A letter to the woman growing up in my nest {xoxo, mama}

If you haven't watched Sarah Kay share "If I should have a daughter..." as part of her TED talk, then grab the Kleenex, chocolate, and the women in your life and click HERE to remedy that. Stunning. Tender. Powerful. And brave.   ....And she’s going to learn that this life will hit you, hard, in...

Four things inspiring me these days {other than lattes and lavender}

I get it. I get it. If you know me in person or through social media, then you know that lattes (despite drinking lots of decaf) and lavender (plus ALL the oils) are my jam. But, I thought I would share a few other things inspiring me these days. First on my inspiration list is...

Of a Slightly Different Flavor {But a rainbow of colors}

My fingers and cuticles are stained a deep pink from hours of manipulating beets. Washing. Scrubbing. Cooking. Peeling. Chopping. Pureeing. Testing. There may be spinach and/or fennel fronds in my teeth, and I'll be sure to check before heading out the door for an afternoon meeting. But my skin is clearing, my snacking includes a...

Feeding the thousands {With just two hands}

All too often I wake up with the weight of the day's tasks burdening my all-too-sleepy heart and body. I can become overwhelmed simply considering the needs of my nearly 100 students. I become even more overwhelmed when you add their families, my family, my coworkers and their families to my plate. Then, I turn...

Beholding the Christmas Season

One day of finals stands between this teacher and her Christmas break. Plates of cookies and a mound of semi-wrapped gifts await my notice (although, to be fair, the cookies have been receiving quite a bit of attention the past few days). Student smiles remain attached to gifts of coffee mugs, pumpkin bread mix, holiday...

Thanksgiving Day 4: Is this even fair?

How does one continue to give thanks when the blood flows red? How does one rejoice in all things when those "things" involve loss of life? I will never know whether or not I'm having an early miscarriage or just a heavy flow...I would tend to think the former. However, technically I'm not sure when...

The ugly and the beautiful

I'm convinced that nothing short of Heaven will ever be able to deliver absolute perfection. Nothing is without some pain, some struggle, some trepidation. We are, after all, firmly rooted in a dying Earth. Yet, we give thanks for that which is broken, shared, bruised, and blessed. When we are really brave, we give thanks...

Miracles we don’t pray for

My church is praying for miracles right now. As a congregation, we have set aside the month of October, as II Chronicles 7:14 indicates, to humble ourselves, seek God's face, and pray. As I have endeavored to follow through with my October commitment, I've realized that there are many miracles that we don't even pray...

When the Giver overwhelms

Since I spend so much time publicly doubting on this blog, publicly questioning the Holy, then it is only right that I also spent time repenting, healing, answering my Savior, "Yes." Sometimes the Giver just overwhelms...and sometimes I am overwhelmed by my fragile, broken humanity.  I've doubted this week. Some days I've not even wanted...

An attempt at thanksgiving

As the chaos of classroom noise subsides and I close my curriculum notes for the evening, I give thanks. For three gifts of the reaping. A table-full of breads and muffins, fruits and breads - a sweet Fall gift from parents at school. Macaroni Grill take-out dishes - perhaps not in the traditional sense, but...