Late last week I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my computer when my middle came barreling around the corner. “Momma!! I’m really really really really really really really [I could keep going, but know there were about 27 more added for his emphasis here…] REALLY hungry.” I glanced up at the clock. It was getting close to supper time, and I replied, “Okay, Buddy, Momma is about to start supper.” Seemingly satisfied, he darted back towards his…
There are mornings I am awakened and immediate crisis ensues. “Mom, Roman took off his diaper.” “Mom, I threw up in the bed. “ “Mom, I can’t get the TV to work.” “Mom, Momma, MOOOOMMMMMM…” This was not one of those mornings. Sweet summertime allowed the bliss of a quiet sleep in, and miraculously, my children had gone along with the game. This meant at a whopping 7:20, I was still sleeping. (Oh young ones, cherish those days that sleeping…
One of the most delightful things that has happened to me as a mother is the remarkable fortunate synchronization of my two eldest children’s birthday. Nearly two years to the day apart, I have been afforded the joyous opportunity for joint birthday parties. Now sure, their age gap caused some tired crazy when they were little. But today, they are best buds who love each other dearly and who don’t mind a dual celebration in the least. This makes for…
The elevator doors opened, and I instantly heard a very familiar sound. Screaming, shrieks, piercing giggles, and futile correction. I breathed a small sigh of relief as my own children marched somewhat quietly to the hotel dining room and gave a compassionate smile and “good morning” to an obviously tired momma and clearly overwhelmed daddy as we passed by their table. Dad had three kids probably under the age of three all squirming on his lap which made him look…
Most days start exactly the same. We get up, get dressed, and get the big boys off to school. We come back home, and by that time, Roman is on his second round of sippy cup. Grab some breakfast, sneak in a show, and then the tides turn. Every day. You can mark it. Just past 9:00, homeboy gets GROUCHY. Maybe you tried to change his diaper in the bedroom and he wanted to be changed in the living room….
I imagine that when anyone experiences great tragedy in their life, it becomes a mile marker—a lens through which the view of their story becomes completely and utterly transformed. While I have experienced great hurts and failures in my life, none have changed me quite the way things changed when Jacob left. I never expected to be that person, and yet, I find it difficult to withhold the continual statements that correlate everything back to “when we lost Jacob.” Maybe…
“Tell me something good.” I say this often to sweet husband when I’ve had a rough day or I am just feeling the need to hear something kind. You never quite know what he will come up with—I’ve gotten some really sweet things and some really hilarious things. But whether my reaction is happy tears or laughter, it is always something good. April is baby month. Baby month takes on a new meaning when there is no baby. Losing a…
I am a mother to three boys. I grew up with only one brother and we pretty much were relatively quiet people who, aside from a little scuffle here or there, mostly kept to ourselves. I was not (nor do I think anyone ever could be) prepared for the commotion that would be associated with brothers. And while I’m sure I don’t have to state the obvious, let me just say that life with all boys sometimes feels like a…
It’s been a while. A long time has passed since I have settled my fingers to the keys and put my thoughts to paper. Even now, struggling to return, I find myself in an awkward state of writer’s block where once the words flowed so freely. Nonetheless, I persist in some sort of attempt to get back in the saddle and press on to a call that has sounded so clearly for so long. Last year was without question the…
Living out in the country. It has been such a joy to be back on the land that I grew up on, raising my boys with sweet husband out in the solitude where the wind blows hard and the mosquitoes bite harder. So many things make me reminiscent of my own childhood here. One thing I particularly enjoy sharing with the boys is watching the killdeer birds. I remember as a child, watching for nests settled into the driveway. One…