Santa Claus is part of the magic of Christmas for me. I don’t think he has to take away from the Christ-centered aspect of the holiday, and in fact, I think he can add to children’s understanding of Jesus Christ and the ultimate gift our Heavenly Father gave to us. I have always said I…
My oldest daughter is my parents’ very first grandchild. I’ll never forget how excited they were when I found out I was expecting, and after she was born. They even changed their answering machine message to “You have reached Grandma and Grandpa P.” instead of using their first names. They were thrilled. I have to…
I am not much of a history buff. I have decided that this is due to the incredibly boring manner in which the history books I studied in school were written. I might also lay blame on less-than-stellar history teachers, too. Suffice it to say, I usually don’t enjoy reading history books, but every once…
One of my goals in 2010 was to become a better birthday party mom. I have always been the type of mom who throws things together at the last minute, and my children’s birthday parties were never planned out very well. I’d send out invitations according to whatever theme my child chose, then on the…
I did not make my two younger daughters their costumes this year. I was at high stress levels, and I had spent a ton of time making my oldest’s vampire costume with a pretty complicated sewing pattern. While talking on the phone with my mom, she wisely told me I needed to simplify and she…
I am finally posting the vampiress Halloween costume that I made for my ten-year-old daughter. The one that took about 16 yards of fabric to make and probably weighs 10 pounds. Poor girl had to play her violin wearing the thing for the Halloween recital (and might I add that she played splendidly?). I will…
A couple weeks ago, my oldest came home very happy about her Social Studies test. “Mrs. T said that I had nice essays!” she told me. Later, when I actually looked at the test, I saw she had received a C-, which normally would make my perfectionistic-since-birth daughter very upset. I asked her if she…
You may have noticed a theme in my last couple posts. I’m rundown, overwhelmed and I realize that, while my priorities are right in my head, they aren’t in reality. So the book I’m reviewing today really came at a perfect time in my own personal crisis. In fact, as I was reading along yesterday…
When TLC Book Tours first contacted me about this particular book, I wasn’t really sure what I would think of it. It definitely sounded intriguing—a woman living in the Australian rain forest for over a year with her husband? I wanted to know just what on earth would possess someone to do something so crazy…
“I am a parent, therefore I worry.” Or maybe it should be “I worry, therefore I am a good parent.” Either way, we parents tend to worry a lot. I can really attest to that because I am not a worrier. I never have been one to fret about things much. But then I had…
A back-to-school feast and family theme is a great way to kick off the school year for your kids. This tradition is something they look forward to every year and helps them to be excited to go back to school. Last year, we began our Back to School Feast tradition. It was mostly to help the…
Letterboxing is a super fun scavenger hunt game that will get you and your kids outside and enjoying nature Several people have asked what letterboxing is, and so I’m finally getting around to answering that question. Letterboxing is basically a scavenger hunt. It is similar to geocaching in that you are going on a treasure…