February 2005
February 28, 2005
Really cool photo software - free
My friend Robin sent me a link to Picasa today. It's a free download from Google. Some of you may have your photos under control, but I don't at all. I downloaded Picasa and it gathered up images from every nook and cranny on my computer, ordering them all chronologicaly. ...10:36 PM in Family, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1)
Snow, tonsils, and the wisdom of mommies
We are awaiting what sounds like a magnificent snow storm here in northern Virginia. Not a flake has fallen, but school was cancelled in anticipation. Since we had Thursday and Friday off last week because of snow, the kids are delerious with joy -- as if they somehow have personally...8:29 AM in Down syndrome, Family, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (4)
February 26, 2005
A Day in the life of a megamom
Here's what life is like when you've got a lot of kids spread out over a lot of years: Though you're up late at night with the teens, you're also up early the next morning with the little kids. There are always people coming and going, and so many things...5:27 PM in Big families, Books, Down syndrome, Family, Mothering, Teens and Tweens, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (3)
February 25, 2005
How to fold a shirt
Okay, I know I'm the new kid on the block blogwise, and maybe everyone else has already seen this. But just in case you haven't: How to Fold A Shirt...9:45 PM in Family, Fun Stuff | Permalink | Comments (3)
Down syndrome - there's a purpose
Remember when cynics presented a blind man to Jesus and asked who had sinned, the man or his parents, that the man had been born blind? Jesus answered that neither had sinned, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (John 9:1-3). Usually...5:17 PM in Down syndrome, Inspiration, Life Lessons From My Kids, Mothering, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (4)
Down syndome "Dreams" video
Here is a wonderful short video produced by the National Down Syndrome Society: Dreams....5:01 PM in Down syndrome, Inspiration, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (0)
About that extra chromosome. . .Down syndrome rocks!
My son Jonny has a little extra11:10 AM in Disabilities, Down syndrome, Family, Mothering, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (6)
February 24, 2005
Do you have a story?
I'm working on a book proposal to take to Mount Hermon Writers' Conference next month (that's where I got my start and now teach and critique). I would like to expand and enrich what I have to say with stories of others who experienced God's intervention...6:10 PM in | Permalink | Comments (3)
February 23, 2005
Montessori at Home #4
Raising Kids with Self-Control The same week three California high school senior/football heroes were accused of raping a younger girl in a hotel during post prom bacchanalia, I got a call from a parenting magazine: Could I write an article on building self-control in children? The timing was uncanny. ...11:11 AM in Culture, Family, Homeschooling, Montessori, Mothering, Teens and Tweens, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (1)
February 20, 2005
Homeschoolers -- a chance to say thanks!
[9/28/09 - If you are looking for information on Vickie Farris's health challenge, see Mike and Vickie Farris need our prayers.] We went to Blue Ridge Bible Church today. Mike and Vickie Farris were sitting with their family right behind us. Yes, I live about seven miles from...9:31 PM in Church Issues, Family, Homeschooling | Permalink | Comments (3)
Mommy Misunderstandings
Where does the divisiveness among women start? Even when we're grown up with kids of our own, we revert to 6th grade cliquishness: working moms vs. stay-at-home moms, for instance. If we have strong feelings on either side of that issue, we tend to frame any discussion from...9:15 AM in Culture, Current Affairs, Family, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (2)
February 19, 2005
Motherhood -- It's all about choice
From the last couple days' comments, it seems I've made a couple people nauseous by mentioning that I love children and motherhood involves sacrifice. If you were here, I'd fix you some ginger tea. Maybe I should share a little bit about where I'm coming from. Because I'm...3:35 PM in Culture, Current Affairs, Inspiration, Marriage, Mothering, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (6)
February 18, 2005
More Mommy Madness
If you haven't yet had enough of the Mommy Madness discussion, take a walk through the entire article with comments from Mel at Actual Unretouched Photo. And for a roundup of very diverse opinions, including the reaction from a stay-at-home dad, see Raising WEG....8:07 PM in Culture, Current Affairs, Family, Feminism, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (0)
Look! No Whining T-shirts!
Just googled "women whining" and came up with No Whining T-shirts!...11:39 AM in Culture, Family, Feminism, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (1)
Here, have a kleenex -- it'll be alright
In response to my yesterday's blog, Suzanne #2 wrote:Why is it so wrong for women to want to be more than just a parent? To the Suzanne who commented earlier who said: "Why even have children if you are not prepared to give of yourself?" Why do we have...6:44 AM in Culture, Current Affairs, Family, Feminism, Homeschooling, Inspiration, Montessori, Mothering, Writing | Permalink | Comments (7)
February 16, 2005
The sound of women whining
Yay! Newsweek has scooped another phony crisis: " The Myth of the Perfect Mother" in which disappointed mom/reporterette Judith Warner discovers a transcontinental ("from Idaho to Oklahoma City to the suburbs of Boston") epidemic:Most of us in this generation grew up believing that we had fantastic, unlimited, freedom...9:04 PM in Culture, Current Affairs, Family, Feminism, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (20)
Josh and Hattie are engaged!
