In Case They Ever Wonder

The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21   This year we went to church the Saturday night before Easter, got all dressed up (even though almost no one at the Saturday night service was) and went out to a nice dinner after the service. While we were waiting outside the restaurant, somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Sophie say, "Oh, that stinks!" I was distracted with thoughts of how I would keep Will in one piece for an 8 p.m. dinner, picturing the havoc he would wreak in the tiny not-kid-friendly restaurant. All of a sudden, I heard her again, "It really stinks!" And then a man's voice, "I know, honey, I am so sorry!"  I think my head actually spun around as I realized that "It really stinks!" was in reference to a man's cigarette smoke. Matt and I both began (rather sternly) correcting Sophie and (rather profusely) apologizing to the man who was exceptionally kind, sayin...

One of my favorite authors is Sally Clarkson, and recently I had the pleasure of watching and listening to a video conference session of hers, in which she spoke on living creatively. In it she described a picture of raising children that I have adopted as my own. She talked about picturing her children's lives as chests that she had the opportunity to fill with different treasures that they would then be able to unpack and use later. The idea made me think about the different kinds of things I want to place in the chests that are my children's lives - and the types of things I want to leave out.  While I've only recently heard this concept, in some ways, I think I've always had this attitude about my children. Matt and I view being able to spend time with our children as a gift, and though I know it's not best for me to be with them every second, and there are times when I desperately long for a break, I also think very carefully before letting my kids spend time...

We had an absolutely amazing Easter this year. We continued several traditions and began a couple of new ones. Because we didn't have any family with us this year, I worked especially hard to make sure Easter was special, and we celebrated for a solid week. Easter Reading: We read several good books about the Easter story, a couple that we've been reading in our family since I was little. One that was newer and surprisingly good was My First Easter Story  by Tim Dowley. We also continued and expanded on a tradition that we began last year by reading Beatrix Potter stories. Last year my cousin, we read The Tale of Peter Rabbit  and  The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and my cousin, Jamie sent us an amazing video  collection called The Beatrix Potter Collection by BBC video. This year we expanded our reading to include thirteen different tales, and Sophie could not get enough! Not only did we enjoy the video collection again, but we also had the opportunity to explore Mr. McGregor's...

Well, it is safe to say that Will kept me on my toes all day today. We planned to meet Matt for lunch and visit the Easter Bunny today. I was all prepared for Will to be a little apprehensive about the big rabbit, maybe even refuse to sit with him, but not my guy... Not only was he not scared, he loved the Easter Bunny and never shed a tear - until he threw a fit when we had to take him away  from the bunny! We then took him to ride the train to get his mind off the bunny, and he broke away from the train line and headed back for his bunny, nearly taking down the lovely Easter Bunny set in the process. I should have known that my wild boy was in rare form, but, this afternoon, I unsuspectingly strolled the kids over to the neighborhood clubhouse for an afternoon Easter egg decorating playgroup. To say that my son wreaked havoc is an understatement. I did manage to limit him to only spilling the blue dye all over himself and the room! Looking back, I can't believe there wasn't ...

We are back home, and once again, trying to get back in the swing of things. We had a great time in Franklin, but returned later than I'd planned, with lots of things on my list left unchecked. Of course, this is also the week before Easter meaning Matt is swamped with work at Crossroads, and I am swamped with editing.  I've been feeling perpetually behind for several days. Sunday was a blur of missing church out of sheer disorganization, beginning the unpacking process, restocking our empty pantry and refrigerator, and piecing together plans for this special week. On Monday, we gathered our Easter books and decorations and brought a bit of spring to our house, but I still felt frustrated by all that was left undone when I collapsed into bed late Monday night. Today, I got back to basics and focused on the most important things. I nourished my own soul and then nourished the souls of those in my family. My bags are not yet unpacked, my laundry is, at best, a work in progress, a...