~1~ Sometimes when I run out of ideas for dinner, we make fondue. It requires a little prep—cutting up vegetables and meats and preparing the broth, but then John takes over the pot and handles the cooking. It always feels fancy and special, but there are never leftovers. I wonder whether people will expect dinner […]

This weekend, my sons and I road-tripped to New York to see my sister Maureen and her three youngest children. Spending eight hours on the road for about 36 hours together might seem a little intense, but I would drive further than that for the chance to hug my sister. We had a fantastic weekend. […]

One of my favorite writing techniques is to give myself a designated period of time to write and see how quickly I can go. I am currently racing to complete these quick takes before my sister Maureen and niece finish baking brownies for my nephew who turns 13 today. Here we go! ~1~ We are […]

We’ve never missed the bus, but we’ve come close.

The other day while I was grocery shopping alone, I saw a sweet pot of daisies.

God steps in and eases our burdens in small ways we might not ever see. That’s how much he loves us.

Last week, a few of my colleagues were talking about a work project that just kept hitting walls—little ones, big ones, sometimes confusing ones. When we finish it, we joked, we will have to celebrate. I love marking small wins. When we finally get through it, I said, I’ll treat everyone to coffee. We managed […]

~1~ Xian nian kuai le! Gung hay fat choy! Happy New Year! The first time our family celebrated Chinese New Year was 2010 when we were new parents. That was the Year of the Tiger—the Gold Tiger. This year is the Year of the Water Tiger. It feels pretty special to be celebrating the Year […]

The snowy shape was there for days before I spotted it.

~1~ The Year of the Tiger starts Tuesday, Feb. 1, and I am not sure I am ready. But don’t worry. I will be. I may have ordered a 40-inch inflatable tiger today. What will we do with it? I don’t know. But I just have a feeling that life might be a little more […]