(originally published 8/1/13) When my grandfather died rather suddenly several years ago, I have to admit that I was heartbroken.  He never took me fishing or held my hand while telling me stories.  He hadn’t showered me in gifts or doted on me as some grandfathers do.  He was a man who smelled of motor…

Just like you, my Facebook newsfeed is filled with link after link asking me to watch a stunning (Really! You have to see it to believe it!) video or read about an amazing kid who can sing the National Anthem backward in five languages. I usually just scroll past them and instead stare at your…

This post was originally published on March 20, 2013. As I watch the news of the stolen girls in Nigeria, I cannot help but think of the vulnerability of girls and women around the world as they continue to suffer as victims of violence, commodities, pawns in war games. I pray for those young women…

Life is complicated and no parent is perfect. But it’s important to look back and reflect on the experiences that helped us grow into the people we are today. This post was originally published on May 10th, 2011. Last  Sunday on Mother’s Day, my parents joined us as we celebrated in church, the kids singing…

I first heard about sex from the neighbor girl, Emily. She had a big sister who kept her informed, and Emily was more than happy to pass that information along to her younger best friend. Proud of my new knowledge, I let my mom know where babies come from, and it wasn’t long before my…

I’ve been carrying around a few books wherever I go lately including Restless by Jennie Allen and Thrive by Mark Hall from Casting Crowns. The book that’s logging the most miles, however, is Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I’m fairly sure that my friends either don’t believe I’m really reading it or that perhaps I have some undiagnosed learning disorder…

(This post was originally published 8/29/2012. After a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded how despite incredible progress, too few people – including physicians – recognize and understand hyperemisis gravidarum.) A couple days ago I saw this status update on the HER Foundation Facebook page: “We have an HG sufferer in Jamaica in…

(This post was originally published on 1/12/13) Right now I am sitting in the dark at my desk, waiting for a doctor to call me back.  I’m not feeling particularly picky about which doctor calls me back.  It could be my actual healthcare provider or my mom or even the doctor that you see when…

This post was originally published July 17, 2012, and is being republished as a reminder that I desperately need a date night. (disclaimer: this post has been approved by my husband who would like another night out with his amazing wife…) To say that the week had been rough would be an understatement {I’m talking…

{This post was originally published in May of 2011.} I’ve always been one of those girls who people describe as very smart with a great sense of humor. Close your eyes and picture someone who has been described with only those words. What do you see?  Be honest. Now before you think I’m begging for…

{This post was originally published on May 20, 2011.) I recently read an article in the April Redbook about Ashley Madison, the dating site for cheaters.  I read it when the magazine first arrived in March, and since then I’ve been hearing about the site all over the mainstream media. Little “did you knows” on…

I remember deciding long before becoming a mom that I would never yell at my kids. It was a ridiculously unfair construct to create for myself, a childless young woman who struggles to close a cupboard door without slamming it or say hello to a friend without tackling them. I live loudly and that includes…

{Originally published 6/28/11} There is a beautiful, huge Victorian on Old Mill Road in my hometown, just past the Methodist cemetery, right before the sharp turn in the road that my dad used to accelerate through making us fly out of our seats, giggling as butterflies fluttered in our stomachs.  One day while driving home…

My daughter and I had a rough start. I’m the kind of person who plays out scenarios in her head long before they happen – if they happen – and then is disappointed when the reality doesn’t correspond with the fantasy. One thing went as planned when we started a family. One. The conception. From that moment…

Last night I headed to bed knowing that with a few inches of snow in the forecast, there was a solid chance I’d be waking up to (OMG AGAIN!?) a snow day. Sure enough, I woke around 5:30, grabbed my phone, and let social media confirm what I already assumed – no school. Rather than complain…

Dear Neighbors, I don’t see many of you very often even though we’ve lived here for three years. You leave for work or stay in your climate controlled homes, and except for those occasional conversations we have while getting our mail, dragging our trash cans up the driveway, or shoveling snow, our interactions tend to…

Let me just say up front, I’ve never been a big proponent of the angry “Keep Christ in Christmas” movement. I delete the fired up email forwards my older relatives send each holiday season, and I try my best to not grab my torch and pitchfork every time someone shortens the name of the holiday…

I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller….   (Now that I’ve got that song stuck in your head, let me save you the trouble of going to Google it.) Do you have recurring dreams? I’ve had a few throughout my life. Some began in my childhood and visit me…

The summer after I graduated from college, I lived with my boyfriend and one of my best friends, working and living in the same place I’d been for the last four years with some of the people I’d come to love most in the world. Then the summer ended, my boyfriend moved back to Texas…

When I was 4 years old, my parents decided that I was ready for kindergarten (or they were ready for me to be at school during the day…) and enrolled me in a small Christian school on the other side of the mountain from my rural home. At the end of each day, we’d all…

Last year I spent a week or so railing against the concept of choosing a word of the year. The whole idea of starting over on the first day of the year is a bit dumbfounding to me. Why do we put this type of pressure on ourselves when it is no easier or more…