english blog

 We've been camping with friends...   Humor abounds! (If only you could travel to the Ministry of Magic through the floor by the toilets - pee pee problems would be solved on an international level...sigh...). Joey is especially thrilled by this sticker that Faith found on etsy . It took several false starts, but I finally have a family hooked on Rummikub - do you know this game? I have so many memories of playing it with my grandma and cousins...and then with friends on the beach when I was in grad school...and then with David when we were dating. This is my third summer of pulling it out sheepishly and saying, "Let's try one more time?" and viola - this summer it stuck! And it doesn't look like much, but I'm painting. Those might be two of my favorite words "I'm painting!" Feels great! Wishing you an amazing weekend! xo

       We ate our first strawberry today. And by "we" I mean, "I". And it was delicious! Today is Mother's Day. And it's May. A month when our kids' schedules are crazy - even according to them. I'm feeling spread a little thin and like I'd like my world to be a little smaller. And our family is in the season where our children's worlds are only getting bigger - and that is exactly right. So I am wishing for the blessing of a little balance and giving thanks always for the abundance in our days. Happy May! xo

      Our trip was wayyyyyy too short for how many hours we spent in the car, but we are relaxed and renewed and happy to be home. Mission accomplished! xo

The week before Spring Break, St. Louis had it's four thousandth day like this one (or at least it felt that way).... ...overcast, grey, cold. I asked our big kids to get online and see what the shortest drive would be for us to just touch the ocean. Their answer? The coast of Georgia, or the coast of Louisiana. We have never been to either. Kyle's principal recommended this book: In the first paragraph of the introduction, the author explains how his family has been going to Tybee Island, Georgia for four generations. I got the book for some pointers on chores, honestly, but hmmmm...maybe the first paragraph is what I really needed to read. I started emailing places about last minute bookings for four nights only. Should we do this? I was a bit on the fence, but then my house started sending me signs...  Can't see it? Yes, it's cluttered and that is telling in its own way, but look a little closer... Um...that is what appeared when I suggested to my 13-year-old that he...

Joey is 13. Awesome. I want to tell you about Joey's great grandpa - his name was Arthur Joseph. Joey's name is Joseph Arthur. He is named after his great grandpa, one of my husband's favorite people of his whole life. When we had Joey and told Grandma and Grandpa E. his name, David's grandma commented, "Do you know, David's grandpa is named Arthur Joseph..." as if their shared names were a total coincidence. They were humble, and kind and generous and always put family first. I also think David got his amazing ability to combine tough love and gentleness in his parenting from observing his grandpa. So Joey - my wish for your 13th birthday is that, as you enter your teen years and the whirlwind they may be, you will embrace and seek these wonderful characteristics that inspired your name - humility, kindness, generosity and family. You are enormously loved. And btw, your birthday consisted of eggs benedict for breaky, lots of junk food, and pulled pork wit...