It\'s been over a decade since we've seen each other. And two decades since we've spent any real time together. But the unfortunate event of her mother's passing last week allowed me a long-overdue visit with my dear friend, Shannon. As my mom and I entered the...
We're doing some work on our house. We've been in the design phase for awhile, arranging and rearranging some of the spaces in our home. We've changed our minds so many times, in fact, that yesterday as I was logging expenses, I asked Corbin if what we've paid our...
How can I not post pictures from Essie's first game? I tried to put her hair in french braids with two enormous ribbons, she wouldn't have any of it. "Just a ponytail, Mom. And NO ribbon." Basden carrying her little sister's bag Coach Wolfe says "RUN!!!" Daboo looking...
We got the text early yesterday morn. Cameron's water broke around midnight, and she headed to the birthing center in Taos around 4 am. We all prayed for Cam and this babe before school this morn, and our kiddos were awaiting the news of their new baby girl cousin...
Two down, sixty-one to go. That's how many baseball games I entered into our family calendar a couple of weeks ago. Essie's playing this year, so that makes three teams we get to cheer on. I think we can get to all 63 games as long as our coaches don't schedule any...
We've got two new babes! Well, not MY babies, but my brand-new darling nieces breathed their first breaths just a few days ago. My little brother Chris and his wife Crystal are now Daddy and Mommy to (nearly) two-year-old Joy Taylor and TWO NEW BABY GIRLS! We...
Happy eleventh birthday, my creative, courageous, fun-loving boy. Branson, you continue to teach me that I need to be teachable, that I don't have you figured out. Just when I think I know you or anticipate your next move, you surprise me. I want to keep learning you....
Happy Valentines Day. It's a rather quiet morning around the Wilson home. Hudson is home sick from school, reading here on the sofa with me as I type, both of us entertained by our new puppies Cross and Ruby as they tumble across the carpet and then come to rest in a...
I thought it was a bug bite. That little red, quarter-size spot on my temple. It was tender to the touch, but looked like a reaction to some sort of bite. So two weeks ago Thursday, I spent the following weekend applying benadryl ever-so-lightly, hoping the thing...
Sometimes, out of nowhere, I'm jolted by it. Jolted by the reality of this moment, of the here and now. As my crazy kids wrestle and turn cartwheels in our messy den, as I help Esther put the mounds of Barbie shoes and clothes and half naked dolls yet again into the...
This birthday letter just a little tardy... just spreading out our celebrating. Basden Girl, you are a sweetheart. As my friend Kellie would say, you are sugar. Just that sweet. I love your shy smile. I love your loud, uninhibited laugh. I love riding the big swing...
My Revised Christmas List by Ruth Bell Graham Let me offer for our consideration a revised shopping list - This Christmas I am giving my parents more loving appreciation for the years of time and effort - yes, and money - that they invested in me, so much of which I...
My heart has rested heavy this week in thoughts of my children. They're a great kids. But they keep me dependent in needing to see God's hand in their lives. Dependent that the Holy Spirit will speak to them in a way that their young hearts can understand. Dependent...
Nevermind that it's a month and fourteen days late... a birthday letter to my boy... Merry Christmas, y'all! Happy 9th birthday, sweet Hud. Unlike your big brother, you really are nine at nine. You act nine, look nine, and play with kids and toys like I think a...
Allen Levi wrote the song by this name. I listened to him sing at our Young Life banquet last fall, with a few tears sliding down my cheek, and was struck by how grateful I am to to be cursed with a daddy who cares. A daddy who enforced curfew, who asked questions,...
A friend sent this video my way yesterday, and I can’t quit thinking about it. The four minute clip ended up being about twelve minutes for me, as one viewing wasn’t enough. It’s not every day that I get to watch spontaneous corporate worship in a shopping mall food...
They strolled right past us, unaware, canvas and paints in hands, headed further down the park's winding trail. I wondered if they were painting for fun, or for a school project... if the teen boy and girl were just friends, or dating, or brother and sister... hard to...
“I’ve never seen a kid so excited about going through puberty.” - Hudson (about Branson, to my friend and fellow carpool-mom driving home a few days ago) Branson has been assuring us since the day he turned eight that he’s a “tween,” and yet insists that Hudson is not...
We met them at Spinks airport as they flew in last Sunday, at least we tried to. We saw Steve's plane fly right over us on 1187, but somehow by the time the kids and I turned into the small airport, the guys were already in the car and headed to Sonic. So instead of...
I'm so excited right now I can hardly stand it. Just giddy. I surprised Corbin with a 40th birthday trip, and he really, truly has no idea what he's in for. A long weekend at his parents' lodge with a few good men. Hudson and Corbin laughing at Steve's kidnapping...
Check out this press release on my big brother: Trey James, Xcentric’s CEO, has been selected as one of the top 100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Industry for the second year in a row. Trey was chosen by Accounting Today’s editorial staff, from among...
I wish I would have just laughed. Given the chance to rewind the minutes and return to that moment in my car last Monday evening, I would have garnered all my self control and simply laughed when the black snake slithered out of the folded paper bag and onto...
A gift. Amazing. Still can't believe it all came together. The details weaved in and out through three months of summer "reply all" emails, and several weekends ago my college roommates and our families spent Labor day weekend at a hill country ranch in west Austin....
I've met a new friend this week. She is adventurous and interesting and enthralling. Best of all, she reminds me of my Granny, so I can't get enough of her. Anne Morrow Lindbergh died in 2001, but her stories and thoughts stay very much alive through her books,...
