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Recent Posts
- 61 Psaltery & Lyre: Kay Porter, “Mother Mold”
- Ride to Church in Hyderabad, India
- 60 Psaltery & Lyre: Jeremy Windham, “Goliath in Love”
- Flooding the Book of Mormon with the Book of Mormon
- Battle Hymn of My Mormon Mother
- A Celebration of Motherhood
- Motherhood Is Not the Essense of my Personhood
- 3 Little Gurus
- 59 Psaltery & Lyre: James A. Clark, “Elegy for a Stranger”
- [Mormon] Mother’s Prayer for Its Child
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Tag Cloud
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children Archive
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Parenthood Juggle: I Never Had to Ask For Permission
My dad got teary with pride every time; my mom sported her corsage in the colors of whatever institution I was graduating from at the moment. -
Guest Post Invitation: The Parenthood Juggle
I want my daughters (and my son!) to be able to read about other women’s struggles. How did they go about deciding what to do and when? -
28 Psaltery & Lyre: Kris Bluth, “Truth of Consequences”
“She called me at 11:00 on / Saturday night and asked if / I could have sex with her.” -
Unexpected Spiritual Experiences: Light and Shadow
“I don’t know much,” I think to myself, “but I know there is truth in their steady breathing, and in their dirty laundry scattered on the floor.” -
11 Psaltery & Lyre: Heather Olson Beal, “Quiver Full”
Heather Olson Beal is a regular blogger at D&S. See her complete bio on the “About Us” page. -
11 Dear Jack: Make It Work
Dear Jack, Our ward is changing meeting times next year, and we’ll meet right in the middle of kids’ nap and lunch times. Do we make everyone go to church... -
Roller Coaster
A year ago, I was living in a daze. I was spending most nights curled up against my 11 year old daughter’s back as she lay on her... -
Santa and I
The year I turned four or five, we drove to my grandparents in central Wisconsin for Christmas. Actually, we did this for most years of my early childhood- until I... -
Prodigal
Last week, at a familiar intersection, the sign a man held up said, “It doesn’t take much to be kind.” -
The Feast of St. Francis
This year, our family observed General Conference by attending the local Episcopal church. -
Family Ties
Where is the line between serving your family and loosing yourself in it? -
The Wish Tree
I had my five year old daughter with me and I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get her very interested in the bronzes. Then we turned the... -
The Nursery Window
“Long ago,” he said, “I thought like you that my mother would always keep the window open for me, so I stayed away for moons and moons and moons, and... -
I, Heather Kathleen Olson Beal, Being of Sound Mind and Body
A few months ago, Brent and I finally managed to complete a task that has been on our to-do list for—gulp—14.5 years. We had a will drawn up (and other... -
You Can Recognize Them by Their Hand-Carved Daggers…
I love memoirs. And I love Tina Fey. So I was just salivating as my friends and co-bloggers raved about Bossypants when it came out. Finally, on Mother’s Day, I... -
BUTT-erfly T-shirts for Mother’s Day
My first child was born on January 5. The months between her birth and Mother’s Day were, um, let’s just say they were difficult. She cried all day long and... -
Fff… family
I just read this today and loved it: http://www.literarymama.com/columns/perfectlynormal/archives/2011/ffffamily.html A great reminder that not all families look alike (which clearly we should not need reminding) and that for some people,... -
Natural Coastline Ecosystems
This is a photo I took on a short (half a day) trip to the beach over Spring Break. Behind me is the Atlantic Ocean. I was in Florida visiting... -
Delousing the Kids
This beautiful poem was written by my dear friend, Dayna Patterson, after patiently listening to me whine about our 2010 lice-capade. It will be published later this year in a... -
An Unlikely Prayer of Thanksgiving
Last summer, Brent and Stuart went to get a haircut. While there, the stylist discovered that Stuart had lice (gasp!). We soon discovered that Marin also had it (double gasp!).... -
Kids and Calamities
I watched the Twin Towers fall on TV, my oldest child safely ensconced in her kindergarten class. My toddler was playing with blocks nearby…. building towers and knocking them down. ... -
“Do you want to end up living under a bridge?”
This is, reportedly, what my daughter’s second grade teacher asked her class during a fit of frustration over their less-than-enthusiastic preparation for the looming standardized testing. Several other parents and... -
I’m a Public School Junkie
I’m a public school junkie and since this is Texas Public Schools Week (who knew?), I’m hopping up on my Public Schools Soapbox. My three siblings and I are... -
Celebrating the Man As Well As His Cause
A guest post from a reader, Debra. Names matter. They do. My life experience has taught me this. Names are important as they are references – signs — that direct... -
Zachary’s Ride (Walk) to Church
Come see Laura and her son Zachary’s walk to church in the Bay Area. Laura writes: Our kindergartner loves photography, and this was the perfect opportunity. We headed out on... -
Forbidden Fruit
So, I just finished reading an absolutely fascinating book called Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers by Mark Regnerus, a professor at University of Texas-Austin.... -
Memories
A grateful resident presented me with a chocolate turkey, wrapped in beautiful multicolored foil. Then she looked around her room, reached over to her bedside table, and... -
Let My People Go
My little Stuart has a bleeding heart. He is unusually quick, I think, to identify a person or an action as being unfair or unkind and to want to right... -
Lunch 5- Out of the Comfort Zone
We (and our children) have had to learn to be gracious guests at both cockroach infested decrepit apartments and mansions where we are served by The Help. -
Giving Thanks
‘The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.’ -Mahatma Ghandi -
On living my confirmation
I took a course as a Ph.D. student called “Engendering Curriculum History.” I was 30-something, had three kids (ages 0, 3, and 6), and fancied myself a good feminist (although... -
Urban Camping Part II
My husband had just offered me the deal of the century: one month, completely kid-free, so that I could focus all my attention and energy on writing my dissertation... -
Cara’s Story
A poem, by Andy. Perhaps this is your story, too. -
The First Lunch
A middle-aged Hispanic man is walking past the car where I pull up to the light. He sits down on the curb two cars behind us. He has a sign,...
