I love to laugh.  It’s my favorite past time.  It is good for the soul. I laugh when I’m happy, scared, nervous or on a terrifying amusement park ride. My husband and children find me in a crowd listening for my laugh. My brother’s friend once told him how much he liked being around me because I made him feel like he was funny.  “She’s that way with everyone,” he said. So much for comedic encouragement. But there have been seasons of my life void of laughter.  Tears mostly. ... VIEW POST

It’s interesting to me that we so rarely give ourselves the permission to be human.  Too often we feel we’re not enough, or that we’re too much. We never do enough, get enough done or balance our lives as well as we think we should.   I was having a conversation today about guilt and what we do with that as mothers.  My friend said, “I take comfort in knowing that I am not enough. I will never be enough.”  Her acknowledgement leads her to God who supplies forgiveness and peace for all her ... VIEW POST

I have mentioned previously that I have five (biological) children.  I’ve been pregnant five times, had morning sickness, cravings, braxton hicks, and weight gain to name a few, and given birth, did I say, five times.   It’s my claim to fame, my excuse for my mom bod, and who/what I blame most any physical or mental ailment.  Oh, that saggy skin, my kids fault...Mom brain, kids...sleeping in, kids--making up for lost time. What would I say about all these faults (and more) if I didn’t have my ... VIEW POST

My life has rarely been stable geographically. I attended twelve different schools by the time I graduated high school.  I traveled the country, and the world for a couple years before I got married at 22, and we moved fairly often. We changed homes or states numerous times in our nearly 21 years of marriage.   I’m not afraid of new places and new people.  When I was young I made fast friends wherever we were.  I knew if I didn’t make friends right away I may not have any.  It was likely we’d ... VIEW POST

I watched the movie Aeronauts (available on Amazon Prime Video) the other night, If you’ve not seen it and hate a spoiler stop here, otherwise please read on.  The scene that captured me was when the main character (Amelia) had to climb a maze of ropes up to the top of a hot air balloon to open a valve so the balloon could descend from a dangerous position.  It was freezing, it took everything she had to pull herself up, one arm hooked through the rope then another, fingers frozen, reality ... VIEW POST

I’m not sure why, but every one of my kids has an aversion to clowns.  I admit, I have one too. My firstborn thought Santa was a clown.  He wasn’t the typical little guy who would feel comfortable running up to Santa with a hug while chattering on about all he wanted for Christmas.  He would say, Santa Clown as he clung to my leg like a vice. No way was he going near that guy. A clown at a birthday party or a restaurant with balloons tied into various shapes or animals was an aversion for ... VIEW POST