Josh didn't come from Caliifornia with a banjo on his knee. But I did promise him he'd find a lot of nice girls in Virginia. When it comes to the opposite sex, of course, numbers don't matter. All you need is one - as long as she's the...10:44 AM in Family, Marriage | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
Speaking of miracles
And speaking of miracles, here's Anne Lamott: "It's not just that I believe in them, I rely on them."...2:02 PM in Inspiration | Permalink | Comments (1)
And people think Christianity is weird
Re: DNA Confirms Parents of 'Baby 81': These parents have really been through hell trying to get their baby back. Can you imagine? Eight other couples claimed the baby, so they had to wait for DNA testing to validate their claim. Thank God they will be reunited! But the parents...1:56 PM in Culture, Religion | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 14, 2005
Valentine's Day at the Curtises'
When our kids asked me yesterday where Tripp and I were going for Valentine's Day, I said we weren't going anywhere. They looked kinda shocked and so I smiled mysteriously and said , "Valentines Day is for amateurs," which my teenagers thought was pretty funny because they always...9:36 PM in Holidays, Marriage | Permalink | Comments (1)
February 13, 2005
Reel Love
For believers, love can be a celebration every day - but never limited to romance. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul compels us to examine love's many faces. Film makers also have provided some luminous portraits of love. Here are a few of the best: Love is patient, love is kind...11:45 PM in Holidays, Movies | Permalink | Comments (1)
A Valentine for mommies
Whenever I sit behind a family in church with a string of three or four little boys, I get very nostalgic. There is something just so cool about brothers en masse. When Tripp married me, he became an instant father to Samantha Sunshine and Jasmine Moondance,...10:16 PM in Family, Homeschooling, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (3)
February 11, 2005
Fifty years of marriage
In 1997, as a still newbie writer, I landed this assignment: interview couples married more than 50 years and find out the secrets of their success. The article was published in the May/June 1998 issue of Plain Truth, one of my favorite magazines to write for. You can see it...10:32 AM in Family, Marriage | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 10, 2005
Walking the walk #2
Apropos of yesterday's post about women in church -- and I guess the 1/30 one on Kelly Hollowell -- here's a little more on where I'm coming from: "A man's life is always more forceful than his speech." ...4:57 PM in Church Issues, Inspiration, Religion | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 9, 2005
In quietness and confidence
I don't know about the issue of women in church leadership. For a former radical feminist who became a follower of Christ at 38 and then had to sort out my role as wife and mother through a new prism, it seems odd to encounter women searching for...4:50 PM in Church Issues, Feminism, Religion | Permalink | Comments (6)
Montessori at Home #3
Developing Concentration "The first essential for the child's development is concentration," noted Maria Montessori nearly a century ago. When she observed Italian slum children absorbed in manipulating bread crumbs, she concluded that the drive to learn was so intrinsic - and so strong - that children would learn...12:19 PM in Homeschooling, Montessori, Mothering, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 7, 2005
Twenty ways to encourage reading
Visit the library. Then read books together with a picnic lunch on a blanket somewhere special. Invest in books. Look for lightly-used books at garage sales. Buy inexpensive paperbacks from discount stores. Care for books. Teach children to handle books as though they had great value. They do. Create a...3:56 PM in | Permalink | Comments (1)
Hormonal terrorists
Samantha just sent me this -- send it to the men in your family if you dare!! Alert Advisory...3:35 PM in Feminism, Inspiration, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 5, 2005
Waiting for dating
"When can I start dating?" my eleven year old asked last September - probably like everyone else entering the new territory of middle school this year. Not new territory for me though, since Maddy's my ninth. It took me back to the days when my first daughter Samantha,...9:30 AM in Culture, Mothering, Teens and Tweens | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 3, 2005
Montessori at Home #2
Most of us grew up with the idea that breakables should be kept away from kids. In my Montessori training I learned to think outside the box on this one. Maria Montessori believed the child should not be denied the privilege of caring for beautiful things -- otherwise, how could...10:58 PM in Homeschooling, Montessori, Mothering, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (3)
Snow on snow on snow
A few hours ago I was feeling pretty yucky. Don't like looking through this haze of black stuff in my left eye. And I'm valiantly churning out pages for the book I'm working on which was due 2/1, though my editors were kind enough to give me a two...2:36 PM in Inspiration | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 1, 2005
Maybe moms need Workers' Comp
Sunday was one of those rare days when I felt like everything was going right for me, mommywise. Got the fam to church on time, got everyone fed, then while Tripp took Sophia shopping I spent what seemed like an hour getting the kids into their snowgear so we...6:45 PM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (3)
