"Life" Books
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Caught and Held Accountable
Aaaa! The prayer that many parents have prayed, “our children will be caught and held accountable for their actions.” And I won’t tell how I know that God takes this prayer seriously, but HE DOES, 1000%! Truth. Lies. Grace. Shame. These are just words that we flippantly throw around. “Half truths,” “little white lies or sins,” “shameful lies or sins”… defining these words are strongly influenced by how they were approached growing up. Our core right and wrong feelings and emotions begin before we can even speak or crawl. The reactions of those caring for us initiate the first lessons in molding our opinions and thoughts in these important areas…
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I See You. You See Me.
The talk is rampant of people being labeled, “illegal.” I heard one expert speak this week and made the comment, “People cannot be illegal. They can be undocumented, which is different.” Honestly, from my viewpoint, I agree 100%, and see labeling people “illegal” just as offensive as labeling someone by their diagnosis. (cancer patient, ADHD child, asthmatic child- the person is a person with a diagnosis- I am Anna, who has multiple chronic diagnosis. I wouldn’t ever want any one of these to define the complete existence of myself or anyone else). The people that are being labeled in this way simply, either did not have the correct information to…
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Grief and Grace
The wonderfully crazy little thing called life caught up with me last week, and forced me to rest. My last post, I had written about how some first times are also the last time, by God’s wonderful grace we don’t know this at the time. To be able to have the memories period, becomes a huge place of gratitude for those who experience these first but last times. I know I have written before about the very real physical side of grief, and the toll it can take on your body. Having just gone through and recovering from a really hard week of this form of grief, let me just…
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When the First Time is Also the Last Time
Seven years. This picture was taken seven years ago, after my nephew’s PK concert at his school. Some days it seems like yesterday. Other days it seems like my whole lifetime. It just started storming here at my home and it’s a bit crazy because it was storming the night of this performance. Do you ever have memories that have such vivid pictures when you close your eyes? There are so many details I can remember about this night. It was so bittersweet. My niece wanted us to sit up close to the front, so we did. I had Lucy in my Ergo carrier while also trying to set up…
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Influence.
Influence: noun; 1. the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways. 2. The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. 3. According to Babbel, “In 2025, influence is the ability to inspire action, shape opinions, and drive trends.” (impact; leadership; guidance; direction; hold; control; power.) Influencers. Time 100. World leaders. New Pope. All these people are human beings and definitely deserve the right to speak and hold a place in this world, as well as all of God’s creation has the right too. Today, though, I’m thinking about the ones who never get the trophy or attempt…
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Try a Little Tenderness
I am just going to jump right in today, because if I am completely honest, I have a lot of questions that I am not sure if anyone is willing to answer or even discuss, or at least not in public. So here it goes, I apologize for the small bit of politics that will get me to my questions… The President has made it 100 days (or has it been months?) and if he was going for record breaking numbers, which I think we know he absolutely loves BIG, he seems to very proud and at ease with his agenda. I, of course assume this because if he was…
- "Life" Books, Children, Chronic Illness, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents
They’ve Chosen the Wrong Battle
You’re now in a secret world. You’ll see things you never imagined; ignorance, rudeness, and discrimination. But you’ll also witness so many everyday miracles, and you’ll know it. You won’t think a milestone is just a milestone, you’ll know it’s a miracle and be present in that moment. You’ll treasure things most wouldn’t think twice about. You’ll become an advocate, an educator, a specialist and a therapist, but most of all, you’ll be a mom to the most wonderful child. Geraldine Renton “They have no clue who they are messing with!” I have said this over and over in the past few weeks. Medical research funding cuts were enough to…
- "Life" Books, Aunt-ing, Children, Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Let's be Real, Pass it On..., Siblings
Do You Like Me?
But he was in his room, wasn’t he? We thought he was safe, didn’t we? What harm can he do in there? Exchange of questions between Jamie’s Parents in the 4-part miniseries, Adolescence You have probably heard of this miniseries, and you may be tired of hearing about it. I ask you, please give me a few sentences and then you can choose to close your browser if you would like to stop reading. Along with most of the world, I have been shook by this miniseries. Not necessarily by the truth it exposes, but by the guts it took to actual put real life in the homes of families…
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The Sights and Sounds of Children
What does the movie Corrina, Corrina and The Nanny Diaries have in common? If you guessed, two of my favorites that I never get tired of watching, you guessed half of it! The other half is they also influenced how I love kids and how they tick. Growing up Corrina, Corrina was one of the Blockbuster picks I would usually pick when I couldn’t find anything else 😊 (or Sister Act 1 and 2- cannot go wrong with Whoopi Goldberg). The brilliance of this movie, I believe, lies in the amazing work of how a child handles grief. It begins with the visitation after a funeral, the funeral of a…
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When Your Lucky Underpants Don’t Work
They should gamify your medical records so that each time you have a new and exciting symptom, you unlock an achievement in MyChart. Haha! If only this was true! I recently requested all my records – it took them a while – but I eventually received a digital file of a beautiful 7,000+ pages of records. I didn’t just request them for the fun of requesting them. I wanted them to go over some of my medical history. However, the overwhelming gratitude I have for every doctor, nurse, therapist, radiologist, the list goes on- who cared for and treated me – only explodes as I read through these pages. And…
