Category: sharing my heart
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mama: sometimes, you gotta say yes
Do you ever surprise yourself? I am not only referring to what you can accomplish but also, in how you treat yourself. Have you ever been presented with an opportunity that sounds wonderful, but instead of thinking of ways to make it happen, you start thinking of how you’re going to say no? Yea, me…
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“in pieces:” losing a baby changed our marriage
For better or for worse, in sickness and in health. We say it and we mean it, but nothing will truly prepare you to see your spouse broken. As you watch the face you know so well fall, you feel their heart shatter. You catch little glimpses of the parent they want to be, but…
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to all the parents who had a tough morning
To the mama who was late today: I see you. The mama who planned to eat a hot breakfast, but got side-tracked and surrendered to another chalky bar bound together by fiber and protein. The mama who packed the lunches they won’t eat, made the coffee she won’t finish, carefully selected the outfits destine for…
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the lost art of asking
I was working in our study one early January morning, gazing out the window and noting our lack of snow. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticing a young woman sprinting across the front lawn. Our house is set far back and not super easy to get to; unexpected visits aren’t something that…
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“in pieces:” loving your body after loss
This is a hard season for self-love. Images of perceived perfection dance slightly out of reach as companies work to profit off our self-doubts. Nothing about our physical bodies drastically changes as December flips to January; yet as the year turns over, we are suddenly in drastic need of fixing. Whether it be an early…
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the thing i should not say
Potty words. Every preschooler knows them; these are the words we can only say in the bathroom. And without trying too hard, I can think of a few extra-bad potty words. Ones that I can’t say here, or in front of my kids, and I try not to say ever. Most have 4 letters exactly.…
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i’m thankful for you
One chaotic Saturday, amidst lunchtime cartoons with macaroni and cheese, my toddler was soggy and drowsy from swim class. I, on the other hand, was bustling around at a breakneck pace, preparing for a party we were hosting later in the evening. You can never have enough food; that is, until you are the one…
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Christmas in pieces: to the mama who lost her baby
Christmas of 2013 was a season that shaped me forever. As the lights were beginning to twinkle, the cards being written, and the trees cut, we lost our first daughter. As quickly as she entered the world, she left. I was reduced to ashes, small little pieces of a broken mama, unsure where to start.…
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unexpected grace
Have you ever been given grace, but you weren’t expecting it? I have. Allow me to explain. It was a warm September evening this past fall. I was doing too many things at once. I had taken on a kitchen project: putting up a backsplash. On a trip to Home Depot early that week for…
my western nest 