If you’re a mom of teens (and they don’t need to be girls, by the way) READ ON, because I need your help in surviving the next two weeks, and if you don’t help me I’m gonna crack. “What’s in it for me?” you may well demand. Prayers. Devotion. A large Campfire Mocha at the local Caribou. First, a preemptive paragraph about my insane ambitions. On May 1st, my morning prayer was most consoling and my writer’s heart, overflowing with love. I sat down at the computer and cracked my literary knuckles in anticipation. “Because it’s the first of May and I LOVE May, I am hoping to do a post/day every ..read more

“Sharpening the Saw” is Stephen Covey’s 7th Habit. You can see ALL of his Habits of Highly Effective People HERE.   So here’s the hard question: How do I go from feeling low low down (as in: last night I hit a wall) to feeling like Yes! I got this?! In a word, my weekly holy hour. (Okay so math is NOT my strong suit.)   Take a moment, please, to look–REALLY look–at the illustration above. Isn’t it lovely? My 8th grade daughter drew that! (And for reasons completely unbeknownst to this mama, she told me she does not like it.) I was moved when I saw this picture for the first tim ..read more

Taco Soup! Because we have an absurdly busy Saturday ahead of us and because tomorrow is an extra-fun holiday and because the sun is shining for the first time in what seems like a month of Saturdays… I have resurrected this recipe (Easter pun intended) from my cooking blog and am posting it here for your (equally busy?) consideration. Taco Soup Serves many, but feel free to double (or triple!) the quantities   Ingredients 1 ½ lbs. Ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained 1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained 1 can (15 oz) whole-kernel corn, undrained (See ..read more

Has it REALLY been ten years since this picture? Yes, yes it has. I’m going to cry. The little gal in the photo above? She will be graduating in one short month… Which one’s my girl? YOU tell ME? (Photo taken at last night’s choir concert–the LAST one for these high school seniors)   …and suddenly we’ve entered the season of “lasts.” The last choir concert, the last high school play, the last time Mom sneaks into her room to steal I mean, borrow a cute pair of earrings… How did she get here? How did I? Grace, more grace and processed food as necessary. This is a theme that I’d l ..read more

NOTHING! They have nothing in common apart from a delightful D-themed alliteration. Oh, and teeth. Let’s not forget that sugar and dental work go hand-in-hand–hand-in-hand…drills and fillings–but it’s not like my six-year-old cared a whit when it came to losing that top front tooth. It had been hanging from a thread, that tooth, and oh how I ached to wrench it out! Full Disclosure: I am a pimple-popping, tooth-extracting type of mom. My children run screaming from the room when I come near (not really) so I’ve needed to temper these less-than-savory aspects of my personality in order to serve ..read more

Because it’s the first of May and I LOVE May, I am hoping to do a post/day every day, with special emphasis on the action of God’s grace in our lives. For the record and in full disclosure, I will be highlighting some previously published entries from this blog….although there’s no telling where the wind will take me! As in, I plan to add brand new content too.    I can tell that it’s First Communion time because lots of people are coming to my blog via an Internet search for: First Communion Novenas; A Letter to My Daughter on her First Communion Day; and Common Loons in Minnes ..read more

Many, many years ago, as I was passing through the kitchen on the way to the coffee pot,  an orange Nerf gun bullet whizzed past my head. Spinning around, I spied my then 9-year-old crouched behind the counter. “Shoot!” he grinned. “I missed the little French woman.” That boy is now a 21-year-old man and–would you believe?–that story was one of the very first posts I shared on this blog, a mere 12 & 1/2 years ago. Still taking pictures of our food after all these years I’m still raising sons that love their nerf guns. I’m still a little French woman shuffling through on her way ..read more

(Use discount code radio25 when ordering.) When asked to review the newly (re)published Around the Year with the von Trapp Family, I didn’t hesitate. Knowing Maria von Trapp (of Sound of Music fame), I knew the book would be beautifully written and full of vintage truths… …and knowing Sophia Institute Press, I knew that the book itself would be beautiful.   –>YOU CAN PREVIEW IT YOURSELF BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.   Around the Year is a smallish-sized but heavy volume. It is a delightful read, full-to-bursting with songs, stories and recipes. The illustrations, too, are lovely.&nbs ..read more

I fear I got a bit carried away last Friday. I was so happy to be blogging again that I lost track of the original intention—which was, a post on Advent preparation—and veered madly down the path of family updates. Forgive me. Part I was an appetizer—my begin-again at blogging after a 3-month hiatus. Part II, please God, is the meat and potatoes—or (if you’re following a low-carb diet) the meat and cauliflower, which is also good.  * * * Advent 2018. How is this year going to be any different? I began my preparations last Sunday by reading three online reflections. First, I read Haley St ..read more

Part I Note (aka Warning) to Reader: I’ve been away awhile and am feeling wordy.   I don’t know about you, but when it comes to setting sail on the sea of life, my little boat bounces around a LOT. I’m 52; you’d think I’d have things figured out! Still. I think I’m getting there. Do you want to know my secret for calming down the storms at sea? It has to do with that scary guy walking across the water. Wait, what?! Who are you? Leave me alone! I’m fine! And then, glub glub glub….your little boat starts to fill with water. Don’t be afraid. Reach out your hand. Let him in. Eating late on T ..read more