Simplifying… me

Have you thrown a temper tantrum lately?  I have.  I know what you’re probably thinking:  “That’s something I’d like to see!  Amy throwing a temper tantrum!”  Before you get all excited envisioning my five foot eight frame flailing about on the ground, my meltdown was a little less exuberant.  I didn’t realize at the time [...]

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I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.  Deep thoughts and not-so-deep thoughts alike have been swooshing around in this noggin of mine.  And each time I’ve tried to sit down and start typing them out there would, of course, be some crisis to be addressed – like keeping Jackson company while he sat on [...]

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Before I entered the world of motherhood I had some pretty strong (and ignorant, mind you) ideas of what kind of mom I was going to be.  I visualized myself prancing around town toting my offspring in a pristine and crumb-free stroller, with my hair bouncing on my shoulders just like Gwyneth Paltrow and baby [...]

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This year, as December approached, I found myself in a reflective state of mind – pondering the passing year and what the New Year may bring.  I get this way when December rolls around.  Usually I find myself in awe of what God has done, the miracles, and His goodness to me, and my family.  [...]

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One of my favorite songs from the beloved classic “White Christmas” is a duet sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.  The song is titled “Count Your Blessings” and begins with these simple lyrics:
 
If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.
 
I’m counting my blessings.  [...]

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This morning as I was driving Sydney to school, a huge gust of wind came rushing through; blowing leaves and dirt and bending tender tree branches low to the ground.  Sydney was impressed.  Even the large and sinewy evergreens waved to us as we listened to the rustle and howl.  Finally, once the flurry subsided, [...]

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Everyone seems to be in a perpetual state of thanksgiving these days.  At least, the people I have encountered on facebook.  A few days ago, as I scrolled through my facebook homepage, I picked up on a recurring theme in many of my friends’ status updates: thanksgiving.  They weren’t reminding the world that November is [...]

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It seems over the past several weeks and months I haven’t had very many humorous experiences to write about.  There is so much tragedy, almost too much, happening all around me; friends and family members all touched to some degree with suffering, pain, loss and grief.  To tell about my most recent brush with the [...]

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Dickens’ classic story “A Tale of Two Cities” opens with one of the most famous lines in literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.  How can we manage to have both at the same time?  When things are bad, aren’t they bad because there is no good?  And aren’t [...]

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Bedtime routines were completed, and I had made my way downstairs to enjoy a couple of hours with Joel.  Before he joined me, I turned on the television in the middle of a news program reporting the most recent child abduction cases in our country.  Listening to the accounts of abuse and destructiveness, I found [...]

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