Teaching Children to Love Thy Neighbor

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney In an age where the vow “to have and to hold from this day forward… until death do us part” holds less and less meaning, I am grateful for the example of my…
A radio story this week highlighted the benefits of calling your mom. According to the story, talking to your mom is an excellent way to relieve stress! Upon hearing the story, Patrick turned to me and said with a smile: “You should be extremely relaxed!” I guess my multiple conversations a day with my…
Ryan and Connor bought Mother’s Day flowers for me at the last AWANA Store Night. They were so excited when they picked them up and presented them to me following AWANA on Sunday. They were very secretive, whispering behind my back, rushing me out of their meeting rooms, and smiling way too big… and since…
The first time I mentioned homeschooling to my husband, Patrick, we didn’t have children. For years, I felt inexplicably drawn to homeschooling, and Patrick objected adamantly. I read a stack of books on homeschooling, befriended several homeschooling families, and by the time our boys were of school-age, I had convinced Patrick that homeschooling was something…
Growing up, I lived at least a five hours’ drive from my grandparents and extended family. I have fond memories of visits to Grandma and Grandpa’s home at the holidays and during summer breaks, but I remember being envious of cousins who lived nearer to my grandparents and were able to visit for a…
Tuesday morning, math time. The phone rings. I ignore it. It rings again, and again, and again. I give in, and run to answer it, leaving the boys working on multi-digit multiplication and addition with carrying. It’s my mom. “Your father can’t go. His doctors have said no traveling.” My parents had been planning…