For years, Patrick has been talking about his pipe dream to open a coffee shop. I fully agreed it sounded like a blast but never saw it coming to fruition until retirement…at least. Almost 4 years ago, we met a family that’s as crazy as we are. When they heard about our coffee shop dreams,...
At the beginning of last year, we started our cycle with a couple weeks of medieval history. Mia is such a great kid to have around for so many reasons–one of which is her enthusiasm for learning and doing whatever project I throw down the pike with a smile. She designed and decorated this castle...
It’s been a while since I just wrote about life. Things have been crazier than usual. Was that even possible? Well, enjoy some Easter photos while I update. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on with our non-profit. Patrick and I were in Chicago last weekend attending the largest orphan care gathering in...
As it turns out, Mercy Cards are an effective solution for stopping a cycle of craziness. We found we could be consistent with them for about 2 weeks. The good news? Once we had forgotten about them, they kids had also broken the habit of being so darn critical of each other. I’m sure this...
Meet our newest family members. I think they’ve been affectionately renamed Abraham and Lincoln. Click Here!
Back in October, I was able to get away on a weekend silent retreat. If you know me in real life, you know how desperate I must have been to get away to volunteer to not talk for 2 days. To be honest, when our church started coordinating these years ago, I could see the...
It’s amazing what you find when you have a couple hours to sit down and catch up on unedited photos. I came across this from Kayla’s birthday back in January. She had been bugging me for a photo book of her own. It’s hard on our older kids that they don’t have baby books...
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. ~Micah 7:18 As I’m sure most families with children experience, our children often have short memories when it comes to acknowledging the mercy given to them. It’s most...