Starting off 2016 with a birthday letter. Hooray! John Paul, this one's for you. Dear John Paul, Your last year before the teenage era hits. That just doesn't seem possible. But, I'm so grateful we've made it this far with only 9 ER visits. This year, I've seen a little teenage swagger appear. You're getting a little taller - although, not as tall as you'd like, a little sassier, a little funnier and a whole lot faster. You had another ...

Honesty has been hard won in our house. I have perfected the specialist visit banter. "Oh this isn't our first rodeo," I've quipped more than once, always with a polite smile and a nod from the medical assistant. The medical lingo? I speak it. I have casually walked into the hardest of visits, sharply inhaling, so I don't completely lose it. It's how moms of preemies and special needs kids roll. We know the drill. Ask all the questions, even ...

#shiplap If you don't know what that is, then you haven't been watching HGTV lately. I'll admit, I just watched my first episode of Fixer Upper about 6 weeks ago. I'd heard about Chip and Joanna long before then, but when you don't have cable, you rely on Netflix. HA! Since then, there may have been some binge watching. We heard Magnolia Market, excuse me, THE Magnolia Market, recently opened in Waco and since we had the day off of school, ...

Last weekend I went off the grid and journeyed up to Brownwood to the Texas 4-H Center with some boys from our county, including my oldest. It's true, the only extended cell phone coverage I could get was exactly four feet behind dorm 3B and it didn't come back online until an hour away from home. Living the life! About 25 {cough} years ago, I used to be on program staff at the Texas 4-H Center. Maybe I'll dig out ...

We've all read the well-meaning posts about motherhood. How we should cherish the moments. Lean into the tantrums. Focus on the years, because they're short. Drink more coffee. Do more yoga. Take more photos. This is not that post. Nearly 15 years ago, I became a mom for the first time. Fast forward and now I have six kids. Am I an expert? Hardly. I do, however, know how to nurse a baby, scold a preschooler, set up a stomp rocket ...

Have you heard? It's the "Jubilee Year of Mercy," declared by Pope Francis to encourage us all to extend mercy to those around us. Or, better said by St. Luke: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. - Lk 6:36 But can I be honest? I hate admitting when I'm wrong. And, even more, I find it extraordinarily hard to forgive someone when they don't readily see the error of his or her ways. I know, super charitable and Christian ...