Family Life

I took the Christmas tree down last night, along with all our other Christmas decorations. I did this after the boys had gone to bed, in part because it’s easier when they’re not crowding around trying to “help”, but also because I didn’t want them feeling sad about Christmas being over, put away in the [...]

We packed the kids into the car and went out shopping, wanting to catch those Boxing day deals. We looked at CDs, books, linen, shelving, toys, shoes, and chocolate, and ended up with about half the things on our list. The shops were not as crowded as we’d expected, and the boys were good (this [...]

My greatest Christmas fear, a very early morning, was groundless. Daniel was the first to rise, as usual, but the rest of us managed to relax in bed till about 9. You know you’ve grown up when you’d prefer Christmas morning came later, rather than sooner. Debbie and I had put the gifts under the [...]

We sang Christmas carols for a while tonight before putting the boys to bed. Debbie played the piano and sang. I sat on the coffee table and held Micah and sang. Micah (8 months) rested his head on my shoulder and hummed a continuous monotone. His version of singing. He loves music and will sing [...]

Yes, OK, so maybe the photo is a little misleading. The sun isn’t shining from a clear blue sky, the grass is covered by a foot of snow, and I’m definitely not out there lying down in shirt sleeves. But the picture captures the essence of where I am: I’m on holiday! A week and [...]