RECENT POSTS
How to Navigate the Pressures of Modern Family Life
Our front hall table is still covered in holiday cards. There are the uber-organized people who sent their cards at Thanksgiving, then the steady stream
January 2025 Favorites
BOOKS: Heretics Anonymous Marilee and I have been enjoying Heretics Anonymous on car rides together. It’s the story of a group of high school students
Why I don’t want to respond to President Trump’s baseless, inaccurate, and unjust accusations about who caused the plane crash into the Potomac
Yesterday, President Trump held a press conference where he suggested that the reason an army helicopter crashed into a passenger plane in Washington, D.C. was
How to Delight in Our Children
As humans, we need to know that other people delight in who we are. Psychologists tell us it’s a core need, and they say we
Connect to Community | It Makes All the Difference!
Peter and I have often received praise for our parenting when people meet Penny, our daughter who has Down syndrome. That’s all very nice, but
Cultivating Connection One Word at a Time
I once shared a post that included a story from someone who identified as a “person with autism.” To respect their choice of words, I
How to Talk About Disability
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Is disability a tragedy? Are disabled people “inspiring”? The language we use often reveals our assumptions about disability. Carrie Hahn,
Family Formation: What is “the good life” for our children?
I loved getting to speak yesterday at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas about Reimagining Family Life. Our topic for their Family Formation evening was:
Belonging Begins With an Invitation
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of being a mother is watching our kids get excluded. I’ve seen it at times for all three of
Discouraged and Stuck? Let’s Reimagine!
I have felt discouraged and stuck. If I looked back through my journals, I’d find similar feelings detailed over the years, but that statement isn’t
The key to a flourishing life isn’t more effort.
Every New Year, it’s the same message on repeat: Try harder. Work harder. Think harder. We hear it everywhere—from fitness apps and social media gurus
Goal Setting: From A to B to Z
I used to hate setting goals for Penny. It felt like I was measuring her worth based on how quickly she achieved them. Now I
The Discipline of Inspiration
Apple YouTube Spotify More! “Just try harder. Work harder. Think harder.” But what if the key to creativity, whether that’s in our art or
Why Rachel Handlin’s Art Exhibit Prompted Me to Change My Prepositions
Happy New Year! We’ve taken down our tree and put away the gnomes and nutcrackers. The kids are back at school. We reviewed the highlights
Penny’s 19th Birthday
We celebrated Penny’s 19th birthday in stages last week, first with a trip to NJ to see her friend Rachel and—a few days late—with our
Baking at Her Own Pace
Penny wants to work on cooking and baking skills this year. Usually, we are rushing around, so it is hard to let her work at
Questions for the New Year {Plus my 2024 favorites}
I love this pause in the year, these days between Christmas and New Year’s, between shopping and going back to school. It’s one of the
December Favorites {2024}
Here are books, podcasts, movies, shows, and essays that I enjoyed this December: 1. Episode 287: Julia Watts Belser – A Jewish Perspective on Disability. Here’s a
