Grandfamilies: Do You Ever Wonder?

Super bloom. Death Valley, California. February 27, 2016. I wish we could bring the children to see this, I said to my husband as we tread  upon the desert floor, awed by the rafts of flowers that drifted right up to the base of the silent stony mountains, awed by the One who dreamed up this […]


Grandfamilies: Disrupted by Spells of Unanticipated Joy

Lala initiates a tissue-tossing frenzy as she opens birthday gifts. Carly and Cadence assist while Elaine and baby Sawyer watch the action from the corner. January 2011. Last weekend I committed to keeping an eye out for joy. I was tired of meeting challenges and being prepared for hardship. I claim this good God, see, and He not […]


Weekend Reflection: Gentle Wonders

Cadence. Christmas Day, 2006. 8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel […]


Always Watch for Zebra

The Frio River. What I Learned at Laity Lodge I’ve been home two weeks now, and I’m still unpacking. Not my suitcase–it’s empty and back in the basement–but my heart.  I told you last week how I’d learned that real friends don’t abandon the voyage when potholes mar the way. No, they buckle up and […]