Family

Mom’s Prayer

Today I visited a friend who has cancer and his wife. When I got back home, my mom and I questioned if it is harder for the one who is ill, or for the other who watches their loved one go through an illness. The latter can feel like there is nothing they can do […]

Love Sisters

My mom’s sister lives very far away. With the difficulty they have hearing combined with the time change from here to there, it is always a challenge for them to talk on the phone. But, the other day my aunt sent some photos of her and her first great-grandchild, so my mom was determined to […]

Most of the Family

This Father’s Day, we had quite a group of family at the house to celebrate – both my sisters, my brother, my son, and my nephew. My other brother who lives in another state was the only sibling missing, but he sent chocolates and goodies and had a long Facetime with my dad. It was […]

Extreme Laughter

Today was my nephew’s birthday. He, my sister, and my son came over for dinner. We laughed so hard that I felt I had done hundreds of sit-ups. The best part was that we laughed about nothing – and everything. It felt great. I Found God today in extreme laughter.

Grandma Grandson Duet

My dad was not home tonight and I had a prayer group to attend, so my son came over to be with my mom, or “grandma sit”. My mom babysat for him when he was a toddler and even brought him to his first music lessons at that age. My son continued to pursue music […]

Music Soothes the Soul

My brother’s dog is terrified of thunder. Unfortunately, we have been getting thunderstorms every afternoon recently. Today she came down in my room with me and shivered as I tried to soothe her. I put on some relaxing classical music which seemed to help. After a while, my brother tried to get her to take […]

Good Friendships

My son was on a trip the past week and was the best man at his friend’s wedding. He and the groom met online as they were choosing roommates for their first year in college. They quickly became good friends and ended up rooming together for the full 5 years of their college career. I […]

Appreciating Help

My dad spent several days at the cabin with my brother. They worked on and completed several projects. On the way home today, my dad talked about how much he loved being there. He felt good physically. He got a lot done. He especially enjoyed being with and having the help of my brother. I […]

In the Common

My mom, dad, brother, and I were relaxing at the cabin tonight talking about how we found God. Of course, by just being at the cabin surrounded by nature it is easy to see and feel God’s presence. As we reflected on our busy day, we discussed how we did a lot of cleaning. Everyone […]

Mothers’ Wisdom

Today my mom got out her “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book. The first entry she read was from St. Teresa of Calcutta. It read in part, “… Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” I said she was a very smart woman. […]