For most God-fearing, God-honoring girls, Mrs. P31 is someone we look up to (or should). After all, she’s the clearest picture in scripture of a virtuous woman! She’s smart, good with finances, beautiful, hard-working, selfless, and…married. This woman has a husband that’s well respected, children that behave in public, and a solid understanding of the… Read More Miss P31
Sometimes it’s great being associated with your big family. (Like when Kyla was Grinders star employee and people mistook me for her.) Sometimes it’s not as nice. In honor of going to Squaw Valley in two weeks, here’s a little throwback to our skiing escapades of days gone by. Disclaimer** I wrote this three years ago,… Read More The Green Jacket Brigade
The word “purse” has a lot of connotations. For my little sisters it means “cute-bag-that’s-just-for-looks.” For Mothers with young children it is a “diaper-bag-with-my-wallet-inside.” At our high school, purses are an accessory that you change when you change your outfit. In Old English, a “purse” represents a sum of wealth. My purse is not for… Read More The Problem with Your “Purse.” (Yes, guys. You too.)
For the sake of this post, I am going to assume we all have weaknesses and strengths. If this is not true of you, my congratulations or condolences. I am not sure which. I am also going to assume that most of us don’t like to do what we are bad at (weaknesses) and prefer… Read More Leverage Your Strengths to Avoid Your Weaknesses
I must confess, I lied. You only need a pile of smoking sticks and licking flames to roast a juicing elk in hushed and reverent awe like your great-great-great-great grandaddy. (Just for the record, clothes aren’t needed either. . .) Here’s the hitch: Grandpa Adam didn’t have to worry about phone calls, emails, and thirty-minute… Read More Top 9 Tools You Can’t Cook Without
Dear Fathers of Teenage Girls, Emotional roller coasters, sensitivity, clothing disagreements, boys, growing-up bench marks…what a special challenge God placed in your life! Think you have it hard? My Father has four teenage girls at this moment. When people say he should write a book on raising girls (apparently we cross our legs and act intelligent… Read More An Open Letter to FATHERS of Teenage GIRLS
JANUARY 21st, 2015 Sometimes, I don’t see people how God sees them. Sometimes I use the world’s measuring stick to judge whether I should be someone’s friend. Do we share similar interests? Do our personalities mesh? Do we have the same humor? Are they fun? If the answer is “Yes” to all these questions, then… Read More It Doesn’t Matter if They’re “Cool”
The smells of Cinnabon wafted through the stale mall air and flooded my senses. I forgot the cookbook I was reading (actually, I can’t read cookbooks. I was looking at the pictures), Kyla, my appointment–everything but that overpowering smell of sugar, fresh warmth, and sensual brown goop. I had to have it. Just a bit of background.… Read More Appetites. Cravings. Get Control.
“You should write a book on parenting,” numerous well-meaning people suggest to my parents. Daddy and Mother laugh. Raising eleven kids is no cake-walk, and it’s at moments like these I remember the Toilet Paper Club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The family was peacefully settled down in the cozy living room, lamp-light casting soft shadows, and Daddy’s deep… Read More The Toilet Paper Club
DECEMBER 1ST 2014 A new month, a new challenge. The next two weeks will be devoted to cooking. It’s funny how a little sleep can change things. Last night I was exhausted and couldn’t fall asleep, while this morning I’m exhausted and can hardly stay awake! In the evening I felt like Julia Child–even though… Read More Learning to Cook