I’ve been a Christian for 30 years. I know that God walks with me and is always there for me, but the moments that I’ve been absolutely certain of His physical and spiritual presence beside me are few. But when God shows up like that, there is no mistaking it. Giving birth to Logan, my second born, was such a difference than what I went through with my first. Everything went smoother, quicker, and easier. I was able to avoid a c-section which ...
From a Reformed Pessimist
As I’ve mentioned before, my life often seems to be ruled by Murphy’s Law—if something can go wrong, it will. I’ll fully admit that at one point this stressed me out but, after coming to terms with this rule in my life, I learned to accept it. I grew to not only accept that bad things were going to happen, but to actually expect them to happen. If you go back to our early years of being married and ask CJ, he would tell you that the only thing ...
Keep On TREKin’
Have you ever done the impossible? Have you ever done something that was so far out of your realm of comfort and imagination you thought for sure it could not be done? We hear stories all the time about people who have performed amazing feats of strength or ingenuity or perseverance in order to turn the “impossible” into “finished.” When asked how they managed to complete such amazing tasks, these people inevitably spout words that speak of ...
Happily Ever After
I LOVE romance novels and rom com movies. There's the meet cute and initial attraction which turn into a budding romance. Then a plot twist is thrown in that tears them apart and leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering, "Will they find a way back together?", because you KNOW they are fated to be together. But never fear, they always overcome the insurmountable odds and the relationship becomes stronger than ever. So strong that it ...
What Will They Say About Me?
I went to 2 funerals in 4 days. Funerals for strong people of faith, people that touched lives and became Jesus to others. We call them funerals, but they were truly celebrations of lives well lived. As always happens during these occasions, my thoughts turn inward, and I wonder, "What will people say about me when I die?" Sure, lots of people will probably talk about the funny posts I make on Facebook or Instagram, or they'll talk about my ...
Are You an Ordinary Mom?
I decided to create a checklist to help you better understand whether or not you’re an Ordinary Mom. This isn’t the end-all, be-all of ordinariness, of course, but if a few of these sound familiar, you might want to go ahead and hop on the Ordinary bus with me. You Might Be an Ordinary Mom if… You have to move the laundry in order to go to bed. You’ve stashed dirty dishes when company was coming and you didn’t have time to ...
The Life Plan
When you find out you are pregnant for the first time, it’s exciting, but it’s also a little scary. The idea of giving birth to a human can be a bit intimidating for any woman. Luckily, there are Lamaze and birthing classes available to help prepare you for the big event. I remember CJ and I going through those classes when I was pregnant with Corban. Something they taught us there has always stuck with me—the creation of a birth plan. Our ...
Of Mice and (Wo)Men
I like to pretend that I keep my house in order and that it’s always guest-ready at a moment’s notice. And while we all know that’s a lie, what you may not know is there are times it’s so far away from being guest-ready it would make you cry. Back when CJ and I were newly married, we lived in a cute little bungalow. It had a great sunroom that was surrounded by windows on two sides that looked out over our huge backyard. It was a great little ...
Teach to Their Strengths
Like so many other areas in life, Logan didn't learn to read the way other kids learned. He didn't know the alphabet and the sounds of each letter. He was non-verbal until the age of 5 and didn't even know the alphabet song until after that. So what do you do when you need to teach your non-neurotypical child something essential? You use non-typical methods. After Logan started to regain some language, we began to notice something odd. He ...
Welcome to Holland
How do you explain to someone what it's like to get a diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that your child isn't going to be like other children? That your child is not considered neurotypical? Through the years I've tried to express the feelings, the challenges, the fear but I never felt like I quite captured it. Years ago, a friend shared with me a poem by American author and social activist Emily Perl Kingsley. She wrote this in 1987 ...