The M&M Story

Todd has been in the water since he was four, with summer leagues, winter leagues, high school swim team, even lifeguarding. My boys, on the other hand, prefer playing at the pool in the summer, maybe with a few lessons thrown in the mix. This summer, however, we abandoned our safe little pool play and entered into the world of summer swim team.  Oy. Last spring, Todd accepted a position to be the head coach at a local swim and tennis club , one that his grandparents actually founded. And part of the deal when he decided to do this was that the boys would have to swim on the team for at least one season. We explained to them that many of the swimmers swam year round and all had been on a swim team before. The boys were definitely the newbies. Fine, they said. We'll do it. Early morning practices and lane rope set-ups; 50 free, 50 breast and relays; diving off the block and DQ's---so many new things to learn and new experiences to grow and shape us. All of us. I consider ...

The past few weeks, I've had the absolute pleasure of editing my son's fifth grade recognition video. We were brand new to this school last year, and it hasn't been the easiest year of our lives. Adjustments, navigating through change, making new friends--it can be taxing, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. We've grieved being away from "home" and our community in St. Louis. We've reminded ourselves over and over again of God's calling on our lives, that He wants us here, and we are to be faithful to His calling. Like Isaac. Like Abraham. Like all those before us who stepped out in faith, even when it didn't make sense to anyone except God. Being the new kid myself at the school, I had no idea who was in charge of what, and somehow, because God truly does know our hearts, the whole video landed right in my lap. As I've edited this week, watching baby pictures morph into school pictures and listening to beautiful songs about dreamin...

Dearest B: Your twinkly eyes delight us. Your endless chatter entertains us. Your feisty spirit challenges us. Your artistic hand blesses us. Your compassionate heart encourages us. What a gift you are to us.  We love you like a circle--endless and always.  Mom, Dad, and Max I remember our summers in the sandbox as if they were yesterday.... ....you are growing into a tender warrior.

"Mom, can we play the iPad?" The daily question. "Mom, please don't interrupt me and hear my reasoning. I think we should play the iPad because..." Well, I did teach them to present an argument with at least three reasons. "Mom, I figured out that PhotoStory app and I really want to work on my story, so can I use the iPad?" Ummm...problem-solving, creativity, and story design. "I'm just going to check the weather....." For the 10th time today?? "May I practice my math facts?" Which translates into can-I-practice-for-five-minutes-and-then-play-Minecraft. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mom.  Check your e-mail. We sent you our cards."

Romans. Week One. Blessings and growing pains come in all shapes, forms and convictions. For the month of March, I committed to read the first eight chapters of Romans with a group of women. I only know two of them, and we all live in different parts of the country. We are to read, reflect, absorb the Word and share online. I thought: “Yes! Yes! I need this. With our move, I feel like I’ve traveled to a distant land, left wandering around lost and confused.  This will be good for my soul!” But good intentions is my secret middle name. The first day of March rolled in with sunshine and First Friday adventures at the Bottoms, and my Bible stayed buried under books and papers on the chest next to my bed.  Second day, family adventures to Zona Rosa and a late night of Beyond Balderdash, filled with laughter and ice cream. No reading. No reflecting. No anything. By day four, as I waded my way through a sea of laundry, I admitted I was a total slacker. Instead of diving into the r...

March Madness St. Patrick's Day The Ides of March Boston Massacre Lent Daylight Savings Time Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess! First Walk in Space There are numerous events in history that have been labeled important enough to appear on calendars. We look forward to them, we anticipate them, we even plan months in advance for them. March certainly has its share, filled with basketball games, green beer, and sometimes Easter egg hunts. For me, March has never been an easy month. I often approach it with trepidation, bracing myself for something awful, like having to walk on a bridge of glass or be a middle school student once again. Most of my fear is rooted in loss and grief and sadness. A little more than a decade ago, my father passed away unexpectedly on a chilly afternoon in early March. I still fiercely miss him. My first husband was unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal cancer just weeks after our 10 month old was baptized. I still remember reeling from...

