You are more than your swim suit

by Lisa-Jo | May 31, 2011 | Callings, Motherhood, Sweetstuff

My boys officially smell of summer. And to me summer smells like sunscreen. The ritual has begun – the spraying and lathering and rubbing into scalps of sweet smelling SPF 50  on blond hair and pale white bodies. {Sorry, boys, you may have got my blue eyes, but...

How to pray without using words {motherhood edition}

by Lisa-Jo | May 30, 2011 | Callings, Daughters, Faith, Motherhood

I hold you, my darling daughter, in the dark. I can hear your breathing, blindly seeking me out, mouth open and expectant. I am all instinct and no real thought aside from a desire for sleep and the knowing that the way back to bed lies through this 2am feeding. This...

There’s nothing routine about your routine

by Lisa-Jo | May 23, 2011 | Faith, Motherhood

It’s late. Only 9pm. But so late. The night shift will soon begin and the day shift with bathtimes and teeth brushing battles has only just begun to wind down. I slink away for a bit to steal some quiet and maybe some few moments of sleep in between shifts. But...

To the mother in you {whether or not there’s a baby}

by Lisa-Jo | May 19, 2011 | Motherhood

I was six months pregnant with my first baby the first time I remember mother’s day really mattering. From the mother’s perspective. It was Autumn in South Africa and I knew that Sunday and church would come with flowers and celebrating the moms. I was...

{One of} the things parents fear the most

by Lisa-Jo | May 16, 2011 | Faith, Motherhood

For 10 minutes yesterday afternoon we couldn’t find our (nearly) six-year-old son, Jackson. It’s the most terrified I have ever been. It was the sacred Sunday nap hour. His younger brother and dad were sleeping. He and I had cleaned the playroom, got out the new chalk...

For when you’re tempted to just lose it with your kids

by Lisa-Jo | May 11, 2011 | Faith, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Raising Boys

The bacon sizzles hot and fat in the pan. The microwave sings alongside and dust motes dance in the sun along my window frames. Me and the house exhale loudly. The morning tornado of boys has been safely delivered to preschool, the baby is sleeping and other than...