How's Parenting Going, Episode 2: Getting Along

How’s parenting going, you ask…

The elusive sibling-harmony...  Caught on film for the first time in since January 2015, our two kids playing together – quietly.  

Nine Years of Marriage - A Small Compilation of My Favorite Memories

9 years of marriage

A small compilation of my favorite memories...

1,462: A Birthday Letter To Sawyer

What a difference 1,462 days makes…

This boy turns 4 today and my heart is aching!  Every year we get to celebrate this amazing kid and every year on his birthday, it’s like hitting the restart button on my little corner of the world.

Boymom

Boymom.  (I’m also a girlmom…but this post's about Sawyer).

Truth from the Trenches: Choosing Joy Again (and again, and again)

This past Wednesday Addison had another neurosurgeon appointment.  It was in Lubbock, some two hours down the road – four hours round-trip.  And, as I was driving to and from, I was thinking.  I do some of my best thinking in the car, actually, although almost none of it makes it anywhere useful because I have a raging case of forgetfulness going on.

Bitter Things

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  … So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.       (Matthew 6:26-27, 34)

How's Parenting Going, Episode 1: Soda Shower

How’s parenting going, you ask…

Undone

Disclaimer: There are pictures but stay with me...get past that and read 'til the end!

Ever feel like your heart is undone?  Like your life is akin to your favorite, well-worn shirt?  Threadbare maybe?  But still your favorite because of its comfort and familiarity?

The list of hard things this side of heaven can be kind of long. 

Ferocious Suffering & Gracious Sacrifice

Five.  That’s the number he would be today.  As I showered this morning, I pretended in my mind, even for a second, that he was still here.  And if he was, what excitement would fill our home today.  I would be rushing to go pick up the cake.  Straighten the house.  Wrap the final present. 

Mom-a-logue

I’m a momma.

I spend a large amount of my time saying the same thing over and over and over again.  Like calling a child’s name or asking them to put their shoes back on or telling them, for the love, EAT YOUR DINNER!  (This principle is also true of my relationship with my husband who, though he is still young, can’t seem to hear for the life of him…so I get to say things to him over and over too…)

Suffering for Righteousness Sake

Hard days…harder nights.

No matter how grating today was…no matter how intolerable your now seems or how intimidating your tomorrow may be…

Just these three words:  

Being a Dad Takes Bravery

We’ve never actually had the conversation but I know this is true as a wife to a man who is many things, not the least of which is brave.

Being a Dad Takes Guts

Let’s just put a few things out there right at the get-go… 1) I have no idea what being a father is like.  2) Male-readership here is probably negligible at best – a fact I’ve admitted here before. 3) Dads, in my opinion, are one of the most powerful forces in the lives of their children.

On Snuggling Chickens...Also On Grief

I read today that the CDC is urging people to please stop snuggling with chickens…yes, seriously…

Truth from the Trenches: God's Goodness {Alternately Titled: First Epilepsy Anniversary}

Earth Side: A Mother's Day Post

Mother’s Day

Come What May: On Bullies & God's Redemptive Way

Our stories die with us unless we write them down. 

There have been a few things in our life that have sort of defined us.  When I was in first grade, I met my first bully.  A burly, sorta strewn about, mostly dirt-covered, sandy-blonde second grader named Anson.  He wore stained striped shirts and tattered denim jeans every day.  As is characteristic of bullies, Anson picked on me.  He pushed me in the recess line, jumped on the snow-fort my friends and I had built, and pulled my hair.  He’s the reason my front left tooth got broken.  He picked on other kids, too.  His list of offenses piled high…he took other kids’ lunches, put his mouth on the water fountain, and spit gum into someone’s hair.  He jumped off the teeter totter letting kids plummet to the ground.  One time, he smeared ketchup all over the bathroom.  He got in big trouble for that.  And as they scolded him, I remember seeing huge alligator tears pouring down his cheeks.  He left at semester’s end and didn’t come back after Christmas. 

Adam Wears the Pants (the one with the story of the lost couch)

Adam’s pants have been a problem since the outset.

