Today I am thankful for second firsts. Although today is our second Thanksgiving as a family, we just celebrated our first wedding anniversary last Sunday. A whole year of firsts is in the books for us. Marriage is different the second time around. This time we knew we wanted to make if forever after 6 … Continue reading Today I am Thankful…for Second Firsts

I’m another year older. While I ponder what aging is doing to my skin and my joints, my mind stumbles onto something bittersweet. This birthday, this celebration where I get to be another year older. I get to think about wrinkles and knee pains. I get another wish, as I blow out my 38 candles … Continue reading Another Year Older

We spent a night at my grandma’s house when we passed through South Dakota on our family road trip this summer. She wasn’t there. She spends a good chunk of the summer with my aunt in Minnesota at her lake house. Because she wasn’t there and we had the whole family plus my parents, my … Continue reading My Grandma is a Widow, Unlike Me

Following my two-year-old around the spongy turf under the slides and ladders of the park playground, I glance over my shoulder to make sure those 6-year-olds haven't wandered out of sight. I see the 9 and nearly 12-year-old attempting some gymnastic like maneuvers on some equipment near by. The older girl, today her last day … Continue reading We don’t apply for this job, but if I did…

We have a lame chicken. She has what they call a “failure to thrive.” She got her foot caught in the food trough when she was just four weeks old and from then on has just struggled. She became lame and the other chickens began to pick on her - as chickens will do. This … Continue reading Sometimes, Parenting is Praying… for a Chicken.