Seventeen from '17

Yesterday another great year drew to a close.  It left as quickly as it came.  Being in my mid-thirties with a husband, two young children, a career, a heap of homemaking to get done, and a dog…well, let’s suffice it to say that it’s the perfect environment for oodles of learning.  And 2017 did not disappoint.   It was a challenging year – even arduous at times.  But when facing a new 365 days – and all the laundry those days will inevitably make – I think I’ve got time to sit and write seventeen valuable lessons from my time in 2017, because, let’s face it, it all comes out in the wash. 

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.