Ever have one of those days, or maybe a few in a row, when life just gets in the way? You have your day’s agenda all laid out & BOOM, life happens and your plans go out the window. Ever have that happen? Yeah, me too! Yesterday and today have been two such days when unexpected events, turned our usual routine, especially homeschool, upside down. Read the rest of this entry »

I received the following story in an email several days ago and it deeply touched my heart. I pray that as you read it, it will touch yours as well. I don’t know who the author is and if anyone does, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed all the other customers were quietly sitting and talking.

Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, “Hi!” He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and, with dismay, found the source of his merriment. Read the rest of this entry »

As a kid I loved Christmas, but if I’m to be totally transparent, it was the gifts I loved. Yep, the more the merrier!

Sad, huh?

After marriage, I began to see things differently. The fact that we had no money to buy gifts helped change my perspective. I was now forced to come up with creative, very creative hand made gifts. But, to my surprise, I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it because as I made them, I was thinking about the people I was making them for. We laugh now about some of the very creative gifts I made & I cherish knowing the grace with which they were received & often displayed for years. (Bless their hearts!)

Years passed and another gift giving shift took place in our lives. Now, we had enough money to buy gifts. Not gobs of money, but enough to buy one gift per person. It was still fun to think about the person and try to find that perfect gift just for them. Not quite as much fun as making it, but still very personal.

Then, as so often happens in the hectic pace of today’s world, the personal element left the process, and that’s what it became, a process. Read the rest of this entry »