Soul Carving

When we first moved into this home, I knew I wanted to update the toy kitchen for our kids. Our family was growing and I was excited to have more space available. So for Christmas that year, I was delighted to score a sturdy wooden set, including a stovetop and oven along with a fridge. I liked that they were painted a bold red and green respectively -- nothing considered too girly for boys to play with. I also loved that they don’t sport any brand name logos or characters. They look “real”. A few Christmases later, we added new dishes (from the local secondhand store, of course), and we spruced up an old wooden table with spray paint to go along with the oven and fridge.  Just recently, I realized our silverware collection had dwindled, so I surprised the kids with a new, realistic looking set. But I lamented that the kids had no drawers to store them in. It seemed odd to put them in the cupboard next to the oven, and keeping them in the refrigerator was out of the question! ...

How to Live  through a pandemic With the closure of many schools and workplaces, I see a lot of posts about the difficulty of being with our kids and family more than usual lately. I totally get it (I'm a homeschooling mom of eight -- believe me, I get it!). So what I say is not meant to shame anyone or heap more guilt upon weary souls. But I want to state very clearly my beliefs on this matter -- even if I have trouble practicing what I preach at times.  When our patience is wearing thin and we find ourselves pining for a return to normalcy, remember this: God gave you these children. He didn't give them to the school teacher, or the district administrator, the childcare expert, or the pediatrician. They are your divine charge for "wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord." (1 Ne. 19:3). So instead of fretting over our supposed inadequacies, or complaining about the sacrifices involved, why not turn to the Lord to learn a bit more...

       Days pass too quickly with a newborn in the house. Baby is already 2 months old, and Richard's first father's day as Daddy to 8 munchkins has come and gone.         I knew I'd need to keep things simple for our traditional father's day photo shoot. I didn't even end up adding any clever catchphrase to the finished print this time. Featuring so many little faces didn't leave much room for a punny slogan.         I thought I was being efficient when I decided we'd take the pictures outside at a park during our regular outing to the library. We wouldn't be making an extra trip because we already had books due, plus, we'd be able to do it without Richard seeing -- something harder to do now that he works more often from home.         But that morning with laundry to fold, a kitchen to clean up, and text messages about potential scheduling conflicts flying back and forth, I was begi...

       I fall more in love with my husband each time I witness his loving interactions with our children. Seeing his obvious interest in and affection for them deepens my trust in his love and devotion towards me. It's truly a miraculous and beautiful thing to behold. While it may appear tragically rare in today's world, fatherly love is an inspiring source of strength, comfort and wisdom. My husband's selfless motives, his energetic patience with, and tender consideration for his children, really blow me away. I can't get over it. And I thank my Heavenly Father for it, as it serves as a heartening example of what Divine fatherly love looks like.        Every year for Father's day, the kids and I find a creative way to express our appreciation for this fabulous guy, through our traditional father's day photo-shoot. Remember my first attempt? Then there was the Superhero collage and the Sports-Star themed session . As I pondered what theme to us...

"She had seen their birth and the birth of her love for them as miraculous, but it was just as miraculous when they first smiled, first sat up, first babbled a sound that resembled, of course, mama. The tedious days were filled with miracles. When a baby first looks at you; when it gets excited about seeing a ray of light and like a dog pawing a gleam, tries to capture it with his hand; or when it laughs that deep, unselfconscious gurgle; or when it cries and you pick it up and it clings sobbing to you, saved from some terrible shadow moving across the room, or a loud clang in the street, or perhaps, already, a bad dream: then you are -- happy is not the precise word -- filled." Marilyn French The Women's Room         How can something so precious be so achingly fleeting? I could hold this child forever and it would not be long enough. Each new baby seems to grow faster than the last. Each child seems in such a hurry to catch up to...