Shining through the Sorrow

Sometimes when I'm overwhelmed with life, when my kids are acting like kids, I glance over at my sister and say, "This is my life."  It always gets a good laugh.  Today I'm having one of those, "Is this really my life?!" moments.  Not a woe-is-me feeling, but a life-is-GOOD. I just paused from washing the dishes in my kitchen to write this blog.  I can hear the joyful sounds of Joel and Zoe playing outside.  I look out the window above the sink to see a bush carefully holding a nest of newborn birds.  And I easily glance at the play area my husband has made for our kiddos to enjoy.  I take another second to peek out the windows in the laundry room - which have new bamboo curtains at the halfway point down, so that I can have privacy, but Kyle can take easily keep an eye on our beautifully wooded lot to see deer running by or foxes playing with our dog.  For real. I catch a glimpse of the kids, playing at the newly built picnic table.  M...

I originally started writing after we received my son's fatal diagnosis.  You can catch up on that blog here .  A wise friend suggested I start a website, a place to update family and friends, knowing that it would be mentally exhausting to talk to people one at a time.  Then two years ago I started this site with blogspot.  There have been over 100 posts written in the last two years, but there continues to be one entry read more times than all the others.  The one about the tattoos . It was a fun one to write.  Taking the time to look back on all the ink, the reasons I originally got them done, and how they have transformed as I have matured.  I specifically remember getting an email from a mom after she read that entry.  Her adult son was covered in tattoos, and she didn't really understand the point behind it all.  She said my blog helped her understand that tattoos can be a way you share your life and faith with others.  She encou...

Hello readers!  I feel like I have a million things going on in  my head, and one thought is clear - I've got to start writing more.  I've said it a million times - it's therapeutic, helps me gain insight, and allows me to clear my mind. Dare I say, I'm going to try to start two entries a week - Thursday Thoughts and Monday Memoirs.  My "thoughts" will probably be random and change week to week, and my "memoirs" will be letters to my children.  Something specifically for them to read in the coming years. So what's in my head today that I just MUST share.  Oh, this house.  Kyle found this listing online, and instantly fell in love.  I was really pregnant with Ruby, remembering our last move when I was really pregnant with Joel, and was trying my best to be a supportive wife.  I vividly remember the first time he brought me to see the property.  He had already been over several times.  Once with a realtor, then a few more times ju...