Let's be Real

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Chronic Illness,  Consider This...,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...

    Speaking From Experience …

    Laughter. Tears. Speechless. Frozen. Numb. Want to Scream. Want to hide. This week my life experiences have felt like a mess, a wreck of emotions, or is it that my experiences make me pay attention? I believe it’s all the above 😊 It’s all happening at once. I know ya’ll just love when I write about vaccines, but the so called “recommendations” coming out of the CDC this week, are something I have experienced before vaccines were available for two of these viruses and I will not stay silent. When children are literally dying from diseases that have been almost non-existent and hardly ever fatal, because of “grown-ups” not getting…

  • "Life" Books,  Grief,  Jesus,  Let's be Real

    Cheers to a Broken World

    God of peace. God of sound mind. Not confusion. Not flustered. I have this picture posted on my desk, and can see it as I write. I look at it often on my phone. For me, it’s the glimpse of Christmas: swaddling cloths, born into a weary world, yet with great hope. This past year it has been a struggle for me to have a sound mind. I don’t know about you, but it seems like there is a circumstance, or situation, or issue at every turn that either makes the next step more difficult than it already is, or makes it impossible. Don’t get me wrong, there have been…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Children Come,  Consider This...,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Grief,  Let's be Real,  My Little,  Pass it On...

    Children Grieve Too

    “There’s a stillness about grief. A process. An overwhelming hush. Some days it screams about the one I miss. Some days it’s a peace that there is more. Some days it’s a silent mending as tiny broken pieces are put back together. In any form, I don’t mind the quiet — it’s a sign of an endless love, a richness, an undying hope. I’m learning that the quiet is part of the sacred mess of grief, of aching, of mending, of becoming whole when part of you is gone. It’s sacred and holy, and because of that it makes me feel just an inch closer to him. I don’t want…

  • "Life" Books,  Aunt-ing,  Children,  Chronic Illness,  Consider This...,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Let's be Real,  Memories,  Pass it On...

    When “Showing Up” Looks Different

    “I’m learning to love the pauses, the quiet stretches, where nothing much is happening, but everything feels okay.” -Unknown The man in the picture above, my Paw-Paw, is the closest thing to being a “show up” legend for his grandchildren and even other children he loved! He wasn’t perfect, and he wouldn’t want to be seen as such. But when he started to get to weak to make his two a day visits to my grandma in the nursing home, it was a huge sign that he was extremely tired and his body was giving out. He worked in human resources for quite a while at the end of his…

  • "Life" Books,  Consider This...,  Let's be Real

    Just a Little Conversation, Please.

    In all my years of life, on the vast land that I grew up on, never have I experienced the abundance of “cooing” a mourning dove can produce! When we moved to a neighborhood, the noises were all new to me, and quite an adjustment. (I knew that I was sensitive to noise and light, but it must just be how I am wired, because I am still just as sensitive as I was five years ago.) However, we always had bird feeders close to our house, and all around our house. Front yard, back yard, any where you could look out a window, there was a bird feeder. That…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Consider This...,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Let's be Real

    Heart and Mind

    What is your thoughts on comments like these: “Kids will be kids.” “They are just in the terrible twos phase.” “He/She is quite the handful.” “You have your hands full!” My thoughts, can you guess? I’m not a fan. Indeed, I am the first to advocate for kids to be kids! Let them play! Good golly, adults need to chill and join in playing more often. However, this comment is very rarely ever used for this reason. Instead it’s used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. So is the terrible twos, and all the age related undercutting comments about tweens, teens, and all in between. The latter two comments are…

  • "Life" Books,  Adoption,  Aunt-ing,  Being "Single",  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  Grief,  Jesus,  Let's be Real,  Migraines,  Mommy,  My Little,  Single Parenting

    Worth Fighting For

    “Fighting Words” by Ellie Holcomb Fear is like a broken recordSame old songs of accusation playLike “Who are you to speak the truth”“Just look at all your failures and mistakes”“And if they really knew you”“There’s no way they could love you anyway” The enemy keeps talkingTelling me to hide my face in shameWhispering that everything I’ve done will drive the Father’s Love awaySaying, “It’s too late for hoping”“That something in your heart could ever change.” My debt is paid, oh, I’ve been set freeAnd You gave Your life up to rescue meYou say that I am worth fighting forAnd Grace is like waves that keep crashing on the shore Fight…

  • "Life" Books,  About,  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Grief,  Jesus,  Let's be Real,  Migraines,  Mommy

    Keep It Boring!

    Please excuse my absence last week. Life caught up with me and just had one of those weeks. If you know me, you know how true this quote above is! 😂 I began writing this post this past Sunday, just to put some of the wording in perspective 😉. And I will be wrapping it up with today’s thoughts. I just finished an hour of making med bags for 14 days. I’ve gone through every possible way of trying to attempt to make taking medicine easier on a daily basis, so I ask that you hold back you opinion on how many baggies this takes in a year or how…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...

    Tylenol? You’re Kidding me, right?!

    Please excuse my bluntness… This week my feathers are more than ruffled, more like I’ve been electrocuted. Heck, I’ve even have eczema breaking out where I have never had it before- my ears, my chin, my face, my scalp! Geez!!! Enough about me… and on to what has my nerves on edge. Tylenol. Autism. Hepatitis. Hate. Misinformation. Yes, I am going to address these things because lives depend on these truth. We are literally talking life and death here with these things. I will give you the sites and information to back it up. First: Tylenol. As someone whose only option of over the counter pain relief is Tylenol/acetaminophen, due…

  • "Life" Books,  Chronic Illness,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...

    Souls and Stories

    There is a two year old boy undergoing hip surgery today. Let that sink in – block out the distractions – and go back and read this sentence. And this is only one out of many children undergoing procedures today. I don’t know this little boy or his family personally, but the algorithm of instagram has introduced me to them. His name is Jackson. He loves Waffle House and he gets very excited about ice cream. He has blown the minds of his doctors with his growth and progress, and continues to grow and be such a light for my heart, and I am sure for many around the world.…