I’m sitting on the couch, snuggling Evan Joy this morning. Fitting, since it’s National Preemie Day.
She’ll be FIVE years old in just two months… and the pajamas she has on are size 24 months. (Thankfully, they are snug!) A couple of her younger siblings have passed her up, weight-wise. And, while state law says [...]

Hunting season is fast approaching, which means I’ll be a “hunting widow” for most of the season. My three oldest boys will take turns going with Daddy, too, so things will be quieter around here.
Ferris was asking me the other day to buy her “some bwacelips.” I’d been thinking the girls I needed a hobby [...]

Evan just ran into the kitchen and tattled, “Mommy, Ferris colored on her fingernails and toenails red with a marker!!”
I sighed and said, “Go tell her to come here.”
She scurried off to find her sister while Nate & I chuckled at our daughter’s latest rite of passage. We then heard Evan loudly say, “Ferris, Mom [...]

My girl Evan is special… in almost every sense of the word!
We recently had VBS at church, so she’s been thinking a lot more about heaven, hell, Jesus, sin, etc. That’s a good thing, right? She’s 4.
For an illustration of her “specialness,” read the following conversation I had with her a few days ago:
Evan: [...]

It’s hard to believe Ian is already three months old… Or that Sweet Baby Gray turned 2 yesterday! OR that Nate is celebrating his 9th Father’s Day today. Wow.
Much has been happening with our very busy family. Here’s a photo update for you:
You may remember that we bought a used shuttle bus in January… [...]

Over the past several months, we’ve been giving the “older boys” the responsibility of unbuckling the car seats of one of the younger three children each when we arrive somewhere and are parked.
Sometimes they need reminded: “Unbuckle a sibling!”
They do, and we all pile out of the bus like clowns in a VW bug.
Saturday, we [...]

My peanut-sized preemie Evan is almost four! It’s hard to believe.
She had her first dentist appointment today and did great… she even came home wearing a plastic tiara. Next week, she’s going with me to get an official (not-from-mom) big girl hair cut.
Yet, she’s still maturing. I just heard her say to Ferris and [...]

Today my little girls are flitting around the house in their “princess dresses” (which are really just fancy party dresses my Mom bought them at Goodwill.)
Evan just told me they had to hurry to get to their princess party in time. Didn’t want to miss their princes.
So, I’m faced with an ethical dilemma. Should I [...]

I was giving my girls a bath this morning, when Evan asked the following question:
“What if all the bad guys ate poison apples?”
She genuinely wanted to know. I’m pretty sure she lives in a Fairy Tale land, but I digress.
What if they served poison apples to those serving life sentences in jail? Or to at [...]

Evan is often my earliest riser. Even after the excitement of VBS last night, she was still up right at 7 a.m.
I heard her up, so I got up to snuggle — my favorite early morning activity. She was sitting sweetly on the couch. When she saw me, she smiled and said, “You can sit [...]