• Family,  Motherhood

    5 Things I Learned in 5 Years of Parenting

    I cannot believe my baby girl is turning 5 this week! It feels like just yesterday I was experiencing parenthood for the first time, from morning sickness, to childbirth, to toddler tantrums. I can’t say whether the last five years have flown by or lasted forever. Maybe that old adage is true “the days are long but the years are short.” But in these past five years, I’ve learned so much about myself, marriage, and parenthood. Some are things I heard my own parents say but couldn’t appreciate until I lived the experiences myself, some are things I’ve learned on my own, while some are silly and others are profound.…

  • Living Abundantly,  Prayer

    Learning to Surrender (The Sequel)

    If you haven’t read Learning to Surrender, that’s part one of this story, so be sure to read that first. The week after learning baby was breech, I headed into the hospital for my version. I was pretty certain baby had already flipped back to head down, but I went to the hospital and asked for a quick ultrasound before they tried to place an IV. When they put the wand on my belly, it was very clear that baby was already head down. I was thrilled! All the pieces were in place to have a vaginal delivery, just a waiting game at this point. Jesus, you took care of…

  • Living Abundantly,  Personal Spirituality

    Learning to Surrender

    Who likes to be in control? To plan? To know the next steps? Or at least choose those next steps? I do! But life has a tendency to get in the way. It feels like so often we are thrown into unwelcome circumstances and situations that we would never have chosen for ourselves. Back in February we found out we were expecting again. Happy news, certainly. After having had a miscarriage in the past, it always comes with certain levels of fear and anxiety. Around eight weeks pregnant, feeling sick as ever, I was able to go on a unique retreat. It was a beautiful and peaceful (and deeply nauseating)…