The full circle of love
If I could sit down with twenty-three-year-old me, newly married, careening into motherhood, oh, there’s so much I would tell that girl! Young me had a somewhat unrealist... »
Marie Alvero
A hope and a future
The memory of leaving our home in Mexico City still feels as real today as it did 18 years ago. I remember feeling so much loss! Big dreams we had worked so hard for and... »
When you aren’t ready
Each year, December 25th comes around whether we’re ready or not. We often talk about how there’s so much we still need to get done, how we’re short on time and money, et... »
A tale of two gifts
Each year, we host a Christmas party at my house. All the guests bring something of approximately equal value, and we play a game to determine what gift we all end up wit... »
The three siblings
There’s a lot of pain in this world. The topic of human suffering winds its way through every period of history as we collectively try to understand its causes. Specifica... »
Joy in this mess
Yesterday I surrounded my table with friends, and we served a dinner my husband took hours to create. It was a wonderful evening. Also yesterday, headlines read of two se... »
The evolution of a mother
(Written in early 2008) When my husband Sean and I had only one child, I thought I had a handle on parenting. I needed to adapt and bend and give up some of my independen... »
The teenager
There are hundreds of books and blogs on raising children. You can find umpteen ways to sleep train your baby, wear your baby, feed your toddler, teach kids to read, and... »
Motivating rewards
“We have to pay for school lunches this year,” my daughter informed me after the first day of school. I already knew this. During the previous school year, the school dis... »
We know the ending
I’m the gal who likes to read the last page of the book. I like to know the ending before I commit to reading the entire story. I enjoy looking up spoilers while watching... »
Number my days
Psalm 90 is a beautiful prayer by Moses that includes the line, “Teach us to number our days so we can have a wise heart.”[[Psalm 90:12 CEB]] I think what it’s saying her... »