“Oh, why did Leap Year Day have to fall during Lent?” I heard my daughter groan. She is a Leap Year Day baby—born twelve years ago, on February 29. More »

“Never give up hope!” Our friends, Bill and Cynthia, were crying for joy as they shared some remarkable family news with my wife and me. We had shared many things over the years—we were neighbors and fellow parishioners, and our children all attended the same Christian school. More »

It looked like Hurricane Iwa had swept through the living room. Paper debris was scattered on the floor, along with magazine clippings, colorful construction paper, poster boards, scissors, marking pens, and bottles of glue. More »

When God breaks into human history, all the details of the story are important. In the details, he’s trying to tell us something. Here’s one significant “detail” that merits our attention during Advent: When God sent us a Savior, he sent him by way of a family—the Holy Family of Nazareth. More »

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. More »

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). More »

"Record Numbers of Teens Serving Others. Family Upbringing Identified as Cause." Imagine that as a headline in the morning paper. More »

“Family” and “prayer” belong together. After all, as the Second Vatican Council taught, our families are the “domestic church.” More »