Reading the whimsical picture book, When Ruby Tried to Grow Candy by Valorie Fisher, to my younger son recently, I found a delightful depiction of my philosophy of gardening: Plant what you love! Just a few weeks ago, my garden was sleeping. My friend, who lives in a high rise, asked to see it, but […]
Category Archives: Children’s Book Moments
Selah: a pause during which to reflect I experienced Selah last Thursday—both the definition above and the two-year-old girl version. My lifelong friend was moving, so I had the privilege of watching her wispy-curled, rosebud-mouthed, Shirley Temple look-a-like, Selah! Keeping a two-year-old put my normal productivity on pause. We played with the nesting doll and […]
There are some things I just can’t get enough of . . . strawberries (my children eat them up as soon as I wash them), guacamole (avocados are expensive, so I always end up making too little to go around), sleep, and hummingbirds. It is hummingbird season in Texas! This morning I was elated to […]
Earlier this summer, a six-year-old girl from my son’s class came to visit. She told me what she wants to be when she grows up. (I don’t remember asking that dreaded question. I remember how awkward it was to answer when I was a child!) “I want to be a mermaid who swims with cats,” […]
I wonder if only children know that it is possible to feel lonely in a big family. One loud family gathering morphs into the next until a loved one says, “Remember when . . . ,” forgetting you weren’t at that particular party. Or, the house is so full of people eating and laughing that no […]
By the grace of God, I am in Vermont today—a place I’ve dreamed of for so long! The home of Tasha Tudor! The setting of Holiday Inn and Baby Boom! A month ago, I simply mentioned to my sister that Vermont was my dream destination. She said she had to travel here on business and invited […]
The last day of February is here, full of buds and birdsong. Before I plunge into the beauty of spring, I want to remember, with a grateful heart, the blessings of January and February. My littlest boy, who prayed for snow, running in the falling flakes and thanking God! The margin of January, waiting to […]
This morning, on my way out the door, I glimpsed a vase of roses on the mantel. When did my husband sneak those inside without me noticing? Deep red and romantic, their message is clear. Before I met that giver of roses, the meaning of flowers wasn’t always so apparent. When I was a teenager, […]
Recently I passed a sign at a nearby recreation center that read: “BALLET BELLY DANCING CLASS!” A tiny remembering part of me lit up inside, whispering, “Maybe you should sign up.” Simultaneously, every other part of me screamed, “Absolutely not! You’d be miserable with embarrassment!” That wee whispering part of me was born the first […]
Dear Jess, When you asked me to send you a picture of “little Carol,” and one afternoon I looked through old photo albums to grant your request, I had no idea you were plotting to give me my own Kirklin/Tudor picture book. (I will treasure it always!) Your generosity, it seems, is limitless! A few […]
