On Pilgrimage for Nicholas
One disturbed child, two desperate parents, and a plea to St. Thérèse
Nicholas was one year old and had been in four foster homes when my husband, Tom, and I adopted him from Guatemala. We realized he might have problems but were eager to love this little boy, along with our four other children. Continue »
Jesus is Coming!
Let’s get ready to welcome him.
Leaving our teenagers at home for a few days without a sitter for the first time was scary. Our decision to travel was made and unmade at least a thousand times (or so it seemed). Continue »
Kids Who Care About Others
Tips for passing on the spirit of Christian volunteering
"Record Numbers of Teens Serving Others. Family Upbringing Identified as Cause." Imagine that as a headline in the morning paper. Continue »
Take Time for Advent Family Prayer!
These practical, realistic suggestions will show you how.
“Family” and “prayer” belong together. After all, as the Second Vatican Council taught, our families are the “domestic church.” Continue »
A Saint? Under My Roof?
Kids, Confession, and the Call to Holiness
My fingers furiously flipped through a hardcover edition of "Butler’s Lives of the Saints". “Daddy’s original plan” for my kindergartner to be the patron saint of dancers for the All Saints parade had blown up in my face. Continue »
The Question that Changed My Life
It could change yours, too.
I grew up in a big family, with grandparents and cousins nearby. Life was a round of family visits and gatherings, with twenty people jammed around the table for holidays. Then my husband and I moved away to a big city where I hardly knew a soul. I was terribly homesick and missed my family desperately. But at least, I still had “Days of Our Lives”! Continue »