My husband and I lived in an apartment for 7 years before we bought our first home. There were several reasons for waiting, but the most important one was timing. At first, it was just the two of us, but when our first child was born, we realized that there was not much room for
When I was in fifth grade, my parents picked me up early from school because we had received some bad news. My grandmother passed away in India, so we would be traveling there for her funeral. Once there, I remember standing with my cousins under an outdoor tent with waves of heat hitting our face,
This past week, the lights went out in my daughter’s room, and it has not been an easy fix. She has no problem with that, though, because it means she doesn’t have to sleep in her own room, which she is absolutely thrilled about. While her brothers are carted off to their rooms at bedtime,
The evening before the birth of my second child, I went into a “nesting” phase, that time of urgency to clean and organize to prepare for my new baby. I had decided that our bedroom needed a splash of character, so I had bought a few frames and pictures to put up on the wall.
The following is an excerpt from my prayer journal written last month: “Dear God, I have been having stomach pain for the past 3-4 days. Everything I eat is causing me discomfort. So, I’m hungry because I am afraid to eat anything as it will lead to discomfort. I decided to call in sick at work,
Earlier this week, my mom needed a medical procedure performed at a facility, but the water levels were rising in Houston. Hurricane Harvey was leaving devastation in its path. Although her home was dry, the streets were flooded to a point that made travel dangerous. She had no way to get there. The procedure needed to
Words are pretty powerful, aren’t they? When my oldest daughter was three years old, I was struggling with how to address her behavior. One could often hear me saying, “First, the terrible two’s. Now, the terror three’s. I don’t know what to do!!” I had heard about a parenting class and I jumped at the
“Did you hear that they’re having a sale that ends today?” “You’ve got to buy this…you’ll be so happy you invested in it!” “They’re running out of this style…get it right away!” Phrases like these put a fire under our feet, and if we can’t get our hands on the latest and greatest that the store has to offer, we
There is a fire station on my way to work, and while I wait at the long light for the train to pass by, I have the opportunity to watch the morning routine of the firefighters there. In those early morning hours at the station, the ladder of the fire engine slowly rises and the bright,
As the pastor’s daughter, I had the honor to play many roles at our church. Before the congregation would trickle in, our family would set up the pews with the appropriate books, choose the songs for worship, and get the projector ready for Sunday School. At about 9:45 am, I would sit at the piano
A Team Huddle
The photo you see wasn’t planned or staged. In fact, my husband’s parents didn’t realize I was even taking a picture. They were staying with us the week of Thanksgiving, and when I walked out
