A few years ago I hired a young graphic designer for help with updating and possibly renaming this blog. “What do you like to write about?” she asked. “Oh, really just personal narratives, stories about daily life and marriage and parenting, more than anything this is...
Welcome to the family, Shelby. With the massive task of attempting to frame such a meaningful engagement weekend, I'm simply sharing Corbin's letter to Hud's new fiance'. This seems to capture it. And the letter's ending, my favorite part of gifting the perfume ~ all...
This photo was my morning text from Basden. She is having a ball with her baking. Papa, Corbin’s dad, got her hooked, as he’s been baking sourdough loaves and crackers and English muffins for several years now. Basden took some of Papa's starter from his Angel Fire...
Essie ~ You’ve always been a firecracker. In celebration of EIGHTEEN, a few of my favorite memories: When you were about three years old, our sweet friend Lori was volunteering with the young children’s Sunday School at Christ Chapel. Lori wasn’t technically serving...
If you have some time walking or driving, or doing laundry like my friend Kathryn, take a listen to this Episode 1, Season 4 of Nowhere Close to Famous. The evening spent recording with Josh Storie and Brooke Seale was a real treat for me. They are genuinely funny -...
No one, and I mean no one, can get on an eighteen-year-old's nerves like their Momma. I can think of a couple of others that come close, but I am the Grand Champion of inadvertently pushing my young adult daughter's buttons. And I'm seeing it all around me. When this...
A few weeks ago, Esther and I spent a gorgeous spring Saturday morning celebrating a first birthday party with family friends. The baby was in the middle of smashing the birthday cake when Corbin called. I let it go to voicemail, as Esther was trying to get the...
Last spring I experienced a favorite parenting moment. Such a privilege to give Esther her dream camera and lens. For no reason. Not her birthday, not Christmas, and she didn’t earn the money (or even half of the money)... I just got to buy and give this gift to her...
My dad describes a surprising encounter with the Lord, years ago, when he was attempting nighttime prayers. He was lying in bed, going through a mental checklist of all the people and things he needed to pray for, and time and again his prayers were distracted by...
Dear Basden ~ in keeping with Cappy's encouragement to Hud, here are his words penned to you as an eight-year-old. And we couldn't agree more. Happy TWENTIETH birthday, Little Joy! Basden- You have a wise heart. It shows in the way you really want to help Aunt Crystal...
Hudson James, just a couple days shy of your 22nd birthday... a little encouragement from Cappy's email to your ten-year-old self. Twelve years later, I'm encouraged by his words here, along with the joy of reminiscing over this exchange. The power of words on a page,...
Months ago when our SCS Homecoming date was released, we cleared all the kids' calendars and bought plane tickets to get them home. After 17 years in the stands cheering on her older siblings, the big kids showed up to support Essie in her senior Hoco pep rally and...
For all the mommas sending their kiddos to college (or any grown-up adventure), give a listen to Episode #3 Ready to Fly - The Emotional Rollercoaster as you have a few minutes between dorm room shopping and college orientations. Thank you, Stephanie, for having me...
Ruby girl, we are just so surprised that you’re gone. You didn’t give us any warning, and that high-voltage personality of yours has left a huge vacuum in our home and in our hearts. We’ve been nursing Cross through some old-age symptoms lately but you hadn’t shown...
**In light of Mother's day (and Father's day) around the corner, I'm reposting this from a few years ago. It's a a lesson I need to keep learning, still need to be reminded of. If I could give one gift to myself and to friends in the trenches of parenting, it would be...
"This Christmas, I'm thankful for Dad's job with American. And that even though now it's gone, that was a great run." My brothers and I shared this sentiment as we gathered in my parents' living room, Christmas 2000. After a record-setting career as a young Marine...
We almost lost Papa in the spring of '99. Papa and Mama (who were actually not yet Papa and Mama, aka Charles and Jamie) took our family of newly grown, newly married kids to the Greek Islands. Immediately after we arrived in Athens and boarded our cruise ship,...