I didn't make it to BSF this morning. I've been tentatively looking forward to it all summer, studying Isaiah and being back in an inductive Bible study after a several-year-long hiatus from any type of in-depth Bible study. I've never been a part of BSF (Bible Study...
"Are you nervous coming back?" my friend asked, as we left our fifth grade boys in their classroom and walked down the stairs. We dodged camera-laden parents through the tiled hallway as we talked. I looked back at her in surprise. "Goodness, no!" I laughed. "We're...
If you have children, particularly more than one, you might want to grab a copy of Close Kids. This book was passed on to me by a friend, and I'm so glad to know about it. In an effort to parent proactively in such a way that his three daughters would have close...
Bran's texts beeped me awake last Tuesday morning at about 6:30 am, shorthand phrases to let me know Cappy was watching the weather, and that they were excited to head out to OshKosh in Cappy's two-seater VariEZE. His last text, "I lv u mom, c u ltr" was read and...
We made it home last night from a fantastic week and a half in New Mexico. The eleven hour drive was fairly uneventful until somewhere around Quannah a gurgling sound came from the back of the car, accompanied by, "Mommy! I'm going to throw up!" And fortunately, the...
Happy summer, now that we're into July! Our school year pace was fairly relaxed, but we're enjoying this summer pace even more. Last week we traded the Texas heat for New Mexico breezes and are enjoying some time in the mountains. But before we turn yet another...
He followed my flowing wedding gown through the winding pebbled paths of the Dallas Arboretum that hot June afternoon, lugging a cooler brimming with sparkling sodas and virgin margaritas. The women chatted and giggled like a gaggle of birds throughout my bridal...
Our parents gave us a humongous gift last week. Something so big, I can't help but write a little something about it. This is one of those "priceless" gifts... something we'll never be able to put a price tag on, with benefits we'll forever take for granted. In...
“Hey, whatcha doing? “Just looking at all this school info, comparing everything again, thinking about next fall.” “Oh TJ, we need to go back. It'll be great for our family and our kids to be back at school again." It took about two seconds for Corbin's words to seal...
Oh, how I've relished that catch. You at shortstop, your team finally ahead on the scoreboard, and a buzz of excitement circulating through the Indians - both players and fans. Guarding the infield and glaring down runners considering a steal, you call out updates...
A touching poem written by Ruth Bell Graham... she summed up my deepest prayers as a mom. Happy mother's day to you all DEAR mommies! In His Hands Listen, Lord, a mother's praying low and quiet: listen, please. Listen what her tears are saying, see her heart upon its...
There's nothing like being with your friends who knew you when... - knew you when you never could make that 8 am class on time - knew you in your first home away from home - sharing in the reality that no parents lived in this apartment - knew you when you struggled...
Friends - as many of you know, Dr. Dobson has officially transitioned from his role at Focus on the Family to his new radio ministry, Family Talk. Obvious from the ministry's name, Dobson's vision and passion for helping families thrive continues. Check out...
I think our firstborn was about two hours old before we latched on to the old African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child." Yes, indeed. We're pretty grateful for ours. It's no secret that my boys have a stellar dad. But all their lives, family and friends...
...that is the question. What are we going to do next fall? We're halfway through the year, and this is the question I seem to be getting. And my calculated response: I don't have a clue! I'm on the fence about what we'll do next year. My kids are on the fence. We're...
Head in hands, forehead pressed into my palms, I sat hunched over in a chair on the back deck. Despite the sunny, glorious spring weather, my heart fluttered while I fought to gain control of my floundering emotions. The swelling of my pregnant tummy reminded me that...
Read an interview with my dear friend and college roomie, Kirsten Dickerson, about Raven + Lily in today's Dallas Morning News (also featured in print in today's paper). Kirsten AND her vision are stunning!
Little did I know that the 4th of February would forever change my world. It’s become to me like a national holiday, right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas and Independence Day - it’s a day when I want to slow down and celebrate and remember the significance...
It's all too familiar to me - what I call the treadmill syndrome of waking and eating and sleeping with life rushing by in my peripheral view. How many nights have I laid my head on the pillow resolving that tomorrow will be different? Tomorrow I will sit down to read...
The headlights from behind flashed in a bright, frenzied pattern. Checking the rear-view mirror, I saw Courtney’s car pull to the side of the road, her brights still flashing off and on. I pulled onto the shoulder of the desolate two-lane highway, darkness cloaking...
Our Christmas tree was a little Charlie-Brownish this year. And if I'm honest, it was last year, too. Decorated almost entirely by the younger members of our family, the ornaments clung in tight little groupings on low-hanging branches, ribbons swirled through limbs...
The snow flurries grew larger and larger until the flakes covered our yard. The drizzling rain-turned-snow made me want to pull the curtains closed, light a roaring fire, and settle in for a quiet evening. Instead, I glanced at my watch and calculated what needed to...
As I smeared peanut butter across a piece of bread, her cries cut across the back yard and into the kitchen. I recognized the wailing as intense and immediate - a cry indicating physical pain. I rounded the corner of the kitchen island and swung open the door to...
Thankful that it's been a pleasant, precious month. It's a Christmas season that will be remembered for great health, sweet family and friends, and a cup that runneth over. I'm grateful. In light of the pain and difficulties and fatigue affecting loved ones, I'm...
Greetings from Walt Disney World! We've finished day four of this whirlwind, wondrous vacation and are excited to have several more days ahead. True to my expectations, Disney World has proved to be a magical experience. Other than a brief trip to Disney Land as a...
My friend Lori passed this title on to me, not necessarily something she deemed a "must read," but interesting food for thought. What she appeared mildly enthusiastic about has provided a very interesting and engaging read for me. I started this book on our beach...