selective hearing

We frequently have people tell us, “We can certainly tell that Amy has older siblings.” Doug hears: “Amy is so bright.” I hear: “Amy has a teenager’s mouth.”

family traditions – thanking the trash collectors

The trash day closest to Christmas, we always put a six pack of soda in plastic containers on top of the can with a bow. It’s not much, but I don’t think they would feel comfortable with the much preferred baked goods. Trash collection is thankless, very important and not at all economically lucrative. Not […]

Sarah’s letter to Santa

Alright Stephen Colbert , you have got some ‘splaining to do. The Jeep that hasn’t moved in several years is very unlikely to be functioning by this summer. Other than that, I think Santa will get some of the things Sarah has asked for this Christmas.

family traditions – stockings

In our family, the adult children (my two brothers and I) give our parents stockings every Christmas morning. Every year when we were children, my brothers and I would bounce out of bed and open our stockings to pass the time while waiting for other relatives to arrive. One year when my brother and I […]

Amy’s letter to Santa

The love for Santa and the desire for a Barbie whose shoes will immediately disappear seems normal for a 6-year old. The rest of the letter confuses me. The ride from Santa and the bell can be lumped together and blamed on The Polar Express. Before this letter, The Polar Express was just a Christmas […]

Wall-E tree

Sarah’s free Wall-E tree came in the mail and she was thrilled. She wanted to immediately plant the tree in a temporary planter to help it last through the winter. Instead of waiting for me to find some potting soil, she went outside and dug up a shovel full of our front yard. I didn’t […]

from a distance

Neighbor: “Your tree looks wonderful.” Me: “But, it’s covered in popsicle stick ornaments.” Neighbor: “We’re looking at it from across the street. All we see is a beautiful tree.” Distance . . . time . . . beauty.

it takes a licking and keeps on ringing

Nothing in our household is safe from the Tazmanian 3-y-o. Yesterday, Doug put a cookie sheet in the 400 degree oven and only noticed the cell phone sitting on the pan AFTER it was cooking in the oven. The pan was quickly retrieved from the oven. So quickly that the cell phone went flying off […]