Dancing with Daffodils

First off I want to apologize to my loyal 10 readers. I've been very busy and haven't made time for my writing, which has led to a few late posts on Friday night in an effort to meet my goal. Without time to really reflect and edit my writing, I feel like it has led to lower quality posts. While it is a good exercise for me to practice writing on a deadline, it isn't fun for you to read lame stuff. So, thanks for coming back and I'm hoping quality will improve as I continue to practice. Let me share with you another struggle I am having. A few weeks ago we bought a new car. A minivan actually. I still have a hard time saying it. I've become a minivan-driving soccer mom. I have always been this person but just didn't have the minivan for the rest of the world to know it too. I am not ashamed of who I am; I love staying home with my children, I enjoy supporting them in their activities, I can even get into my son's soccer games. But for some reason I felt a ...

I have a sister-in-law who will be having her first baby this summer and it has been fun to go back and try to think about life before I became a mother. I never had any great ambition for a career, although being a travel writer sure sounded fun, but what I ultimately wanted to be when I grew up was a mom who stayed home and took care of the family. To some that may seem demeaning or the formula for a life unfulfilled but for me it is perfect. I grew up with a wonderful mother who was and continues to be everything that makes a good mom. She is tough and could practically pull things out of the oven without an oven mitt because of her calloused, hard-working hands. She is an excellent cook and made family dinner a special time every night. She taught us to work hard, she encouraged us to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, she took us on picnics and fun trips to the beach, she enjoyed taking us shopping for clothes, and she was always helping or serving other people. My mom is a do-er...