Practicing Gratitude 6.29.14
- Hud\'s big grin (the braces are new ~ his round 2 began a couple of weeks ago). Snapped by Kevin, our middle school pastor after lunch at Chipotle. - Coffee on the back porch looking out over a rainy summer Sunday morning- That Essie still gets in Basden\'s bed to...
Practicing Gratitude 6.22.14
- Summer baseball... especially fun when the games end in our favor. Gearing up for District play next week for both teams. Bran getting to play 3rd base ~ a treat- Coach\'s effort towards clear communication, and what a difference that makes.- Cute boys. Especially...
Practicing Gratitude 6.15.14
- Summer has ARRIVED- Not making four lunches every night before bed- No homework- Sleeping late ~ at least we\'ll get to next week after kids camp!- Being home more, and our kids with each other off and on during the day. As grateful as I am for school, I love the...
Basden and Nettie’s Great Adventure ~ NY, NY
Mama and Daboo took Basden and Nettie May on a "10-year-old Adventure" to New York, and I got to tag along. It was a fantastic handful of days ~ a few highlights we want to remember: - Flying in felt like we were traveling to a foreign country - Daboo's extensive...
Practicing Gratitude 5.30.14
- Time with Paige and her new family. We wouldn\'t have guessed 22 years ago (!) sitting around in our Kanakuk (Kanakomo) cabin that we\'d be getting our families together all these years later for a Memorial Day breakfast. Or maybe we would have. - An afternoon with...
Wednesday Wonder ~ Catherine’s Steady Prayers
By 9:30 Monday mornings I'm almost always ready. Coffee percolating, music playing, prayer sheets printed and ready on the ottoman tray along with extra pens. I'm always touched by the women taking time on a Monday morning to attend our Moms in Prayer meetings -...
Galveston or Bust
We took a rebellious family vacation last weekend. Rebellious in that we struggled against the tyranny of school, baseball, field trips, Stanford testing, etc. to take a couple of days at the beach for our family. In the aftermath of a full April and May, and then...
Stephanie’s Pavilion Dedication
Last Saturday we celebrated the dedication of the new "Stephanie Woodard Family Pavilion" at our home away from home, University Little League. The celebration opened with Don Bescher sharing a few thoughts and thanking donors, and Tom Hill closing with a lovely...
Practicing Gratitude 4.19.14
- Walking downstairs on a Sunday morning to find her like this- A cold, rainy April Sunday. As in, rained all day. Everything cancelled except one indoor practice, and the coach was kind enough to taxi Hud back and forth. Other than church in the morning, we didn\'t...
Wednesday Wonder ~ Paul Batura and “Good Day! The Paul Harvey Story”
Corbin and I got to meet author Paul Batura last fall while attending a Focus on the Family Couples' Retreat with our friends Steve and Lisa. As we landed in Colorado Springs and headed to lunch, Steve announced that he had already made an appointment for us to go...
Practicing Gratitude 4.04.14
- Men of my life- Getting to host YL adult committee dinner and meeting ~ grateful for lovely weather, lovely people. Sweet Basden helping me peel and slice 24 apples for apple crisp for dessert ~ Pioneer Woman\'s recipe phenomenal- Crazy blessed by Bridgett\'s...
Wednesday Wonder ~ Dar’s Beautiful Life
"Because when Clyde died, there wasn't much of me left." Written by Dar, my sweet friend Jessica's grandmother, in the letter I received just two weeks ago. I thought of Dar's love and appreciation for her late husband, her connection to him, and how lonely she must...
Practicing Gratitude 3.28.14
- A very happy 14th to Bran...- Essie\'s non-stop love for playing school. Usually by herself, as she\'s got the entire sun room organized as her classroom. She is, of course, \"teacher\" to Daboo and Basden here. - Making the most of a rainy day. Love that they...
Bon Voyage ~ Spring Break ’14
I spent a few hours (yes - hours) last week trying to put our Spring Break trip into words, but Corbin summed it up nicely in this email to my brother - Trey - Don’t know if you had talked to your mom/dad about our trip, but we planned a Spring Break cruise out of New...
More than the Win
I watched intently from the stands as that blonde head went up for rebound after rebound, arms extended, jumping high under the net to grab the basketball and pass to a sprinting teammate. As the players swarmed in and out under the net, Bran spent most of the game...
Our James – Gang Christmas
James Gang - 24 (really 25!) and counting... All of my brothers and their families gathered from their far-flung homes in Tulsa, Alpharetta and Bozeman for a Fort Worth family Christmas. So far our little group weighs in with 24 members, and it'll be 25 this summer...
Marshall’s Advent Baptism
My brother Trey's name appeared on caller ID a couple of months ago, but when I put the phone to my ear it was six-year-old Marshall's sweet voice on the other end. And he got right to the point. "Aunt Tonya, Jesus is in my heart." "Whoa, whaaat? Marshall ~ I'm...
Decking the Halls ~ Korean Style
"You will never believe my afternoon," I told Corbin one evening a couple of weeks ago. He raised an eyebrow and continued making lunches as I cleaned the dinner dishes and ushered kids upstairs for bed. It had been a looonnnng day, and even with the bizarre proposal...
Wednesday Wonder ~ Mama’s Miracle
Yesterday I witnessed a miracle. A real, live, medical miracle. I wrote about my mother-in-love's bravery a month ago as she endured Biometric neurostimulator brain implant surgery for a familial tremor. For the past month as Jamie has been resting and healing from...
My Little Joy ~ Double Digits
"Basden Joy, would you rather do gymnastics or horse lessons this fall? Or volleyball?" She looked thoughtful as she helped me pull her duvet cover and sheets to the top of her bed, aligning the pillows as we straightened her bed that morning. "Well, do they have...