I had a blog post for Hallmark scheduled to run yesterday. It was in queue, all ready to go, when the tragedy in Newtown, CT took place. My Hallmark post was to be about their very special North Pole Countdown Ornament, but I just couldn’t push publish. I have something else I’d like to talk [...]
Category Archives: Halllmark
Holiday Moments and Gift Ideas
It’s kind of crazy how memories can overwhelm you sometimes. I was sitting here thinking about Jingle, the dog that goes along with the Hallmark Jingle All the Way Interactive storybook. My daughter, Ella, has really taken to this stuffed dog. He gets buckled into seat belts, sits by her feet at dinner, snuggles in [...]
Family Meetings and Encouraging Words
We sit down and have a family meeting on Sunday evenings. It’s a way for our family of 6 to make sure we are all on the same page for the upcoming week, celebrate accomplishments from the prior week, and more. We assign chores, distribute allowance, plan our weekly menu and share our goals for [...]
Pepper Pancakes?
When we visit my parents in Mission, Texas each year (near South Padre) there is always plenty of memory making fun happening. We get to go to the beach… We swim in their retirement community pool and hot tub under the palm trees… We go to the zoo… We hang out and get to explore [...]
Best Friends Forever
Let’s talk friendship, shall we? I don’t have a best friend. I’ve always been one of those girls to have a lot of good friends but as an adult, not a best girl friend. You know, that one friend you can call up and she’ll drop everything and be there in minutes with chocolate ice [...]
It Takes a Village… Not to Mention Wine and Coffee
I’ve always known and hoped that I would be a mom. When I was in Kindergarten, we had a “Star of the Week” program where the star would be interviewed. One of the questions in the interview was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My immediate answer, firmly stated without any [...]
It’s A Good Thing She’s Cute!
I have four kids and you’d think by the time Leah came along I’d have this whole parenting thing down. What no one seems to tell you is that whether you have 1 or 10 kids, God sends you a different one each time. You get the experience of starting over, learning the ropes again [...]
3 Dollars, 5 Minutes and the Best Birthday Ever
I used to stress about my kids birthdays. I put such high expectations on myself to make their birthdays perfect… “good moms pull out all the stops to make their kids feel special on their birthdays” I thought. I really struggled with making that come true without spending a lot of money and time I [...]
Handwritten With Love – Making Room for Sentimental
There was a time in my life where I kept each and every card, letter and note I received. Cards for birthdays, notes from classmates, letters from loved ones who lived far away. I have books and books full of cards and notes… some with a lot of meaning… some from people I barely remember. [...]
5 Tips for Making Chores a Special Occasion
Pin It Spring has sprung, which to my kids means more outside play and fun time. To me, it means that, but also spring cleaning. As much as I’d love for our life to be all fun and games, when you have a household there are certain things that just have to get done. We [...]

















