I love to sing. I love music. I love families. As I pondered this month’s tenet of valuing families, a memorable song from the era when we were raising our children popped into my head on instant replay: What Does it Take to Make a Family? Each verse describes attributes of families and concludes with…
One of the great joys of motherhood is watching these tiny humans you helped to come into the world learn and grow and explore and develop their interests, hobbies, and talents. Something that has been a great love for my sons is Lego building blocks. When they were small, they played with Lego Quatro and…
Donning an apron and hosting a dinner for family and friends is no easy event. It takes careful and timely planning so that each dish is ready on time – warm and inviting to each person waiting. On one such occasion, I had just put the finishing touches on the meal. As I stood stirring…
My daughter’s first birthday is approaching and as every mother may know, this is cause for natural reflection. And oh, how I have been reflecting on my beautiful baby girl. The plot of earth that is now my garden was once a travesty, the product of years of distraction, disinterest, and neglect. The previous home…
A house with children is never quiet, I think. Even in brief moments of stillness, of sleep, the momentary lull when busy bodies and mouths are kept quiet by the tasks of mealtimes or bedtimes, when the only sounds are the quiet rasp of lungs taking air in and then letting it out, forks scraping…
We can learn a lot about families by observing how one car owner has learned to care for his car and what he learned from his father about caring for a family. Our car owner is named Ben. Ben knew the importance of a finely tuned car. His father, a master mechanic, had taught him…
Kaylee grew up in St. George, Utah, USA and is the second oldest of seven children. She lived in a tight-knit community where the children played night games together regularly and families supported each other. Kaylee has also lived elsewhere in Utah, California, Brazil, and North Carolina. In this season of her life, Kaylee is…
The cookbook is old, the spine broken in places, pages faded and stained, dotted with water from being left too close to sinks and glasses, smudged with the remnants of flour and egg and flecks of batter from enthusiastic beaters, corners crinkled and folded to mark recipes that have been made over and over again,…
This month’s tenet focuses on the irreplaceable role of fathers as well as building interdependent relationships with the men in our lives. I am touched not only by the gift of physical life made possible by my biological father, but his hard work to provide a living for our family. He and many others gave…
Last month we had a “sick day” at our house, and I snuggled on the couch with my son (and his pile of more than a dozen pillows) to watch the Disney movie Encanto. We had already watched that movie about as many times as there were pillows on the couch, but the great thing…