When I spotted Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri in nearly every "best of" YA list for 2020, I was first struck by the title. It's a phrase I remembered from Tolkien, made especially poignant to me after the death of my son's best friend. We've clung to these words through the darkest forests of [...]
This winter I'm reading through one of my favorite books of all time, Pride & Prejudice, with my thirteen-year-old daughter for her homeschool literature course. It's the perfect time of year for it, when we can pull up blankets by the fireplace and read out loud to each other...kind of like the Bennett sisters would have done. [...]
In A Bad Moms Christmas, Mila Kunis plays a mother who nearly ruins her kids' joy when she gets into a screaming match with her over-the-top mom, who has taken Christmas too far. Her mother's traditions are forced on the family. They will be made to enjoy the holiday, whether they like it or not. Kunis cracks. [...]
There's been a lot to not like about 2020, but I've had several things that have brought me joy this year too. They're simple things, like robes or books I've read. Or even simple routines I've added that have made a significant difference for me this year. So, I wanted to share them! No affiliate [...]
Several months ago, I received a press kit with an advance copy of Toni DiTerlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon book in it. Boxes of review copies are nothing new at our house, and like so many other books that have come across our kitchen table, this book was passed on to one of my kids. [...]
I'll be the first to admit that I am way, way behind on Christmas this year. As of today, there's tree, no stockings, no lights, no presents wrapped. In fact I've failed to invoke any spirit of festiveness in my household except for a half-finished screening of Elf, which was interrupted because the host (ahem, [...]
This is it! Our last month of 2020. Think of all we've made it through this year, and your persistence to continue turning to God's Word each day. Even though this is the advent season, reading the Bible in a year leads us to a very different place in Scripture. We're nearing the end of [...]
Advent has been a small celebration in my house in past years, but this year we are joyfully anticipating Christmas season way earlier than normal. I think 2020 and an election have a lot to do with it. I've already told my kids we're going to make a Christmas bucket list soon, and it's gotten [...]
I am so excited for Caroline this month: she was published in the Washington Post! #goals! But I'm even more proud of what she said, because the myth that women can just effortlessly do it all is flawed and needs to be addressed. More like this: The Mom-dalorian: What the Mandalorian taught me about being [...]
I was so, so hopeful that last night's election results would come in so overwhelmingly clear that we'd go to sleep easy, assured that the United States was actually . . . unified. But, of course, that didn't happen. If you're stress scrolling Twitter or raging at your friends' Facebook posts today, may I recommend [...]