I can't remember where I found this, but then I added, tweaked, rearranged.  And I don't have any pictures, which seems to be an essential in the blog world. Sorry. Todd and I both loved this. M and B, not so much. They prefer Trader Joe's Tomato Soup. Perfect for a chilly evening. Add a side of a creative grilled cheese--try a unique bread, a smoky cheddar or swiss, or maybe basil/tomato/mozzarella combination. Smoky Tomato Basil Soup 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons of basil olive oil (or you can use regular, I just like the accent basil flavor) 2 - 14 oz. cans of Muir Glen Fire Roasted diced tomatoes 1 - 14 oz. can of organic diced tomatoes 2 cups of stock (beef, but you could use chicken or vegetable) 1 tsp of applewood or hickory smoked sea salt 1 tsp of agave 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper splash of liquid smoke 1/4 cup of heavy cream 3 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped or even the frozen cubes from TJ's. shaved parmesan cheese In a saucepan, sa...

1.  Max stayed home sick from school today. 2.  Briggs was jealous. 3.  Max and Briggs argued and fought when Briggs got home from school. 4.  Max and Briggs reconciled. Here is the note I found after the reconciliation: Max, When I hurt you, I still love you. I just over react a little. I am sorry for all the acts. Will you forgive me? Feel better!  Here is a present for you! (a sorry present) Briggs Upon further investigation, I found out that Briggs had presented Max with some polished rocks.  Max immediately forgave Briggs, and then Max shared some of his polished rocks with Briggs. I love the simplicity of boys.

Not long ago, I attended a memorial service for a great man I once knew in college.  His wife, also a dear friend from college, and I had been communicating the last weeks before his passing. One of the things I encouraged her to do was to plan his memorial service as a family. This was something we did with Brian and is one of the sweetest moments I remember from his last days with us on Earth. Surrounded by his closest friends, it was a little bit like: "let's plan a party for you, but we know you won't be there because you'll already be with Jesus." The thing about memorial services is that they are sad. People grieve. Everyone cries. It is the jarring reality that his life is now over and we won't see him again for the rest of earthly journey. Ever. But, it is also a celebration and an opportunity to reflect on the power of the cross. It is a sobering moment to remember we are not in control. We are mortal and fallible and dust. And a sobering moment t...

Food is a big deal in our house. When my peeps were little and I was all on my own, I swore I would not feed them Mac-n-Cheese nor Chicken Nuggets every night. Yes, that was mostly motivated by pride, but still, I wanted them to have as much a normal life with one parent as I could provide. If Brian had been around, we would not be having Mac-n-Cheese nor Chicken Nuggets every night, so I was going to try my best to be more creative.  I mean, sometimes it was insane---trying to keep the peace between two toddlers, while trying to prepare something remotely nutritious, while trying not to make the biggest mess (knowing it was me to do the dishes later), while trying to not be bitter and mad and all about me that I was doing this alone.  Good thing God is in the business of being present in our lives. He was quite helpful on many occasions. All three of us made it through those first years eating broccoli, salad, pasta, frittatas, even lentils. To this day, my heart leaps when I...

This is something different for me. I'm not really sure I've ever written about parenting, but....I had some thoughts and, well, here they are. I have followed and read Howard Gardner's work since the early days of my teaching and parenting career.   Gardner is best known for his research and work with the multiple intelligences , a philosophy of thought that has come into mainstream education, most especially with the explosion of tech tools.   As a parent, I've often reflected on my learned (and practiced) teaching philosophies and attempted to integrate them into the great calling of raising boys. I'm wonderfully blessed with a creative visual-spatial learner and a vibrant verbal-linguistic learner. Yes, we build and chat and build and chat and build and chat. In his book 5 Minds for the Future: Cultivating Thinking Skills , Gardner reflects on our new society: “…We must immediately expand our vision beyond standard educational institutions. In our cultures of...