tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41095564868492973512026-04-02T15:07:11.488-04:00 "Cherish your family for they are your treasure."Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.comBlogger699125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-32529839868275762052020-04-24T17:32:00.001-04:002020-04-24T17:32:59.367-04:00

My dear girl,  By now, it is abundantly clear that this year will not end the way anyone anticipated. The first day you walked into kindergarten, we started along a path that was supposed to lead to you walking across a stage in a cap and gown, receiving your diploma, celebrating all you have accomplished over the past (almost) 18 years.  We know now that the journey will not end that

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-56905909793462169962020-01-10T13:05:00.000-05:002020-01-11T09:09:18.690-05:00

Hi! It's been a while, right? The last time I posted any words in this space was November, 2018. For a while, I really didn't miss it, but lately I've had the tech to write again - not the time, but the itch! So, when I was asked to choose a "star" word for the year at work AND saw that was the prompt for Finish the Sentence Friday, I thought maybe this was the time to

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-42404187200691965542018-11-12T20:25:00.000-05:002018-11-12T20:25:15.133-05:00

What seems like many moons ago, I used to post a "Hottest Toys of Christmas {Insert Year}" post annually here on the blog. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Then, as my own kids got older and less "toy focused," I stopped doing that post because it just didn't fit my parenting stage anymore.  Last year, for the first time, I did a "Creative 

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-20891458511846820832018-11-05T19:52:00.000-05:002018-11-05T19:52:06.742-05:00

Motherhood used to sometimes be sleepless nights and baby snuggles. Sometimes, there were toddler tantrums and tickle monsters. Sometimes, sippy cups and potty training were of upmost concern. Sometimes, I miss those days that seem so long ago and, yet, just like yesterday. Most of the time, though, I am quite happy right here where we are now in the midst of middle school, high school,

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-23441575212747623432018-09-14T12:56:00.000-04:002018-09-14T12:56:20.712-04:00

I read the FTSF post on Facebook this week which was "10 things about the changing of the seasons...". The first thing that came to my mind was how the seasons of parenting change. That seems to be on my mind a lot lately as my now teenagers are growing and changing just as fast as toddlers do, it seems. I brushed it off, though, because I usually don't have much

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-70917134581859694592018-08-28T06:00:00.000-04:002018-08-28T06:00:00.963-04:00

"You have three daughters?? Wow! Watch out for those teenage years!!" "Your daughters are how old? I bet you have your hands full!" "I bet there are a lot of tears and slamming doors in your house!" "They're adorable babies, but I bet they'll hate you when they're teenagers!"  I've been hearing comments like these for years now and, when my daughters were little, they

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-85807489457091188862018-07-23T17:10:00.001-04:002018-07-23T17:10:23.795-04:00

I was in the kitchen getting ready to make supper on Sunday evening. The sink was full of dirty dishes, as usual, so I decided to unload the dishwasher and re-load it with the dirty plates, cups, and utensils before I began cooking. I opened the dishwasher and realized that I had loaded the dishwasher with messy dishes the night before, but had, once again, neglected to hit

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-17297746528138628242018-05-25T08:53:00.000-04:002018-05-25T08:53:02.855-04:00

It's time for Finish the Sentence Friday and, today, we're supposed to share a photo and a story to go with it. I can't share the photo I want to, though. It's a picture of my oldest daughter and some of her friends that was taken a couple nights ago when they were having a sleepover to celebrate the end of a grueling sophomore year and one of their birthdays. It is a photo of

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-90192223559596076602018-05-18T09:57:00.001-04:002018-05-19T12:34:55.492-04:00

Sometimes, I love food. A decadent piece of chocolate cake or a hearty bowl of pasta; sinking my teeth into a juicy, perfectly seasoned burger or a creamy cone of cold ice cream on a hot summer day. Just this week, I had food from a restaurant I had never tried before - a Hawaiian pulled pork taco topped with pineapple and paired with some amazing sweet potato chips. Sounds yummy, doesn’t it? Yep

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-131952109469504162018-04-24T16:52:00.000-04:002018-04-24T19:45:36.562-04:00

My alarm goes off at 5:30am. I hit snooze once (or maybe twice). Then, shower, get dressed, put on make-up. I head down the hall to turn off the alarm, feed the dog, and start the coffee. There must be coffee.  I make the rounds to wake up my girls. Sometimes, I stop short and just stare at them for a few seconds. They look angelic when they sleep and I can still see the

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-62595363233034875362018-04-13T14:49:00.000-04:002018-04-13T14:49:02.193-04:00

Last week was spring break for two of my kids and I took the week off work, but my oldest was still in school and my husband was away on a business trip (that wasn't to anywhere worth tagging along). So, we didn't go anywhere or do anything very exciting. There were plenty of "I'm bored!" utterances and raiding the pantry just to kill time. By Sunday evening, I was actually

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-31867619520943366012018-03-01T20:02:00.000-05:002018-03-01T20:04:26.194-05:00

I'm sitting on the couch on my 41st birthday as I type this. It's raining and it has been a pretty ordinary day with little fanfare except for lunch with co-workers and lots of  "Happy Birthday" wishes. That's totally fine with me. I'm not very good at being the center of attention and a day with no crazy schedules to juggle and some simple time with my family is

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-32102306751701007392018-02-27T06:00:00.000-05:002018-02-27T08:54:44.260-05:00

