The holidays rarely live up to the shiny, picture-perfect expectations that we set for them.

Three years ago this month, Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, CT experienced the unthinkable.

The effort of the holidays gets under my skin. Magic is all well and good, but it only happens if I put a lot of work into it.

But some day, they’ll be adults, and maybe they’ll remember their mother’s tears.

Daily, he teaches me anew that beauty really is in the eyes of the beholder, and I am a better person and mother for that lesson.

To me, there is no better compliment. There is no greater gift, job, or purpose than for my arms to be his home.

There is power in the do's and the don'ts in this world. And it is imperative to know the difference.

You may only see calm rainbows in someone’s life, but remember a strong storm may be looming nearby.

But there are things I'll be thinking, things I wish I was brave enough to say out loud, to help them understand the package deal of their new student and said student's mother.

One thing I learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun. – Jane Goodall