“A singing heart, no sadness knows…gloom cannot start where gladness glows.” Johnny Gruelle An American artist know as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy When I was a little girl my great aunt Jenny made me a Raggedy Andy doll which at the time was life size. I loved to dress and undress […]

Miss Stella turned two at the beginning of this month. No matter the kiddo, mine or anothers, I can’t seem to grasp how quickly a year passes. I have been trying to soak in a few “moments” a day with my boys in an effort to slow time and freeze memories of each day in […]

February conjures up feelings and images of sweetness. From the conversation hearts and chocolate treats to everything dripping in pink and red decor. It is a relief from the dark winter days and the cold nipping at us to be wrapped in the hubbub that comes with Valentine’s Day. Even if it is a little […]

Nathan was the first baby I loved. My brother is almost 9 years older than I am and he was married and starting a family before I was out of high school. Nathan was born when I was seventeen.  I can picture myself standing in my teenage bedroom bouncing, swaying and shushing him to sleep […]

It must be their Italian names. Vinny. CiCily. Gianna. Their family name, Orizotti. I love the energy of this family. They are fierce, loving and silly at times. I have been searching for something to liken them to. Trying to mold a description which would accurately portray them. Forgive me. The one thing I can’t […]

Tommy is my character. He is passionate about just about everything, for better or worse. A grumpy, little man on Mother’s day he proclaimed, “I wish it was Brother’s Day,” while we were getting loaded up to go celebrate the day with John’s mother and grandmother. It was love at first sound for me. I […]

It flew by. Saturday we celebrated three kiddo birthdays in our home with our extended family. Two of them were my sons, my oldest and the youngest have August birthdays. The other is sweet, little Molly, my niece who just turned one. A day full of visiting, food, cake, presents and hopefully it was packed […]

Mothers love their babies with all they are.  I cherish every moment of motherhood even as I wish for more sleep, more time and less mess. The blurry days with each of my boys as newborns are starting to slip from my mind.Images of each of them are seared into my memory now but I […]

Raising boys keeps moms cooking, cleaning and running from son up to son down as they say. God made little boys so stinking cute so we would scoop them up and snuggle with them even after they just tore through a room with mud on their shoes (or if it is one of my boys […]

When the new year comes the comics always depict a babe of some kind. They are rosy and cherubic and make you giddy for what the future will hold. Babies, in their innocence and vulnerability, remind us to cherish everything we are given in life. Here’s to cherishing 2010!