The other day in the car, as we rocked out to the Beetles,  I heard my littlest say "I'm gunna p-way da guitar!" and then proceeded to play a mad air guitar from his five-point harness.  It was rad.  But as I watched from my rearview mirror I felt a twinge of sadness too, for this was the first time my three (going on sixteen) year old, called his favorite instrument a guitar and not a Tee-tar!

As I put my eyes back on the road I heard my rock star wail, "It's...

I LOVE GOING ON DATES.

Of course I love to date my husband...  but I'm talking about dating my little men.  My first date with Caleb, when we both dressed up and called it a date, was when he was four years old.  He took me to ISLANDS, for burgers and fries.  His Dad had given him money to pay and then reminded him as he harnessed him into his car-seat, to "hold the door open for Mommy and make sure you tell her how pretty she looks... because girls like...

Yesterdays blog post about my new friends, caused me to think of some of the most encouraging friendships I have right now in my life.  

They are, simply put, The Mothers of Other Brothers... Specifically those women who have multiple, interesting, strong-willed, boyish-boys in their home....

We need them!  Don’t we? I’m talking about The Mothers of Others . We rub shoulders with them as we drop the kids off at school, sit in the bleachers beside them as the kids play their sports, and laugh with them on the cul de sac as our little ones close out the day with one more bike ride or sidewalk chalk-masterpiece. They are the other mothers all around us.

From afar they may look better, stronger, more loving or fit… they appear more g...

In his book, Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than To Make Us Happy, author Gary Thomas likens marriage to a laboratory for Holiness.  I whole-heartedly agree.  

You may recall that I began reading through The Respect Dare by Nina Roesner a few weeks ago, and have to confess that I'm onl...

Flipping through the XM stations in my car yesterday, my three year old let out an enthusiastic "This one! Choose this one!" when we hit the "Classical Pops" station. I pulled my hand back from the dash and looked in the rearview mirror. Asher had closed his eyes and a smile played on his face.

I love Classical music; the strings, winds, and piano all intricately weaving evocative notes together in joyful or in mournful harmonies. But how do you teach your children to love ...

If you've been here more than a couple of times than you know I delight in seeing my children mature in virtue, in character, and in our family's values.

One of those core family values is what we call "Brotherly Love."  In the past three weeks Caleb has absolutely excelled in displaying this specific type of love in our home.  Since he was given his first Baby Brother, when he was just  22 months old, it's been obvious that God specifically crafted him to be ...

I've received many sweet notes of praise concerning my tough-love parenting yesterday.  And since many have asked for an update over how things went in the afternoon... I thought I'd post this picture and the following.

It was raining when I picked Caleb up, but instead of finding my cold, dejected, remorsef...

This morning I called my husband (who's away on a business trip)  to talk through my consequence quandaries over this morning's issues.  My first born had done wrong and needed discipline, but I was in need of my husband's perspective to get this one right.  Matt is not only a man, but he was once a boy himself, much like our three all rolled into one.  He also has a stronger backbone than I do and so there are times when I'm on my own with our three little m...

"Do, or do not... there is no try"

-Yoda

Every time I hear Yoda speak the above words, ...