Today was one of my favorite days of the year.  Oh, look!  I’ve said that before!  It was our big family Christmas day, and I’m tellin’ ya, you just have to be there to know how special it is.  If I’ve counted right, there were 97 in attendance today.  Children everywhere!  Balls everywhere!  (We have [...]

We needed a little pick-me-up after returning from the hospital last week, and since we had just drug the tree box up before her episode started, tired Mama figured “why not?”  And then tired Mama sat with the baby while three delighted children decorated the Christmas tree.  Win-Win!  Are you still counting One Thousand Gifts [...]

And… here we are again.  This was not in my plans, a weekend at the hospital.  In fact, we had just hauled the Christmas tree up from the basement, and I was stirring supper when it happened.  Again.  The sudden, excruciating, doubled-over screaming pain.  An ER visit, x-rays, morphine, hospital transfer, more x-rays, barium, and [...]

Oh, how we needed this Thanksgiving holiday!  A few days out of routine, sleeping in, family, and yummy food did us good. We’ve made a tradition of taking turns sharing what we’re thankful for as we drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s for the big meal.  Once we learned not to talk over each other , [...]

Giving thanks is hard sometimes.  You may be entering a stressful, sad holiday season when everyone else around you seems to have it all together, and to have it all.  Period.  This may be the first year you face the holidays without a dear loved one.  We’ve been there.  God bless you as you dig [...]