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Teddy Bear, Tea or Hot Chocolate?
Oh the blessing of being an aunt ☺️ I come to you today a little sleepy, I must admit. But with many memories made over the past five days. Recently I received an email from the Billy Graham Library, letting me know that they would be having their Teddy Bear Tea this past weekend. It just so happened that my niece and nephew would be staying with us for their “summer camp,” as they do for about a week each summer. As I read on, I realized it would be my niece’s last year to go. And a big plus, was now my nephew could go and my parents and…
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Celebrate? Now? How?
As I walked back into our house, into complete silence, I wept and couldn’t catch my breath. I just remember thinking, “when will I be able to come back up for air? This hurts so bad!” As I crawled into the bed that I now couldn’t remember her not being beside me in, I wrapped myself in every blanket that was hers and cried and breathed, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” A deep breath in and breath out, Jesus. Repeated until my heart rate was somewhat normal. Although my head felt as if it was going to explode. I would be lying if I said this was a one time thing. The…
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Thoughts of a Broken Mommy
I want to take you on a trip today, one that I find not many will allow me to talk about. One that I am literally aching to tell the world is okay to talk about, ask me about, and is making the world of grieving parents feel as if they are insane. So if you are one of these parents, let me be clear, you are not alone, and you are not insane. I may not know you, but we are together in this journey called life. Keep sharing your story, your child’s name, their story, the world need you and them! Let me take you on a trip,…
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Journey down the Road of Remember…
Last week I left you with the question, what will be remembered of you? This week, I would like to share some of the consistent experiences, moments, and people I have had in my life. The following have influenced me in my desire to leave a “road to remember:” First, would be handwritten notes! This seems to be more and more rare. The picture today is of my Paw-Paw’s handwriting. When I started my business, I wanted to have a statement to display, to explain the purpose of my shop and the short story of the name of shop. My Paw-Paw worked and worked on this, I can’t even explain…
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What Will They Remember?
Today, I can’t quite describe my state of reflection, but I am going to try… Stories, history, a hunger to know more has always been a deep longing for me. I love to learn period. But also for the purpose of looking at the experiences of the past, gathering and applying lessons that we can improve upon, and passing on knowledge, heritage, culture, etc. So my reflecting today is this: What will I leave as a legacy? What will they remember? A few reasons why: I recently was listening to a podcast, and this was the “talking point.” The man being interviewed has written a book about being his brother’s…
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My Brown Eyed Lucy
This past Saturday, July 9, was the anniversary of Jesus scooping up my Lucy, back into His arms. And when I think back on that day, it was actually a calm, peaceful, hymns playing, her gazing at the sky and then at us and then back to the sky. It was easily the most peaceful day of her life. We were seeing all signs of her body “letting go,” but she must have been waiting for my brother to come visit, and for my mom to take her out for their daily front porch time. (only God knows the timing-I am not God-this time was just bittersweet) Because as soon…
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Truth: “Nevers,” Happen!
“It will never happen to me…” “I never imagined this would happen to me/our city/our family…” We are all human, so we have all thought this at one time, maybe even said it out loud. Nobody wants tragedy to strike, or trauma, or disaster to happen to them or anyone they love. Yet, it does, and we still are repeating these same sentences. Granted we are creatures of habit, so in the midst of panic and chaos, we say and do things that just come to mind that has been stored in our brain for times like these. It’s how we are wired. Let me just ask this: What if…
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It’s About the One in the Bed…
Hospitals. The anxiety, the flashbacks memories, the scary, the bittersweet, the unknown, the peace, the comfort… What comes to mind when you think, hospital? I’ve gone to the ER myself and been admitted. Respiratory, GI, kidney stones, kidney infections, food poison. I do everything possible to avoid going to the hospital. Not because it’s a bad place, it just stirs up past experiences of being really sick, and in the case of food poison, going in and out consciousness. I’ve had the honor of being a part of all four of my grandparents “care plans.” All of which included hospital stays. The fight of a grandchild for a grandparent… let’s…
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Head.Shoulders.Knees.Toes.
I come to you all today, fresh from urgent care. No alarm! Just some massive mouth sores/blisters that are hindering my eating, talking, and well, day-to-day life. Good news: nothing serious, just something I ate, or allergy, or irritated. And thankfully was given something to relieve the pain enough to nourish myself, and sit down and write a little… My mouth frustration has had me thinking (since talking has been very rare). I been pondering a few things that I would like to share and ponder with you today. I’ve been told that I have the gift of translating for “new talkers” aka understanding toddlers conversations. Enjoying the company of…
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Lost Art of Porch Sittin’
If a picture could tell a story… then this picture collage would tell the story of a mommy in waiting, a Swingie in (adoption) waiting, and a little children’s boutique, picking out bow colors for bloomers and a newborn swaddle, sometime in 2013ish. The pink blanket backdrop, came with the bassinet basket that laid waiting for her arrival. The Lucy embroidered blanket, a gift to her from her Swing and Duck just a year before she arrived. Her headband, was made by her great grandmother and worn by her mommy when she was little. It was made from hosiery scraps from local textile mills during the 1980s. And now, a…
