I just found this unfinished, unpublished blog post and wow, time flies. Today as I hear my older kids fighting over the rules of the game they are playing, I actually miss having a toddler in our home. This morning I was in the middle of making oatmeal when my toddler went upstairs to play. … Continue reading Monster & Magic
Forward
I started this day last year at 2:00am by calling 911 when I realized that Brian was having a stroke. Every day since has been a struggle. Fighting for hope, pushing away fear, finding the patience to re-learn and the strength to keep showing up. This milestone feels big. We are grateful. The recovery Brian … Continue reading Forward
Wednesday
Today marks 6 months since we went to our annual Christmas party, came back to my dad's house to sleep and ended up in the ER with the trial of our lives. I was just reading some of my old posts about how I was sure that we were headed for greener pastures. How for … Continue reading Wednesday
Tenderness
When we were in pre-marital counseling (with our dear ones at betweentwotrees.org) it surfaced that I was not very sweet to Brian when he was sick. Apparently I acted sort of annoyed and put out rather than kind and concerned. So lovely of me. We were working through an exercise about "unwritten rules" in your … Continue reading Tenderness
9th Floor Christmas
It's the 24th of December and it's also day 24 of us being in the hospital. For those of you who don't know, my 42-year-old husband had a massive stroke the night of Dec 1st while we were on a weekend trip to CA. And almost a month later, we are still here. I spent Christmas … Continue reading 9th Floor Christmas
Start There
My kids got into an argument and I'm still not really sure what about. Maybe he was the one being mean, maybe it was her, who knows. Regardless, they weren't treating each other well and it led to some yelling and crying and making a small problem into a big problem. Brian, who was fed … Continue reading Start There
Your Turn
I made a couple of meals for other families this week. One with a new baby and one that just had surgery. Although super awesome and helpful, this is not groundbreaking. People (especially in the church) do this often- bring meals to bless people who are in a challenging season. And I have done it countless … Continue reading Your Turn
I can do hard things.
Today marks two years since Poppy got her cast off. As I looked back at photos this morning, it almost felt like watching someone else's life. I can't believe we did that. I have done plenty of hard things, but the "our baby is in a spica cast" season was particularly hard. Sleep deprived and … Continue reading I can do hard things.
Stepping Into the Gaps
Last week was my mom's birthday. She would have turned 71...I can't believe it. She went to heaven at 52 and she barely even had a gray hair. Although she did get her hair "frosted" so maybe it was in there somewhere. Nonetheless, she was young and beautiful and I hate that she's gone. I … Continue reading Stepping Into the Gaps
Home
We are traveling back to Southern California soon for a visit and I keep catching myself saying, "when we're home we can..." But last week we put Arizona plates on our cars and we are daily running into people we "know" at the store. Today I am chasing down three packages that got accidentally sent to the … Continue reading Home