August 2005
August 31, 2005
No Frills Q&A #1
I'm getting so much mail, it occurred to me that it might be useful for others to read some of the questions and my off-the-cuff responses. These are no frills, brief and to the point. But they may be good for a quick pick-me-up. Let me know what you think....9:43 PM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Helping Kids Make Sense of Katrina
Some are likening Hurricane Katrina to last year’s tsunami. I agree. I have this horrible feeling it’s going to be so much worse than we can even imagine today. And does anyone else experience that hideous weight of going about your normal daily life - doing laundry, making peanut butter...6:23 PM in Post-Katrina | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
New to this site? Welcome!
The radio interview I did yesterday with anita Lustrea (terrific interviewer!) on Moody's Midday Connection brought a thousand visitors to this site. (You can hear the interview here.) If this is your first introduction to the world of blogs, let me make you feel right at home. For those new...9:32 AM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 30, 2005
A blog about Maddy
Last night Madeleine mentioned that she and Jonny were Irish twins. I've never used that expression, though I'm guessing it means two kids very close together. It sounded funny coming from a 12-year old! For a lot of reasons - because Jonny had Down syndrome and poor muscle tone, because...6:57 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Security in routines
“Routine is to a child what walls are to a house; it gives boundaries and dimension to his life,” wrote child psychiatrist Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs a few generations ago in the recently-reissued Children: the Challenge. Even as other parenting trends have come and gone, experts have consistently agreed that children...2:44 PM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Welcome Midday Connection listeners
Well, my goodness -- I just did a radio interview - live - with Anita Lustrea on The Mommy Manual, and all of a sudden there are so many moms on my website!! Thanks - and welcome - and I hope you find a lot of helpful information, encouragement and...2:05 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Jonny and "Your Song"
From the Jonny Archives, 2003: And the song I'd always loved that suddenly fit perfectly into my life - when I thought of how Jonny changed it: YOUR SONG by Elton John/Bernie Taupin It's a little bit funny this feeling inside I'm not one of those who can easily hide...9:37 AM in Disabilities | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Entertaining Angels
Brian's comment reminded me how much the world changed for me thirteen years ago when Tripp and I had our eighth child, Jonny. When I saw Jonny's almond-shaped eyes, I knew life would never be the same - but somehow indescribably, immeasurably better. On the other side of the looking...9:27 AM in Disabilities | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
On Growing Kids the Ezzo Way
In 1995, I had just signed a contract for my first book on raising children when the church we were attending began offering Growing Kids God's Way training. With nine kids of my own and my writing, I was considered to be somewhat an authority (you have to understand that...8:47 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack
August 28, 2005
The more things change
You know those marriage tests where you score a certain amount of points if you move, have a baby, lose a parent, become unemployed, and so on? Theoretically, if you accumulate above a certain number of points, you're probably on the brink of divorce. Or suicide. Tripp and I have...10:17 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 27, 2005
Guest Blogger - Judy Squier
So many of you asked to hear more from Judy Squier. Here is her story "Wedding Memories and Lessons Learned." I never expected to get married. Growing up with a disability meant I was excluded from most of life's givens. I was born with multiple deformities secondary to proximo-femoral-focal-deficiency. My...9:47 PM in | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 20, 2005
Oh, yeah?
Spotted on a Girl Scout Leader's bag: "It takes a great leader to teach a girl not to follow." Wow. I don't think I'll be turning over my girls to them anytime soon! Don't get me wrong - I think critical thinking skills are important - no child should leave...11:09 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Shopping in Manhattan
As someone who lives out in what is affectionately known as "the boonies" - though we are still only an hour from D.C. - I was fascinated by the difference between the sprawling spaces where I live and the tight squeeze of downtown Manhattan. I'm thinking you might be amused...12:41 AM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 19, 2005
Our trip to New York
Here’s the long-awaited account of Tripp’s and my trip to New York. It’s long. You might want to get a cup of coffee. . . . First let me say that New York is absolutely fantastic - a great place to take a vacation and so much warmer, richer and...6:32 PM in Marriage | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 18, 2005
Mr. Potato Head
Daniel and Jesse and Justin love Mr. Potato Head. Sophia and I were on hand to admire their efforts last night when it occurred to me that lots of people nowadays (man, I sound old!) would be very surprised to know that when I was a little girl, the Mr....2:36 PM in | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
Coloring books - Yippee!