Today Corbin and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage. WOW and Praise Jesus. It just so happened that the five days we could wrangle family time this summer coincided with our silver wedding anniversary - Corbin literally booked this trip last spring without us...
A whole week in Costa Rica with Corbin and the girls. Took us a few days to truly relax and get our bearings. Loved getting to eat nearly every meal together Driver pulled off the road to show us howler monkeys so many meals together ~ just wonderful A day in Las...
Mom\'s retirement party - and 4 of her soon-to-be 17 reasons for retirementSome of y\'all know this, but my mom can do anything.Just ask Trey\'s wife, Amy. James Girls weekend last fallAnd with Mom\'s marker 70th birthday this week, I\'m attempting to frame a few of...
Today is the day.The hundreds of times we\'ve been asked over the last year, \"How do you feel about your oldest graduating?\" culminates with today - graduation day. Bran leaves in a little over a month for college, and for the first time since he was about eight...
“Can you do just this one?”These words from Cameron, Corbin’s sister who served as my doula during the intense (!) labor of our oldest son\'s birth. “Just this one contraction, TJ, don’t go ahead, just stay in this one.”Cameron stayed by my side every contraction,...
I have nodes. I am living with nodes. But I am a survivor, but I have to pull back because I am limited. Because I have nodes. - Chloe, Pitch Perfect I’m on day 7... day 7 of TEN DAYS of no talking. Not a word. Not even a whisper. This after a...
With Bran as a newborn, one of my first opportunities as a mom to \"soak it in...\" I loved watching him laugh at his reflection in our little upstairs bathroom Life just doesn’t get easy this side of Heaven. Corbin and I ran into a small grocery store Sunday...
- Oh my GOSH that we got to be a part of this amazing weekend with such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities!- Coach Rod\'s tweet the week prior - Bran felt good about his choice of playing his football game (we won by a landslide) and missing BU team dinner. And he...
“Whoa!” The ball sailed over right field, a solid home run. I glanced back toward the hitter’s mom with a big grin and congratulated her son. The two-run homer gave us the lead, as well as shifted our team’s momentum and energy in this otherwise slow, stifling hot...
Walking down the Tanglewood Elementary steps on that bright sunny day, we thanked Mr. Williams for the school tour and he assured us, “I will know your car, your husband’s car, and Branson’s grandparents’ cars.” I believed him. Corbin and I looked at each other knew...
Our tired bodies climbing the stairs together, Essie headed to her room, and I headed to mine, relieved that she was retiring so willingly. I set my sights on a long, hot shower to wash off the day. Not necessarily a difficult day, just a long, normal one, and I...
Sitting on the edge of his bed, when the clock strikes much-too-late, I exercise all my self control to listen, listen, listen. Another late-night conversation, where emotions flourish, pressed hard by fatigue and a long day. I'm grateful for the transparent...
"I wish I could have a whole conversation with him about these things, see what he thinks about them." "Well, Dad, take him to dinner. If you offer Chipotle he won't turn you down, and you'll have his undivided attention over a grilled chicken burrito." "He has time...
Running into the mall yesterday to grab a makeup bag for Basden, even the nature of her gift screamed \"teenager!\" I flew through the food court to grab Chick Fil A, her requested birthday lunch, thinking of Basden\'s bright, generous smile.Sporting a day-old pony...
When I began this blog more than ten years ago, I wrote all of the kids birthday letters. Like many things I do, it was hit or miss at best. So over the years as I\'ve printed this blog out in the form of books, Hudson has searched the November portions of the books...
Corbin ~ on this happy birthday ~ I\'m taking an opportunity to pause and remember how smart I was to marry you. Now that I\'ve spent half of my life as your wife, there are a few things I didn\'t realize I was getting in a husband when I said \"I...