You Know It Happens At Your House Too

I’m currently sitting at my dining room table.  It’s April 29, 2017 … and it’s snowing.  This irony is not lost on me.  Because last I checked, Spring had supposedly sprung just over 40 days ago.  But, since it’s a relatively obscure day on the calendar, I figure it’s as good a day as any to be a little transparent.  In part, because of snow 40 days into Spring.

Swanky Strawberry Cake & A Tribute to My Friend

I have this friend.  Her name is Bianca but she'll answer to almost anything.  She’s definitely an original … a one and only.  She lives her life from one fun loving epiphany to the next.  She’s energetic, a sucker for the movie Annie, and passionate about life.  She can be a bit squirrelly at times and she seems to eat, breath, and sleep craziness.  She loves adventures and being around her tends to be an adventure of its own.  She would tell you her greatest treasures are her kids!  She’s genuine, wild, super hilarious, and always fun. 

Spilled Milk of Spiritual Proportions: On Parenthood, Holy Practice, & Obedience

The Backstory:

We already had all three children.  Addison was just a teensy-weensy two-month old but between her and the jealous 16-month old brother, his persistent reflux, and a husband who worked out-of-state most days, my sanity was beginning to wane.  I posted some flaky meme and a half-hearted cry for help on social media and I promptly received the following encouragement: “Do the next thing.” –Elisabeth Elliot

Huh?  What am I supposed to do with that?

Resurrection Sunday 2017

I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)

We Must Think Truth

I once wrote a post and called it About Me, even though No. 17 would have been a better title.  In it, I explained the power of words.  It’s true, isn’t it?  That words have power…  Because they do, ya’ know.  You believe it too, if you’re part of this, the “being redeemed.”   That yes, Christ has power, the cross has power, Christ on the cross has power.  And yet, the Word also says, that the message of the cross…that is, the gospel, has power. 

One Thing I Just Cannot Do

So...The Great Stomach Flu of 2017 recently visited our family. And when I say visited, I really mean it wormed its way in and I thought it was never gonna leave ...

Untitled

As parents, when the natural progression of life occurs we are flung straight from toddlerdom to the realm of adolescence…surprisingly, these two age-groups aren’t all that different.  This is something one of my dearest friends, Cassandra “KC” Smallwood knows all about.  A phenomenal writer, an unwavering faithful friend, and someone with a personality as sweet as the South’s tea, it’s a grace to be able to welcome KC to the blog today.

Showing Up, Especially Today, On A Day Without Women

Here’s to strong women! 

Like most ladies, I have two jobs.  One outside the home where I work part time with and for children in foster care.  My other position, though, goes hand-in-hand with my role as wife, momma, and homemaker.

A Day In Photos (Yesterday: 7am to 7pm)

Having a house full of cold-ridden, sniffling, sneezing kids isn’t so bad once you totally give up, let them control their wardrobe (or lack thereof), and play whatever cartoon you can stomach on repeat.  (For us, that is NOT Caillou.  Sawyer may or may not, (but probably does), believe Caillou is not on because “Caillou lives on the east coast and is napping/busy eating/or already in bed,” because, obviously, east coast kids are in bed before we are...duh.)

The Evolution of a Toddler

I don’t believe in evolution.  I just don’t.  That said, I firmly believe toddlers have evolved from raccoons.

I would know this to be true because I currently live with two raccoons … toddlers.  This fact is evident just by looking at the proliferation of gray hairs on my head, my ever-thinning patience, and the slight twitch that’s developed just above my right eye. I’m a tired, impatient, twitching, gray-headed lady.  But this story’s about raccoons, not me…

Happy Valentines Day 2017 (Even if it is the second worst holiday ever...)

Just poppin’ in to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day.  Our day has been full of post-lunch wardrobe changes, a time-out or two, and an abundance of love. 

On the Eve of the Second Worst Holiday Ever: The One Where I Preach To Myself

I started to write a Valentine’s Day post…but then I thought about specific things that would have a lot more impact than a bunch of love words strung together. 

This is what I’ve come up with on the eve of the Second Worst Holiday Ever…(because actually, I think Halloween 10,000 times worse…)

There's No Way Out But Through: When you're longing for the end to be in sight...

One year ago today…

Truth from the Trenches: On Wilderness & Meeting Him Way Out There

If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?  If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?    -Amos 3:6