Tag Archives: family stories

Santa and the True Spirit of Christmas…by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Note: This article was originally written in 1994, published in The Annals of Saint Anne and later in Active Christian News. A portly man with a white beard, wearing a flannel shirt and suspender-supported blue jeans, pumped gas into … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Gifts, Holiday, Jesus, Santa | Tagged Christmas, family stories, St. Nicholas, traditions | Leave a comment

Today I am Sad…But Not Without Hope

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Carol Boley

I am very sad. I know it will not always be so, but today, I am very sad. My mother died one month ago. I miss her. She lived with us the last 20 years of her life. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Alzheimer's, Bible, Caregiving, Christian Living, Death and Dying, Faith, Family Life, Family Stories, Forgivness, Gifts, Grace, Grief, Hope, Jesus, Kindness, Legacy, Life, Life Transitions, Love, Mom, Parenting, Regrets, rest, Teaching, Trust in God's promises | Tagged children, faith, family stories, forgiveness, grief, Jesus, Life Transitions, love, memoir, thankfulness | 22 Comments

When You Long to Escape

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Carol Boley

Some days I dream about escaping. I picture myself at the Hotel del Coronado (“the Del”) on the southern California coast for three days. By myself. The dream is most vivid seconds before I open the door for the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Alzheimer's, Being still before God, Bible, Caregiving, Christian Living, Confession, Dreams, facial, Faith, Family Life, Finding solutions, Frustrations, Gifts, Grace, Grief, Health and Beauty, Honor, Hope, Jesus, Kindness, Life Transitions, Love, massage, Mom, ocean, peace, Perserverance, Prayer, Remembering, rest, spa treatments, Trust in God's promises, When life seems too much | Tagged despair, Doing Life Together, faith, family stories, grief, Jesus, Life Transitions, love, Prayer, sharing life | 12 Comments

Don’t Rain on My Parade…by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Lately, incidents long past, things I haven’t thought about for a half-century or longer, are popping into my memory. When I was in second grade, my mother signed me up for Brownies. Meetings were held in Borough Hall, a community … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Doing Life Together, Family Life, Life, Memoir, Mom, Parenting, War | Tagged Brownie Scouts, celebrations, Childhood, children, family stories, memoir, Memorial Day, Parades, traditions | 5 Comments

Starting a Christmas Conversation…by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Many years ago, I bought the book, The Christmas Conversation Piece: Creative Questions to Illuminate the Holidays by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie. Their stated reason for writing the book was “to enhance all your Christmas conversations and draw you … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Family Stories, Holiday, Memoir, Remembering | Tagged Christmas, family stories, memoir, traditions | 10 Comments

The Beach Ball that Swam to Oma . . . by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Even though I grew up near the Jersey shore, we didn’t often go to the beach when I was a child. My dad was busy earning a living; my stay-at-home mom didn’t drive. But I do remember one rare beach … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Life Together, Family Stories, Fathers, Finding solutions, Memoir, Perserverance | Tagged depression, despair, Disappointment, Doing Life Together, faith, family stories | 3 Comments

A Valentine Legacy of Forgiveness…by Peggy Levesque

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Peggy Levesque

What do you think of as Valentine’s Day approaches? Hearts? Flowers? Love? Yeah, those things come to my mind as well, but mostly I think of…forgiveness. Let me tell you why. My father had a volatile temper. He could swing … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgivness, Holiday, Legacy, Valentines Day | Tagged Christian Living, faith, family stories, forgivness, Parenting | 4 Comments

Longing for a Fashionable Lunch . . . by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

When I was a girl (in the late 50s, early 60s), my school lunch didn’t look like the other girls’ lunches. I brought my lunch to school in a hand-me-down boy’s metal Roy Rogers lunch box. The other girls had … Continue reading →