She joined many of her family and friends in Heaven twenty years ago today... and I miss her. I was about ten years old when Granny invited me to spend two weeks of the summer with her. My brothers weren't invited, nor my parents, just me. Given the throng of our...
Franklin.Waco. San Antonio.Houston.San Antonio.Waco. Springfield. Atlanta. Franklin. ... and this week, Lubbock!I haven\'t actually counted, but pretty sure I\'ve spent more nights in hotels this summer than in my own bed. Fortunately, it\'s hard to find places I...
- On the road again... Georgia or bust - This made me a little nervous. Games all over the metroplex (I don\'t think they call it that), including one in PeachTree City that didn\'t even fit on the map. But - we did it!! Mom\'s trusty pen and paper map - very...
Sometimes perfect strangers will see me out with my children and say things like, "I can't imagine parenting in this generation." Or, "I can't imagine how tough it is to raise children in this culture." They mean well. And I understand their sentiment. But it's not...
WE MADE IT!!!This post... indulgent?Yes.Too many pics?Probably.Worth it??Absolutely. At least for me and these friends of mine.Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I\'m saving the words... a special thank you to anyone who takes the time to scroll through this...
In an effort to finish what I started, here\'s part II of our BU 20th reunion ~ from last year. Much more current stuff going on, and I recognize that about four people are going to be interesting in this specific account of our reunion last year, but it\'s worth it...
We do this every year. Every spring our group of Baylor friends gathers at someone\'s home or ranch or even a hotel just to enjoy the goodness of being together. I had high expectations of Baylor as a freshman in the fall of 1991, but I had absolutely no idea that I...
After celebrating with James side of the family, we loaded up the car and happily headed north for Angel Fire to see the Wilson crew. Who doesn\'t love Christmas in the mountains? The snow, the scenery, the slower pace and the crisp air ~ Papa\'s \"happy place\" is a...
Oh my WORD - what an amazing Christmas!And never mind that I\'m more than two months late on posting this... still something I want memorialized in the blog archives. I always feel like it\'s Christmas when my brothers bring their families home to Texas, and this...
"I'm not afraid." It\'s what my friend's father told his children and his grandchildren when they gathered a couple of weeks ago for Thanksgiving. This man has been battling cancer, and while his health appears clear at this point, he knows the possibility of the...
"Essie, what's going on? Why the sad eyes?" "I'll tell you when we get in the car." Once secure inside, doors firmly shut, she let the tears flow. "Mom, can we please move away from Fort Worth? They are just so mean, and they hate me." "Whoa, slow down a minute, Es....
I got a speeding ticket this morning. 54 in a 40. Hudson and Essie were with me, on Vickery, headed back to school from Dr. Kelley's office. Essie was basking in the smooth, unfamiliar sensation of her brand-new-just-got-braces-off teeth, and Hud was asking if his...
This written by my dad, aka Cappy. He jotted it down recently and sent it to me in an email, and I'm posting here with his permission. The power of an engaged, loving grandpa (or two) ~ tremendous. One evening Charles called and said we were heading out for a spur of...
The following is an essay Hudson wrote for a school assignment earlier this year. I posted Branson's "Where I'm From" last week, and wanted to share Hud's here as well. Love his words. Where I'm From Hudson James Wilson I am from ping pong, from pool basketball, and...
The following is an essay Branson wrote for a school assignment last year. I love this assignment, and I'll be posting Hudson's "Where I'm From" next week. Bran chose the photos and printed them alongside his words. I love it and consider him to have a natural writing...
Smoke from the fire pit streamed into the cool morning air as Marshall and I warmed our hands around the low fire. Along the river\'s edge, bright yellow and orange trees reflected in the glass-like surface below, spreading the brilliant autumn colors above and below...
Gladys Pearl James ~ not just anyone can wear the name Gladys Pearl. Or in my opinion, James. This fall marks eighteen years that Gladys Pearl, my Granny, has been delighting crowds in heaven - and delighting herself in the Lord in the process. Even though she\'s been...