The Story’s in the Growth
This week, I went for my daily walk and saw my husband had pulled a chair over to our creek. It moved me to picture my better half, of almost nine years, sitting there and being still. With my three-month-old
He’s in the Waiting
In June, my husband was due for a scan, but not feeling any urgency, we pushed it off until mid-July. He had an MRI done here in town, and the scans were snail-mailed to his neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic. Then
Choosing People Over My Phone. Won’t You Join Me?
I sat on a chair facing the front windows of the coffee shop, which is always a hazardous position, since I tend to people-watch rather than write. And, sure enough, within five minutes I was studying the mother and daughter
#Nesting
“Mooom!” my five-year-old cried. “We are trying to go to sleep!” “I’m almost done.” My husband said, “Do you really need to do that right now?” “Yes,” I replied. “If I go into labor tonight, I want to know the carpet's vacuumed.” My husband
The Eternity of Daffodils
This week, my five-year-old daughter overheard that two of my in-laws’ puppies died during birth. My daughter is a sensitive soul, and this news greatly disturbed her. But not for the reason you might expect. She wondered if they were going
Snapshots
Last week, before my two-year-old daughter’s hernia surgery, I found myself taking extra time to stare into her eyes. One of the most vivid encounters happened before nap time. For about fifteen minutes, I laid there beside her on the
Our Own Little House
This week, at the library, I checked out some illustrated Little House on the Prairie books for my daughters. It’s been a long time since I read the series or watched the Michael Landon + Melissa Gilbert episodes on TV, and
The Outcast E-Book Sale!
Hey, friends, It's a gorgeous 62 degree Saturday, and the girls and I have just returned from playing outside with their cousins. Now, my two-year-old is taking a nap; my five-year-old is eating a snack, and I am using this rare
Think Before You Yell
One by one, the four and five-year-old girls leapt off the diving board into the water. Meanwhile, my five-year-old clung to the pool’s edge and sobbed to the swim coach. I’d enrolled my shy daughter in swim class to help
Each Life Is Book-Worthy; It’s Just The Way It Is Written
My best friend, Misty, came to visit this week. The hour before she had to leave, my husband watched the girls so we could take a walk around our land. We put our hats and coats on in the breezeway,