It has been difficult to write something pleasant or cheerful. For a few days, I felt guilty being hemmed in by laughing children and the beautiful desert spring. I feel strange that I can take a deep breath knowing others are suffering. But my position as a wife and...
When you wake up in the morning and feel grateful. When you wake up at 3:12am and feel anxious. He is still God. When you feel like you have everything under control. When you feel like the waves will pull you under. He is still God. When you cheer for your neighbor...
Adding just a few touches to regular banana pudding put a lot of smiles on my kids faces. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for visiting Songs Kate Sang. Sunday morning I decided I was going to make a big, fancy, Texas style dinner. I started a...
I was a middle school Edge counselor for years. Edge is the 6th grade - 8th grade youth group program at Catholic Churches. One night at Edge, we had a beautiful session about the importance family prayer time. I usually am assigned to the 8th graders during small...
This morning was incredibly smooth. I gave myself many virtual gold stars. You know, to go along with all the virtual learning we were doing. By 7:00am, the three youngest and I had eaten breakfast and Riley asked to go ahead and do his homework so that he could have...
How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103.  Day 15: Today’s walk was at noon. Riley, Mary Alice, Sebastian, and I walked down to see the horses. The older two were at home, knee deep in online learning. We live a...
Day 2: I woke up on March 11th, ready to rock our voluntary self isolation. We pulled Nate out of school (Riley was already home due to spring break). I was going to take them all on a hike and show the boys some of Mary Alice and Sebastian's favorite places. I talked...
My dearest Sebastian, you are three. You were such a surprise and I cannot imagine our family without you. You are the best snuggler. You announce to everyone 'you my best friend'. It makes their day. You love to dance and laugh and lay with Murphy. We started the day...
Over the past few weeks, I've been absolutely inspired by friends taking beautiful hikes and finding blooms in the desert. I wanted so badly to find the poppies and lupine in bloom. Two friends, both named Jennie, spoke of hikes near Cave Creek that were stunning. On...
Just after I turned 17, my mother, father, and I were walking through a fancy department store headed to meet my brother at the food court. I can remember clearly that my dad slowed his stride and picked up two very fancy, very beautiful hats and said, "every lady...
Do you ever look at your kids and just think "my goodness, they are beautiful" ? Riley turned 9 last week. He opted for a birthday party at the skate park so that his entire class could be invited and they could bring their siblings if they wanted. Goodness that made...
It has been many seasons since I called a friend and asked if they could just come out and play. I have determined that this is a habit we should never end. Last year, I started calling my dear friend Nancy for last-minute photography adventures. Or maybe she called...
Last fall, I headed north with my three youngest. My dear friend Kristi, (@iamkristi on Instagram), takes her boys and just goes. She adventures with them. It's absolutely inspiring. I have no idea how she does it and her trips involve crossing state lines with four...
As I walked the beach in Surfside, Texas, I thought of those we had lost in 2019. In October, I sat with a dear friend the night her husband died. I held her hand in the bedroom as police officers and others worked in another room nearby. In November, I carried a...
Earlier this year, Brian's dad emailed us with an idea for Christmas. How about Christmas at the beach? Surfside, Texas to be exact. One house for his siblings and their families, his parents, and us. The house was amazing! It was spacious and comfortable for all 17...
Do you choose a word of the year? Since 2008, I’ve chosen a word to reflect on throughout the year. *The idea of a word of the year was first introduced to me by my dear friend Heather. Once upon a time, she had a lovely blog full of beautiful inspiration. I’m very...
This post is sponsored by Torani. Please see policies for more information. Last night, we hosted our first Christmas gathering. It was informal and easy, the perfect way to kick off the holidays. Riley's great aunt and birth mother joined us for dinner and...
My youngest dears, We are anticipating Christmas every moment. You look at me directly in the eyes and ask me 'how much times' until we see Julia. This season, you are excited and hopeful about the arrival of your big sister home from college. The similarities between...
Over Riley's fall break, I took the youngest north to Cottonwood, Arizona. We had been invited to stay at the Ocotillo Nature Home. It was the cutest AirBnB, directly across the street from a path that leads to the Verde River. Cottonwood is only about a 90 minute...
I'm a photographer- but, more importantly, I'm a mother. Boy do I take photos. I have hundreds of thousands of them. Terabytes of photos stored in various locations and on various media. Just this morning, I took several pics celebrating my 8 year old's season finale...