If all goes as planned, on Christmas Day my mother and I will show up at the movie theatre with my six-year-old and eight-year-old daughters to see Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women. It will be exactly twenty-five years (to the day) since I watched the 1994 film with my mom when it opened in theatres. This upcoming cinematic rite of passage has … [Read more...]
In My Fake Life with Succulents, Quiet, and White Couches
I keep dozens of succulents alive. They probably hang on the wall with a contraption I built myself from a design on Pinterest. The light streams in through sheer white curtains onto the wall where my little green charges reside. Not just the curtains but almost everything in this loft is white. White couch, white cushions. White bedspread. White walls with some exposed brick to add some … [Read more...]
When God Loves You Through Your Kids
It was three months after my fourth baby was born and I had been feeling like I was going to have a panic attack all morning. On the verge of tears, lump in my throat, brain whirring through all the things that needed to get done. On repeat: “You’ll never get it all done. You’re terrible at everything. You’re failing at everything in your life. Mothering? Homeschooling? Writing? Housekeeping? … [Read more...]
My Body, My Children’s First Home
As my fourth baby has learned to crawl over the past few weeks, I watch her launch out across the living room to grab toys and explore. After scurrying several feet away, she will turn her head back to where I sit cross-legged on the floor and return to me, climbing into my lap to rest her head on my chest or pat my cheek with her chubby palm before going on her next tiny adventure across the … [Read more...]
My New eBook on Motherhood is HERE!
It’s here! I’ve been working for a few months on compiling my writing on my first decade of motherhood and creating an ebook designed to encourage, help you reflect on the spiritually rich transformation of becoming a mother, and affirm you by showing you that you are not alone in your struggles! It's called Burning Bright, Not Burning Out: Notes from a Decade of Surviving Motherhood. And … [Read more...]
Parents, It’s Better When You Give Up
My 9yo son asked me yesterday if it was easier having a baby in the house with big kid helpers or if it’s easier to just have one baby in the house and no other kids to care for. (We just had our fourth little one in August.) I had to think about it for a minute. Having big kid helpers is so different than having only toddlers! It’s downright dreamy. But life is certainly pretty busy over here, … [Read more...]
Motherhood Didn’t Squelch My Creativity, It Made Me a Maker
Having a book published has meant a lot of radio and podcast interviews in my life lately. And most of them I conduct in a HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL MANNER in my pajamas from my daughters’ bedroom, sitting on their bunk bed. If the interview is just audio than no one’s the wiser about the baby spit up stain on my shoulder or my bunk bed home recording studio. But video interviews give me away. “Are … [Read more...]
Mystery and Motherhood: Is This Not Where Love Dwells?
The thought has crossed my mind lately that while I love the idea of pregnancy, the practical aspects feel nightmarish right now. At 36 weeks pregnant with my fourth baby, all the pregnancy discomforts are here in full force: the aches, extreme fatigue, pressure, acid reflux, feeling that I can’t take a real breath because baby is pushing up against my lungs, lightheadedness in the July Texas … [Read more...]
This Is My Body, Broken for You
I was staring up at the crucifix during Mass. I was too sick to kneel, so I was just sitting in the pew while everyone knelt around me. I was desperately trying not to throw up, the pregnancy nausea coming in waves, impossible to ignore. It was my first Mass in a month. I had been too sick with hyperemesis gravidarum to leave the house for weeks. The previous week I had tried to get out of bed … [Read more...]
Is This Why Some Women Regret Motherhood?
I read an interesting but heartbreaking article about the growing number of women speaking out about regretting that they ever had children. The article claimed that feelings of regret surged after the Pill made motherhood a choice rather than just an inevitable season of married life and also highlighted the stories of several women who have experienced regret over having become mothers. It’s … [Read more...]
