My daughter’s letter to Santa. A little fuzzy, I know, but appropriate since I’m feeling a little fuzzy at the moment myself. The fairy charms and jewels and the Guess Who? game are...
It was Harry Sparks who first told me the love between a father and mother was like a misshaped tree, and therefore different and better than all other love. Boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and...
One morning I spied my son sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, his toes easily touching the floor. I stopped and stared. Something about his posture and those long, lean legs …...
“THERE! THERE IT IS! I SEE IT I SEE IT!” ...
When we explore the topic of family here at High Calling Blogs—the work of family—we don’t want to limit the discussion to parenting. “Family” includes brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles,...
In the fellowship of parenting, we often sit in the family room, literal or virtual, laughing and swapping stories. We discuss bedtime routines and college savings plans. We share laundry advice...
Parenting is a balancing act, is it not? And it's a hard balancing act. It's not like walking a wire where you have to keep from falling to the right or to the...
One day when my kids were much younger, I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see one of my daughters sucking in her cheeks. ...
As I mentioned in a previous post, our eight-year-old son’s gift list has remained short. ...
Let's call them moments of grace - moments of unexpected blessing. We've all had them. Your car runs out of gas just as you pull into the station. You leave your wallet behind...
The most recent of my daughter’s many career incarnations is an astronaut, courtesy of a thirty-second newscast of the most recent space shuttle launch that somehow made it onto our DVR. I would...
That Christmas should be a time of joy and peace is a given. That it’s often instead a time of stress and disagreement is also a given. No matter how much we try...
My five-year-old, Rowan, and I had enjoyed a full day together: a morning at the zoo, followed by a picnic in the park and a stop at Target, where I'd picked up two...
At five, my son is quickly learning the ways of the world when it comes to dealing with others. It’s a necessary skill. Maybe the most necessary. ...
Almost every parent can tell stories about the things they have learned from their children. Sure, kids are messy and loud and try our patience. But children also clearly have the gift of innocent...
Jennifer Dukes Lee has written a piece about her daughter helping her to see the world in new ways. Having three children, I would say that is one of the greatest joys children...
My oldest daughter turned 20 this week. If parenting were military service, I could retire with full benefits right now. But as you know, there isn't retirement from parenting. Your role gets...
There is an old song we used to sing in church - "Count Your Blessings." I used to think it was a bit sugary and sweet. In real life, telling someone to count...
Frankie kept talking but still refused to look at me, making his words seem more a soliloquy—a prayer, even—than a conversation. ...
Last week Rowan went for his pre-kindergarten check-up at the pediatrician. After he undressed and snapped himself into the soft, tiger-paw-print gown and been weighed and measured, the nurse...
