Find a Mrs. Janice

Find a Mrs. Janice

by | Jul 12, 2018 | Adoption, Faith

We knew we could never do this parenting thing alone. 

We weren’t even home from the hospital with her and the people we did life with had already decorated our house. That doesn’t even take into consideration the family and friends who rallied around us, helped us complete paperwork, donated garage sale items, and wrapped around us as we journeyed through adoption to bring her home. The hundreds of strangers who bought a piece of jewelry from my shop or the random checks or cash we would find in our mailbox as we waited for her. 

I’m so thankful we’ve never had to do life without community. I can’t imagine what it would look like. I’m just pretty certain it’s something I would never want to do. It’s a risk, letting people in, it is. Opening your front door with dirty dishes still in the sink and sticky kitchen floors, it can be a little nerve wracking. But opening your heart up, letting them walk through that kind of mess is much scarier. But, oh the beauty we’ve found in community over the years. It’s been so worth the risk.

The Treasure of a Tribe

The Treasure of a Tribe

by | Nov 11, 2016 | Faith, Motherhood, Uncategorized

I have a lot of best friends.

 

People make fun of me in conversations because I always mention a best friend. I heard someone speaking years ago about using the words “best friend” with great sensitivity. Because if you have a “best friend” then that means that spot is taken. I get that. I’ve been on the other side and felt the sting of being only a friend. But that’s not the case for me, I have best friends. A lot more than one.

 

I have friends who I love to see every once in awhile. But then my best friends, they are the ones that call and text every week. The ones we schedule dinners weeks out in advance because their lives are important to me. Their friendship is precious. They have walked through hard things with me, and I with them.

 

Dear Fertile Friend,

by | Aug 3, 2016 | Infertility

I’ve been thinking so much about you lately.

Our pregnancies will look much different. Your baby will grow in your belly and both of mine have grown in my heart. You’ll experience sweet little kicks and labor, and mine looked more like paperwork and home studies. Both so exciting, yet so hard.

I’ve been thinking about all the ways you have cared so deeply for my heart. When you first started trying to have a baby, because you walked beside me throughout my story, you asked how I would like for you to tell me you were pregnant. I was completely humbled and felt so deeply loved. No one had ever done that for me before. I guess you were there so many times when I found out others were expecting so you knew how my heart needs a little second to absorb the sting.

Grace In The Middle

by | Sep 6, 2015 | Faith, Uncategorized

Wendy Duke, for most of my life. She and her husband taught me in Sunday School during my college years. I watched this story unfold, at a distance, before it was ever written on paper. I remember praying boldly for Baby Savannah throughout middle school. I was...