You already feel stressed, don’t you? That’s a super fun way to begin the holiday season – strung out, sleep-deprived and already feeling behind the eight ball. Stop. It. I’m giving you full permission. For what it’s worth, this isn’t the “be a slacker, it’s okay” Advent post. Nope, I have a wholly different take on Advent and why we’re all doing it wrong. Here goes. We keep watching everyone else to see how we should celebrate the coming of ...

Nearly six years ago, the bottom fell out at our house. It's been documented well here on the blog. But, when Erin reached out and asked if I would talk about it, I was honored. A tiny bit scared to chat about it with her listeners, but ready. Six years ago I could not have put together coherent sentences, much less had any perspective on our 44-day neonatal intensive care unit stay, and beyond. Today, I think I can. It's ...

When our children turn ten, we treat them to a 10-year-old trip. To catch up on the full story with Anna-Laura, read parts one and two. Last time, we loved on some art, some architecture and some Dominican Sisters. Our final day, we had no choice but to go big! We started our day early with a hearty breakfast at the Bongo Room. Anna-Laura feasted on an amazing pineapple-upside down flapjack and I devoured an asiago cheese-mushroom-ham omelet. Dee-licious. It's ...

When our children turn ten, we treat them to a 10-year-old trip. To catch up on the full story with Anna-Laura, read parts one and three. Yesterday we shopped until we dropped, ate chocolate, drank tea, prayed for your intentions and loved on the homeless. I'm not really sure how we could top a day like that, but I think we did. First up, breakfast. We walked the quick three blocks to Stan's Donuts. It was recommended by a good friend who ...

When our children turn ten, we treat them to a 10-year-old trip. To catch up on the full story with Anna-Laura, read parts two and three. The 10-year-old trip is legendary at our house. It's more than a milestone, or counting your age on two full hands. It's an adventure. Because we have six children, uninterrupted one-on-one time with them is precious. We don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, this sharing with other siblings gig, but we do think a ...

When Texas Monthly {a fabulous magazine in the Lone Star} comes calling, you answer. It appears they needed volunteers to help staff their sixth annual BBQ Fest so they hit up our 4-H club here in North Austin. Will and I were happy to assist. The best part? We got to sample the goodness before working our shift. For free. The top 50 BBQ joints in Texas are invited to participate, so it was pretty much like eating the "best ...