When you are trying to "make it" as a blogger - whatever that may mean to you - one piece of advice you get repeatedly is something also referred to networking. Basically, you are supposed to read and comment on a bunch of other blogs so those bloggers will also read and comment on your blog - and unspoken rule of reciprocal blogger etiquette.  A few years ago,

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-12598288828311949322018-02-08T21:16:00.001-05:002018-02-08T21:16:37.098-05:00

I've fallen in love four times in my life.  The first time was with the guy who became my husband. I met him when I was 19 and I wouldn't say it was love at first site, but more of that giddy, butterflies-in-the-belly nervousness of a new romance. He was a whopping six years older than me (which seems like a lot when you're 19 and 25), so I wasn't sure it could really work. But, it

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-90924793310069375832018-01-19T11:03:00.000-05:002018-01-19T11:03:24.100-05:00

As I sit here typing this, the snow if falling outside and my children are bundled up as they sled and laugh. Although it is not typical, I actually love winter. I do not like the heat of summer, but I love cool feel of winter air on my cheeks and the chance to curl up under a warm blanket. It feels so cozy. And, the best of all is a snow day like today. There is something about snow. It's the

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-50257106920258247062018-01-12T12:13:00.000-05:002018-01-12T12:26:34.062-05:00

Late is not a great way to start a new year, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes. While my kids were out of school for Christmas break, I sorted out a list of my top 10 posts from 2017 and had every intention of writing them up in a post to kick off 2018. I got busy working on a project I had volunteered to do for my kids' school, though. Then, I lost the 

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-79812821524742740812017-12-15T06:59:00.001-05:002017-12-15T06:59:49.908-05:00

Have you ever heard of Jordan Smith? He was a contestant on the singing competition show "The Voice" a few seasons ago. I used to be a big fan of the show and I remember watching the episode when he auditioned. ALL the judges turned their chairs and were shocked because Jordan was not at all what they expected based solely on the voice they heard. But, hey! That's

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-5468119505048710072017-11-12T16:07:00.000-05:002017-11-12T16:07:26.552-05:00

I can vividly remember handing my oldest daughter a Christmas toy catalog when she was about four or five - the first time she could really grasp the concept of "Christmas is coming and I'm going to get presents!" - and asking her to show me some things she wanted Santa to bring her. She sat down at our coffee table and began pointing to at least two or three items per page saying, "I want

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-77727632839552912412017-10-30T06:30:00.000-04:002017-10-30T06:30:04.835-04:00

Every stage of parenting has its own special kind of chaos and craziness from sleepless nights with a newborn, to toddler tantrums, to elementary school mania. I truly believe that no stage of parenting is easier than another - they are all just different. I'm currently in the tween and teen stage of parenting with a 10 year old, a 12 (almost 13) year old, and a 15 year old. There are parts of

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-18632511544840251622017-10-15T17:01:00.000-04:002017-10-15T17:01:57.324-04:00

Friday night, I waited up until midnight for my oldest daughter to get home from her high school homecoming dance. These days, I'm usually lucky to still be awake by 10pm, so midnight was tough. I was super glad I didn't have to set the alarm for any specific Saturday morning hour and, indeed, I rolled out of bed just after 9:00am that morning. I sat down at the

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-81480374672313442822017-10-08T15:12:00.000-04:002017-10-08T15:12:31.474-04:00

Once October rolls in, it really starts to seem like fall to me. The temperatures are cooling off (finally!). The leaves are beginning to change and fall. We are (mostly) settled into our school routines. New seasons of our favorite shows are on TV during the week and there's football on the weekends. Chrysanthemums and pumpkins decorate front porches and stores. The change

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-60683094238335622892017-10-02T06:00:00.000-04:002017-10-02T06:00:07.222-04:00

When I think about last spring, it makes my blood pressure rise even now. Our schedule was absolutely insane. My three daughters were participating in at least two extracurricular activities EACH and those activities required me driving all over the county. Add to that my own part time job and associated responsibilities, some school meetings and volunteering, basic

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-2883610514901909242017-09-11T09:33:00.000-04:002017-09-11T09:33:31.515-04:00

When our kids are young, it's mostly up to us to teach them all the things they need to know. We have to help them learn everything from toileting, to ABC's, to "stranger danger." It can be overwhelming, but, fortunately, we have some partners in this task. Our spouses, grandparents, anutns/uncles, and, eventually, teachers are also helping us on our quest to impart knowledge to our kiddos. 

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-15677765590172085862017-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:002017-09-04T06:00:00.179-04:00

With Labor Day upon us and the kids back in school, I think it's safe to say that summer is officially over which leaves me reminiscing about all the things we did (and didn't do) over the last three months. Back in June, I posted my list of Summer Reads. I've read seven books since then. Most of them were on that list, but not all. Overall, I was pleased with the books I chose. It became

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109556486849297351.post-7109359914972140102017-08-29T06:00:00.000-04:002017-08-29T06:00:49.084-04:00

I originally wrote this letter to my oldest daughter in August 2013 as she was about to begin middle school. At the time, it was brand new territory for all of us and we were both a little scared.  Two years later, I shared it with my middle daughter as she embarked on her middle school journey. Today, my youngest starts 5th grade, considered middle school at the school they attend.

Lisa Witherspoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530852104410009597noreply@blogger.com2