• Too Busy - 02/18/2014

    "Ya-a-ay," cheered Adele as she hung up the phone one Saturday morning. "Band practice is cancelled for today! So can I go to the pool and practice for next week's swim meet, Mom?" Mom shook her head. "I know Grandpa would like help with his garden," she said. "How about going there?" Adele sighed...

  • Unraveled - 02/17/2014

    "This is fun!" said Leah enthusiastically. Her grandmother was teaching her to knit slippers. "Does it look okay so far? What do I do next?" Leah asked. Grandma examined Leah's work. "That looks good," she approved. "Make the next few rows exactly the same . . . like it says here." Grandma pointed...

  • Minutemen - 02/16/2014

    "Check out this cool wig!" Tammy exclaimed as she, her brother Blake, and their parents strolled through the museum and peered into the display cases holding artifacts from the Revolutionary War period. "I've seen pictures of George Washington wearing a wig like this." She grinned at her brother....

  • Under New Management - 02/15/2014

    "Everybody all set?"asked Dad, starting the car when the family had piled in after spending time shopping for a new couch. "Are we all strapped in?" "I'm ready," said Tim with a grin, "but after trying the comfortable recliner in that store, these seats feel like stone or marble or something." "That's...

  • Over and Over - 02/14/2014

    "Hi, Mom," said Alyssa when she returned from her weekly visit with their elderly neighbor. "Mrs. Forbes was reading her Bible whenI got there--just like she always does. She ought to know it by heart, she reads it so often." "I'm so glad she can still read," said Mom. "That's a great blessing." "Yes,...

  • Key Ingredient - 02/13/2014

    "Mom, can I bake a cake for Mrs. Grahame?" asked Kim, as she entered the room where her parents were chatting and drinking coffee. Mom looked at her in surprise. She knew Kim didn't like the elderly lady very much. "That's a nice idea," said Mom. "But why do you want to do that?" "At Sunday school...

  • Bottle of Tears - 02/12/2014

    "Wow, Sam! What a lot of boxes!" Abe exclaimed as he looked around his best friend's room. "Looks like you've already got 'most all your stuff packed up." Abe sighed. "I sure wish you weren't moving." "Me, too," agreed Sam, "but Dad lost his job, you know, and he has a new one waiting in Newport."...

  • Bend Your Knees - 02/11/2014

    Ricky sat slumped on the steps as he watched Uncle Bob help Mom carry the furniture from the house to his truck, which was parked in the driveway. Why doesn't Dad care about me anymore? Ricky wondered. His father had moved out and filed for a divorce. He told Ricky that he still loved him, but although...

  • Gravel and Sin - 02/10/2014

    "Look out!" yelled Cindy as Caleb, a neighbor boy, turned his bike right in front of her. Cindy used her brakes, but the tires skidded and she toppled onto the hard gravel. After a moment of stunned fright, she stood up, slowly limped home, and told her mother what had happened. "My knee hurts so...

  • The Snapping Turtle - 02/09/2014

    Lorna lay on her bed, her eyes filled with tears. "Go away!" she snapped when her father tapped on her door. "Don't you want to go fishing with Keaton and me?" Dad asked. "I didn't know it was you," said Lorna, quickly jumping to her feet. She brushed at the tears with her fingers. "Wait for me!...

  • Watch! - 02/08/2014

    "This vacation is a blast," said Carson as he and his Dad walked down the narrow alley in a historic town, licking their ice cream cones. A minute later, Carson pointed to a window overhead. "Dad! Look!" he exclaimed. Dad looked up. A multi-colored cat sat on the window sill, one paw hanging out....

  • Animal Teachers - 02/07/2014

    "Which do you like best, Grandma," asked Monica, "your dog or your cat? Mom says I can get either one, and I'm trying to decide which I'd rather have." "I'll have to think about that," said Grandma. She picked up Ashes, the cat, and sat down with her pet on her lap. Ashes immediately jumped back...

  • A Small Light - 02/06/2014

    "One, one-thousand, two, one-thousand, three, one-thousand, four . . ." Garret counted as lightning streaked across the sky. He cringed a little as a loud crash of thunder split the air. "I'm counting to see how many seconds there are between the lightning and the thunder," Garret told his sister....

  • Raging Waves - 02/05/2014

    Zach grinned as he and his grandfather started walking the few blocks to the ocean. "It's fun to stay for a week with you and Grandma here in Florida every winter," said Zach. "Just think! My friends are wearing coats and boots and tromping through the snow back home, but I can wear shorts and sandals,...

  • The Fence - 02/04/2014

    "I think Sooki wants to be let off her chain," said Todd when the puppy yelped and whined a few times. "I'm sure she does," said Dad. "Why don't you bring her in for the night?" "Okay," agreed Todd. He went out, released the puppy, and brought her in. "Silly dog," he said. "We have a nice fence...

  • A Perfect Creation - 02/03/2014

    "Hey, how do you like my fish?" Karl asked with a grin as he painted a model fish for his science fair project. "Did you know these guys can live in deep water because the pressure inside their bodies is as strong as the pressure of the water?" "Actually,I didn't know that," replied Dad. "That's...

  • Really Empty - 02/03/2014

    "Mom, can I make some lemonade?" asked Jolene. "Can you? It does seem questionable," teased her brother Trent. "After all, it takes a certain amount of ability to make lemonade." "Oh, be quiet," scolded Jolene with grin. "May I make some lemonade, Mom?" Mom laughed. "You can and you may," she said....

  • A Castle or a Cage - 02/01/2014

    "This is gonna be cool!" exclaimed Brad as he worked on the carton in which their new refrigerator had arrived. He cut out a door and window, then threw in an old rug and climbed inside. His little brother Joey scooted in, too. When Mom heard Joey crying a little later, she went to investigate. "Mommy!"...

  • Who’s Your Boss? - 01/31/2014

    Robert closed his door, threw himself on his bed, and pounded his fist into his pillow again and again. "It's not fair!" he growled out loud. "I use a few words that Dad says all the time, and I get sent to my room! No one punishes him." "What do you say we have another break?" asked a loud voice....

  • The Right Tools - 01/30/2014

    "Hey, there,"said Dad as Emily pedaled her bike into the garage. "I'm just about ready to paint the lawn furniture. Why don't you go put on some old clothes and come help me." "Okay," agreed Emily. She went into the house and soon came back in old jeans and a T-shirt. "All right, what do we do?"...