Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

I haven’t published many personal posts here in a while, so I thought I’d share something I recently wrote for Catholic Mom. Lying down with my little ones, who aren’t all so little any more, has been a great blessing – for them and for me.


So-called “nighttime parenting” gets a bad rap. I can safely say that, now that all of my children regularly sleep through the night. (My children were each at least four years old before that happened with any regularity.)

Sleep disruption, for all its annoyance and the growing bags under my eyes, is the foundation of many warm memories of snuggling a newborn at my breast, rubbing the back of a toddler awakened by a nightmare, and reading picture books to a preschooler who can’t fall back to sleep.

Some of the most honest, intimate moments I’ve shared with my children have come in nearly dark bedrooms while they lay tucked beneath the sheets, a stuffed companion or two (or more) at their side.

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Guest Posts: Savory Soups for Cold Nights

CatholicMom.com

Meatless Friday: Butternut Squash and Cider Bisque (January 6, 2017)

“Delicious and very pretty with its rich orange color, I served a bowl of this soup with some artisan bread and butter. And while there’s some chopping involved, it’s so easy to make.”

Meatless Friday: Potato Leek Soup (December 16, 2016)

“The fact that the potatoes do not need to be peeled makes makes preparation of this soup quick and easy. Chop your vegetables, throw them in the Dutch oven or soup pot and take care of something else while your soup simmers.”

Guest Posts: Vocations Chalice, Divine Mercy for Moms Book Club

CatholicMom.com

Praying for Priests with a Vocations Chalice (November 7, 2016)

“In truth, I spent the week half afraid I would discover my youngest children playing with the chalice. And not pious ‘let’s play Mass’ playing. I’m thinking glubbing orange juice or slurping pasta as if we’d brought home a miniature version of the Stanley Cup.”

Divine Mercy for Moms Book Club: Chapter 6 (October 22, 2016)

“And isn’t that part of what endears our mothers to us? No matter the number of siblings who share the same mother, the relationship is unique – it’s special and exclusive from the first loving gaze exchanged at the mother’s breast.”