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Looking Back. Seeing His Faithfulness.
If there is one thing I have learned about the special needs (physical/intellectual/emotional/behavioral/learning disabilities/differences- lots of way to phrase this) tribe, is that you upset one of us, you upset us all. Honestly, we try to breathe and let a few things slide, but it’s near impossible to do. I have been having a bit of a need to go back and look through a notebook/journal that my mom kept for both my brother and I. She didn’t write something everyday, but she wrote the key points in our lives at the moment, and funny stories or things we said, our many doctors appointments and school meetings, things that were…
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I see her in everything.
“Grief has made me look for you in everything around me; the clouds, the wind, the butterflies…” I see her in the face of the little girl baptized on Sunday. I see her in the birds outside our window. I see her in the flowers blooming, and the colors they bring to the world. I see her in the choices I make, the words I choose. I hear her in the giggles of children. I feel her when I am wrapped in a muslin blanket. I still have so many moments that I think she is only in the next room, playing hide and seek with my mom. Or maybe…
- "Life" Books, Chronic Illness, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Jesus, Mommy, My Little, Single Parenting
What the Sprinkles!?!?!
Oh dear, aww shucks, what the heck…. We do our best to avoid those sneaky four letter words that are so rampant in culture. We quickly try to think of a substitute… That’s what happened with my mom and I when one of us just blurted out, “What the sprinkles!” We were shocked, I don’t even remember what it was about, and sprinkles were in eyesight and so that became the substitute and now is a common phrase around the house. “Potty mouth,” as it was called in the 1990s, was a no-no in our house growing up, but as I have become an adult I have found there are…
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Make a Move!
Today, I am going to share a post that one of my friends shared on Instagram this past week. I met Derrica (pictures of her in High School at YL camps above😊) through Young Life in high school, twenty something years ago, which explains the good ole’ flip phone in the picture (that was some top tech there to all you younger folks!). Derrica, a.k.a. “Mama D,” is one of those friends that you can just say her name and the warmth of her friendship and countenance just fills your soul with an abundance of joy! She was the homecoming queen, the student body president, everybody loves Derrica! But she…
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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…