In my counterculture days I was dead set against coloring books, thinking they would stifle a child's creativity. Hmmm. Get it? Someone who didn't want to conform would certainly not want her child to learn to stay inside the lines :) Anyway, as a Montessori teacher, I learned that one...2:40 PM in | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 14, 2005
For Stay-at-Home Moms
I am really behind on my links - afraid I've forgotten how to add them :) But readers who are Stay-at-Home-Moms will enjoy this site: Choosing Home....8:39 AM in Family | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
For mothers of boys
Found this this morning and loved it - Raising Men by Amanda at Wittingshire, a blog with an indescribably serene charm and a lot of wisdom....7:58 AM in | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 12, 2005
Movies from the heart
Just in case you're on your way to the video store or library - it's Friday after all - here are some great movies with Christian themes every family with kids over 10 can learn from (I wrote these reviews for a magazine, so they aren't quite blogging style): Places...5:46 PM in Movies | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
Sleep Sound in Jesus
My days have been very crowded with kids' activities and still catching up from being gone twice last month. I'm ordering books for Maddy - so excited about homeschooling again this year - and selling stuff on ebay and doing radio interviews for my last two books. But as we...10:49 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 9, 2005
Amazon reviews
Do you know you can find reviews of books and products at amazon.com? Whenever I am buying a small appliance - like a coffee maker or toaster - I research the reviews before choosing a brand. I often read the book reviews too before buying books. It's a good way...11:43 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 8, 2005
Psst! Get out your hankie!
Today, Doxology posted this incredible link with an HT to me for posting it a while back. It's about the most incredible prolife statement I've ever seen - whether General Electric intended it that way or not. When I went there just now to watch it again, I couldn't help...1:05 PM in Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
My men at Gettysburg
The men in my life went to Gettysburg for the weekend and came home with this: Left to right: Ben 19, Josh 21, Tripp, Zach 17. Missing is Matt 20, who left home 2 years ago. Sigh. We still miss him. Until then, the brothers did everything together as the...6:47 AM in Family | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 6, 2005
Pictures and upcoming posts
Catching up on a few things: I printed out the pictures some of you have sent me for my Inspiration Board. If you are a somewhat-regular here, I'd love to have a picture of your family to glance at while I write. One thing I learned early on as a...8:37 PM in Big families | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
August 5, 2005
Favorite reads: a child's point of view
Mostly, I read nonfiction. Reality is quite the adventure for me! I enjoy autobiographies, especially those which begin from a child's point of view. Like Richard Wright's Black Boy . Or Yoko Kawashawa's So Far From the Bamboo Grove. Or Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle.. The child's point of view...6:38 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Why Jane Fonda?
Okay. Those of you who take the time to look at the Books I've Read on my sidebar are probably wondering what in the world My Life So Far by Jane Fonda is doing there. Here's the scoop: an editor who was courting me (in terms of teaming up for...5:52 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Truth About Boys and Girls - Part Two
Let boys and girls express their innate differences Anyone still needing a dose of reality concerning gender differences will find it at school recess. Boy/girl differences show up in the middle-class suburbs and tough inner-city schools, crossing all racial and economic lines. Girls tend to hang out in groups of...5:45 PM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
August 4, 2005
The Truth About Boys and Girls - Part One
They really are different. Here's what to do about it Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails? Sugar and spice and everything nice? What are little boys and girls made of, after all? Before the sixties, this question sparked little controversy. You had a daughter, you raised a girl. You...9:00 AM in Mothering | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
More on the stupid squabble
I am sorry that this entry is necessary to clear some misrepresentation about me at another site. Yesterday I deleted three *3* emails from the Christian "Nice Patrol" which exhorted me not to exhort someone else. Today I am accused by Certain Blogger of only wanting to look good. That's...7:11 AM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 3, 2005
Beautiful Faces
One of the things parents worry about having kids with Down syndrome is their appearance. My guess is that they're thinking of people who've been institutionalized (as they used to do) and who have a vacant look. I've found all the people with Down syndrome I've met to be animated...5:04 PM in Down syndrome | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The purpose of Christianity
"The purpose of Christianity is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." G. K. Chesterton...2:51 PM in | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Disabilities P. S.
A few more words and then I'm finished with this topic for a while. (Still have to do !TADA! Tripp and Barbara in New York . Soon.) I actually prefer the term differently-abled to disabled. As I've said countless times, each of us is disabled in some way, though most...2:44 PM in Disabilities | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Emotional disabilities
With 12 kids, I've been privileged to observe and interact - on a very intimate basis - with lots of personality types. For someone who thrives on variety and mental stimulation, that has been a real blessing. No matter how bored I might get with laundry or peanut butter sandwiches,...9:28 AM in Disabilities, Mothering | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 2, 2005
Disabilities - Take 3
My sons' friend Christian (his name was Tyler, but he changed it at 16 or so) sent me Chuck Colson's Breakpoint today. Thanks, Christian! It's called "A Life Worth Living" and it's about an autistic boy named Max and Colson's visit to his classroom. In many ways, it's related to...9:59 PM in Disabilities | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Christian manga - Take 2
While at the International Christian Retail Show in Denver, I reported a flip remark I overheard about SERENITY, which was being billed as the first Christian manga (anime figure) - as well as my own doubts about Christian products modeled after popular secular trends. Consequently, I received an e-mail from...9:13 PM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 1, 2005
Scrubbing floors
It's been a month since I fulfilled my last book contract and I am so catching up on stuff I have let go. Today I am going to be scrubbing the kitchen floor - you know, the kind of scrubbing when the mop is just not going to do the...10:42 AM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
