It's OK to Want to Raise Your Own Children

I have been reading a little bit around the internet about women who are making the bold, countercultural, brave and joyful decision to step away from careers in the workforce and focus their attentions on raising their little ones.

I want to offer my support and my advice as a woman who made the same decision nearly 15 years ago.


This time when children are little is VERY SHORT! The workforce will always be there, but your babies will not. They will grow into your big kids, your teens, your young adults, and someday even your grown adult children. If you want to be the one home with them as they grow, it's important to remember that the time to do so is now.

It can be discouraging to feel like the workforce is passing you by, but I want to counsel you to be brave. Anything worth doing can be difficult and scary!

Do not let fear of the unknown future and the anonymous workforce ("Will I be able to get a job when the kids are big?" "Will 'they' hire me?") paralyze you. Let the people who love you and depend on you influence your decision too.


I'm so glad I did.

Welcome 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It's been nearly a year (a year!?!) since my last blog post, but I do not want to let this beautiful season go by without wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!

May the Good News of our Lord's birth fill you all with hope and peace, and may God pour forth his blessings upon us all in the new year.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy 40th birthday, that is.

And to all you 39-year-olds who are in the shoes I wore yesterday and nearly every day since my birthday last year, the "I can hardly bear that I have to be 40 on my next birthday" shoes, well,

I'm happy to say that being 40 is absolutely lovely.

In fact, this may have been my best birthday ever. My day was filled with my family, my friends, delicious birthday treats, delightful presents, and the creation of happy, happy memories .

What blessings! What a joyful day!

And what a blessing to be 40, to be old enough to take last year's shoes off and fling them far behind me, to get to see that by turning 40 I have all the happiness I had before plus all of today's happiness too. A longer life with more happiness than before, that's what I have today. It's better. And because I just went through it I don't merely think so, I know so.

What a surprising and wonderful thing to learn! Now that I'm forty I really am old enough to know better.

The Joy of Marriage

I promise that the chocolate raspberry torte tutorial is coming soon! Right now, though, I am elbow deep in paper preparing folders for our church's marriage preparation program. This is a ministry I really like participating in, because the engaged couples bring so much joy and anticipation with them to each session. Also, because the program gives me a chance to reflect on my own marriage and how much joy the vocation of marriage brings to me. I feel so profoundly blessed to have been called to the married state and to motherhood and I love to have the opportunity to share with engaged couples about the wonderful blessing marriage is.

Talking about marriage, looking over our wedding photos, reminiscing about our wedding and dreaming about what the future of our marriage may hold, these are some of the activities of the week for my DH and me. We had a beautiful visit this weekend with the dear priest who performed our wedding ceremony. He is my uncle and very special to us both. He is also gravely ill, so I ask any one reading this blog today to join me in saying a prayer for him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all safe trips if you are travelling, delicious feasts when you are feasting, and many many hands to help with the dishes if you are cooking!

Chocolate Raspberry Cake-Part One

Tonight we're having a dessert pot-luck for the parents in my younger son's class. Our contribution is a chocolate raspberry torte from my all-time hands-down favorite cookbook, Cold Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase. Our other contribution is a clean, welcoming house to host the party. Now, the party starts in 2 hours and we still need to dust and clean a few bathrooms, so I'll teach you all how to make the cake tomorrow.

I'd like to say I've been cleaning all day, but that wouldn't be true. I've been grocery shopping and running kids around to lessons and other places. Instead, I'm happy to announce-(all right, I guess I need to use a more honest verb) I'm happy to brag-that my husband has been cleaning all day. Maybe I could take to calling hime Mr. Clean? Our house is pretty sparkly right now. Talk about a blessing!

And (bonus!) I guess since I'm married to him I get to be Mrs. Clean, without so much as lifting a dustpan!