When I was little, I always thought it’d have been really cool to have sisters. I have two awesome older brothers whom I love dearly.  In childhood, we were close and had our fun, but I’d seen my mom with her sisters (she has 3), and I knew there was just something different about sisterhood.  […]

There was a time in American history when extended families commonly lived close (even shared the same land) and children were raised not just by their parents but under the daily influences of grandparents and aunts and uncles. What a relief it must have been for weary and emotional moms to pour out their frustrations […]

This tugs at my heart (for obvious reasons:)) and is worth watching:

Riley’s award wasn’t the only thing that put tears in my eyes this week! Zoe graduated from preschool on Thursday (click the link to view the photos…again, Kevin was there, so they’re wonderful)! The funniest thing was that Zoe had figured out that she needed to wear a hat for graduation but didn’t yet understand […]

Today I took the girls to get their hair cut. They were so excited about it. I let them look at the books with all the kids’ haircuts in them and they decided together to get chin length bobs. When Ms. Deri asked Zoe what she wanted, she said, “I want it like this,” and […]

A few mornings ago, Zoe wandered in and asked, “Mommy, what will Adam be when he grows up?” “I don’t know.  What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I want to be a doctor.”  She said it matter-of-factly, like she’d been thinking about it. “Wow.  That’s a great thing to be.”  I […]

Last night, Riley brought us laugh-out-loud laughter and sharp tears all in the same night. As Kevin was correcting Adam, Riley got a little defensive. She spoke to her dad sharply and with resolution.  “Why you saying that?  He’s a man.  He’s handsome.” And then to Adam, sincerely, “You’re beautiful, Adam.” The tears came later, […]

Not too long ago, I heard an interview with an autistic man who was talking about his childhood. He said, “My mom always insisted that I greet everyone whom I approached or who approached me. I didn’t understand why this was so important to her or why she got so upset with me when I […]

Most of you who know Riley well know and understand that she can be quite the taskmaster at times.  Actually, she relishes any such opportunity.  Sunday morning is one of her favorite times not only because it’s church day (she loves going to church) but also because she knows we have to make it there […]

We are so pitiful. Last Saturday, forecasters predicted that we could see 3 to 4 inches of snow, with flurries starting around noon. As usual, Riley started the day asking Kevin to take her to the park, so we told her that it was REALLY cold outside and that it might snow, and so we […]