hospitality principles and tips, by an amateur

Admittedly, I’m no expert on hospitality.  But, even being the novice that I am, I’ve gleaned some insights over the years that may be helpful for some.
Plus, if hospitality is something you’ve neglected, the holiday season is a great time to dive in and make practicing hospitality a regular occurrence in every season.
And, if nothing [...]

pregnancy after miscarriage

It’s not an easy topic for me.
But it is what I’m living with day after day.  And in my naivete I thought it would be easier.
Not that being pregnant now isn’t a blessing.  Not that it isn’t exciting and wonderful and anticipatory.  It is.  And I thank God for it.
But it’s also scarier.  Like the [...]

What kind of evangelical are you? Or, what do you do for Halloween?

Russel D. Moore provides these funny (and accurate) definitions of the many types of evangelical:
“If John Mark is right that an evangelical is “a fundamentalist who watches The Office,” then I’m written out of the definition since I’ve never seen the show. But, still, I think he’s on to something. Here’s an alternative try.
An evangelical [...]

a great vacation and lots of pics

We recently vacationed for three nights and four days up at MN’s beautiful North Shore!  We stayed in Lutsen and had the best time!  (Doing my best not to sound like a travel brochure and failing miserably..)
Our first stop on the four hour drive North was in Duluth at the Amazing Grace Cafe.  It was [...]

a provocative reality for parents

Apart from their own sin nature, it’s almost certain that I will be the single biggest influence of sin in my children’s lives.
What do you think?  Do you own that?
Here’s why I own that and continue parenting with boldness(instead of throwing in the towel in hopelessness): Christ and His work on the Cross makes all [...]

want something good for free?

Then go visit our friend at The Responsible Father.  (Same guy who hosts The Responsible Puppet in my blogroll).
He’s giving away 5 Fighter Verse Song CD’s.  I’ve recommended them before as a great tool to memorize Scripture and enjoy doing it!
What I may not have mentioned is that my husband Tom has worked closely with [...]

note to self: be a drop-out.

I sporadically participate in a competitive world of comparisons.
Note to self: drop out.
This is a plague for moms of every stripe.  Especially young moms with young kids (I think anyway, but who knows maybe it infects the moms with older kids too).
It’s as simple as seeing another child do well at something and, instead of [...]

miscarriage and memorials

I think a lot of miscarriages happen with little said or done.
Many women miscarry before they’ve had the chance to tell family and friends that they’re pregnant.  And so, after the loss of their little ones, they soldier on.  The baby is remembered mainly in the heart of a grieving mother.
For me, it’s helpful to [...]

taking on the terrific 2’s!

Elianna turned two on Friday.
We are so thankful for her life!  And to commemorate the event, here’s a little reminder of her life this past year.
The top ten things of Elianna’s year as a 1-year-old (from her mother’s perspective):
1) You speak!  In sentences, even!  (Sometimes anyway..)  Your vocabulary is exploding and I only wish we [...]

a pox on your house

A pox on our house, really.
Eliza has the chicken pox.  And yes, she had the vaccines, which is making this a very mild case (as opposed to the sometimes life-threatening cases that children used to be faced with).
So I’m thankful for the vaccine and hoping the other kids avoid it altogether.
I thought about posting pictures [...]