Essays

I wrote a book last summer.  I experienced the very rare phenomenon of having all of the stars perfectly align in my life so that I could sit and type out a book.  In my case, I was sitting and scooching around on the floor to keep babies out of trouble while I typed...

When I was young, I dreamed of going into the newspaper business, becoming an ace reporter and eventually, after years of hard work, winding up with my own nationally syndicated humor column.  I wanted to be the Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry of my generation. And...

  I like to listen to Dr. Ray Guarendi’s radio show in the morning when I’m making breakfast and doing dishes.  One such morning, he talked about complaining and how most people do entirely too much of it. He suggested we try doing less of it. I reflected on...

Sometimes a major spiritual battle in your life is over a couch. Years ago, after finding ourselves drowning in debt, we went on the Dave Ramsey plan.  About a year into the Dave Ramsey plan, our couch died a miserable death. What had once been a presentable,...

My husband has a good job.  Well, good in the sense that it pays quite a bit of money.  But, as sometimes happens with more money, there is more sacrifice.  He has to work long hours and the work is difficult and the environment is pretty uncomfortable. We didn’t...

“How do you do it?”  Is a question I am often asked.  Usually they’re referring to my complete inability to frost a cake.  But occasionally, they’re wondering how I keep up with my various projects while having a bunch of kids running wild through my house at all...

I dove right in to my new icon books (Christmas presents from the hubster).  They were filled with very cool information.  For instance, I did not know that before most people became literate, icons played a large part in helping to catechize them....

Dina and I were in the same mother’s group and Dina was hosting a get-together at her house. It was a beautiful house, tastefully decorated.  I felt like I was walking around on a photo shoot for something like Better Homes and Gardens for this was certainly one of...

Growing up in the house of Catholics that had left the church, there were only a few items that harkened back to the faith of my parent’s youth.  There was a crucifix and a matching pair of pictures of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart.  For a time, there was a...