Bears, Mamas, and Mama Bears

It Was February. Bears Hibernate in February.  Love, Claws, and Flying Children “We were tent camping in Yosemite,” Amy told us, sharing a great story in her inimitable style. “And I woke up in the middle of the night to this shuffling sound, along with this snuffling sound, and I knew–I just KNEW–that a bear […]


Flyaway Heroine

Cadence and Elaine. Wife. Mom. Patriot. My daughter Elaine and our grandson Sawyer are flying home to Hawaii today. They’ve been visiting in California for a month now. The family arrived in a single piece: Elaine, her husband Rob, who’s a chief in the U.S. Navy, older son Cadence, and toddler Sawyer. Rob flew back […]


No Cheap Christmas Gifts!

Cadence, Filled with Joy. Christmas Day, 2009. We’re all Bazillionaires I was startled, some weeks ago, to find this subject line on a message board for Christian writers: “CHEAP CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!!” Surely the person who posted this meant cheap in the sense of  “purchasable below the going price or the real value,” but the phrase […]


No Cheap Christmas Gifts!

Cadence, Filled with Joy. Christmas Day, 2009. We’re all Bazillionaires I was startled, some weeks ago, to find this subject line on a message board for Christian writers: “CHEAP CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!!” Surely the person who posted this meant cheap in the sense of  “purchasable below the going price or the real value,” but the phrase […]


>The Rose Wins

>  One Climbing Rose Envelops an Entire Tree. Portland, Oregon. June, 2011. My friend Sam Lowry took this photo and granted his permission for me to share it with you. Beautifying the Family Tree My dear friend Sam Lowry posted this amazing photograph on Facebook recently. “A single climbing rose has fully colonized its host […]