and downcast faces. This new rule however, has been met with nothing short of elation.

In our family, Rule #146 has always been,

“No […]

There are times when I am unsure if I am dreaming. Did I hear it or did I imagine it? In the early morning hours before I awake, I am half listening for it, half savoring the last few minutes of slumber before it comes. It always comes. Without respect for the day, the season, […]

I love free advice. Especially when it comes to infants. All those folks who bombard me kindly offer and explain the ‘proper method’ for raising a baby do me a great service. I imagine they have no idea what a valuable commodity their words of wisdom have become in our life.

I do not actually follow their […]

Systems are good. They work for McDonald’s, large families and human digestion. The more planned-out and  prayed-over  the system, the greater the benefit from using it. The more variables involved in any given process, the more necessary a system becomes.  If even folks like the Duggars, who have crafted for themselves a life apparently void […]

The moment I have been waiting for has come! Our newest Little One has arrived, and we couldn’t be more blessed:

Newly born Friday afternoon, and already we can’t remember
life without her (nor would we care to).

Babydoll was almost a pound heavier (8lb. 6oz.) than my previous heaviest baby.  Since I didn’t gain any extra weight, the […]