Painting Easter eggs together was a fun family activity, but hopefully as the girls get older it will be a little less stressful of an activity (DARCY....NO!!!...DON'T DRINK THE DYE!!). Easter Sunday we did the traditional hunt out in the backyard and then ate the hard-boiled eggs for lunch. I like the new tradition...the last thing I feel like doing is cooking a big meal after a long morning at church. After everyone took a nap, we went to the Fauth's for a wonderful dinner and another Read More

This week I was at Liberty University for a one-week intensive:  COUN 321.  Class was so much fun. Every morning we had lectures, and every afternoon we had practice time in small groups using our techniques. One afternoon, I played the client and the whole class practiced their counseling skills on me. Since I have a plethora to choose from, I decided to use a real-life scenario instead of making one up. You have to understnad, I have had a chronic problem since childhood. It actually Read More

I'm taking a break from homework to comment on Colby's post "Little Miss Thrifty." I have several things to say about this topic.1. My grandmother, Alice Brogan Sylwester, was raised during the Great Depression and was significantly impacted by it. This, in turn, affected the way she raised her children and her children's children. My obsession with saving pennies has been commonly referred to as the "Sylwester gene." My mother has it worse than me. She cuts open lotion/shampoo/detergent Read More

Here is the second installment of books that I have read that have left enough of a mark on me that I still remember them regularly. In college I remember hearing several times that the books we read and the people we spend our time with will most determine who we are 10 years from now. I think it is true.11. The Resurrection of the Son of God (N.T. Wright) - Theology and Biblical Studies, Advanced Reading Level12. My Name is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok) - Fiction, a enthralling tale about a Hasidic Read More

Kelly Driggers asked me for a reading list and I thought I would start a multi-segment blog series on the topic of books I have read and highly recommend. I will categorize the books and give them a reading level if necessary. I will be putting the books out there in no order but based on how they come to my memory.1. To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson (Courtney Andersen) - Biography2. The Godly Man's Picture (Thomas Watson, Puritan Paperbacks) - Christian Practice3. The Reason for Read More

Anyone that knows Annie knows that she is always strategizing to save a buck. For the most part I appreciate it about her, until it really becomes a bit over the edge. A few nights back I had put little Darcy to bed and Annie was still upstairs getting Haley Jane ready when chaos broke out in the upstairs bathroom. It was not just Haley whining, but really screaming in a rather disturbed manner. The only thing I could hear her make out was, "It's too spicy, I don't like it!"Then, Annie firmly Read More

In the last week, I have written a 15 page paper, studied 400 pages worth of material for a test, and started another class. For those of you who don't know, I am taking counseling classes through Liberty University's distance learning program. If God continues to give me the grace and strength, I will have my master's degree in professional counseling in a few years. I have an "intensive" on March 17-March 21 at Liberty. The instructor gave us three books, and said that if we didn't have the 15 Read More