Family Musings

I never thought I'd need to talk to my 6 year old about suicide. But on the bus ride home this afternoon, some of the older students told her about a classmate of theirs who is believe to have committed suicide this morning. So, because I'm not afraid to tell my children the truth about life, we talked about what she heard. I didn't try to distract her from the story, leaving her with unanswered question. Instead, I used the opportunity to talk to her about broken hearts. A while ago, after the Sandy Hook school shooting, she wanted to know why someone would want to hurt other people and then kill themselves. At that time, I told her about broken hearts and that when you combine a broken heart with a "broken brain" (my overly simplified phrase for mental illness), it leads some people to do bad things, things that hurt others. Today, I used those same words to describe what happened to Rebecca (I'm not saying she was mentally ill, but if she did commit

The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!  Proverbs 20:7 In honor of this special day for Dad's everywhere, I repeated my Father's Day Interview with Charlotte & Mary. What is something Daddy always says to you?  - "I love you." What makes Daddy happy? -  "Giving him hugs and kisses" What makes Daddy sad? -  "When I disobey him" How does Daddy make you laugh? -  "By telling me really funny jokes" What was Daddy like as a child? - " I don't know because I never saw a picture of him." How old is Daddy? -  "How old are you Mommy?" "I'm 35." "Then's Daddy's 35." How tall is Daddy? -  "Really, really, really, really tall. But not as tall as a giant." What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? -  "Play with me and work." What does Daddy do when you're not around? -  "Go to work. Work at home." Wh

Apparently, I  have a thing for taking pictures of Mary sleeping! These are all from just this year!

In 1832, James and Amelia Taylor prayed, “Dear God, if you should give us a son, grant that he may work for you in China.” With that simple prayer, the story of Hudson Taylor began. And although his parents did not tell Hudson about that prayer until decades later, God put China into Hudson’s heart and gave Hudson the faith to believe that God answers prayer. Hudson Taylor was raised in a Christian home, but faith was a struggle for many years. Hudson wanted to be a Christian ; he tried to be a Christian. Time and again, however, he felt he failed in Christianity. He failed so much he eventually gave up, believing he was simply incapable of faith. Then, one day, Hudson found himself so bored he decided to read a gospel tract he found lying around. He knew it would contain a short story, which would help him pass the time, and he planned to ignore the spiritual aspects. But, when he read Jesus’ words, “It is finished,” said on the cross, Hudson paused and pondered. He later wr

Banner courtesy of  Dearie Designs I'm not much of a party person. I'm awful at planning menus and creating awesome decorations. Just ask the last friend who was on the receiving end of my baby shower planning. She was a good sport about it, but really, she deserved better. Now, I have a chance to redeem myself. But without the need for cute Pinterest inspired decorations and gourmet food. Which is totally my style! Photo Courtesy of Emily Rose Portraits My friends, Craig and Karissa, are in the process of adding two children to their family through adoption. In fact, they just found out today that they finally have a date to go and pick up the two little boys who have been in their hearts for nearly a year. You can catch up with their adoption journey at this link from Karissa's blog, The Acting Mom . Photo Courtesy of  Emily Rose Portraits Since it is an international adoption of two boys who are not newborns, the traditional baby shower is not really an o

I'm afraid that, if I don't tell someone what my plan is for today that it might not happen. So, random Family Musings readers, here's my list of 6 things I need to accomplish today: 1) Clean out refrigerator/freezer 2) Re-organize pantry 3) Create menu plan/grocery list for the week 4) Update coupon filing system 5) Find a local, reliable pest control company 6) Go grocery shopping This is not an unreasonable to do list at all, but I've got a cold and am experiencing third trimester exhaustion. No amount of sleep seems to be enough these days.