Today's topic sounds strange to me. It almost sounds selfish. I think this strikes me funny because I think family is the most important thing there is. Some people haven't been blessed with a loving and caring family. So to put a story before their family is a no brainer. However, if your family is close, turning your story over them may make you take pause. I know I would never write something to intentionally hurt my family. No matter how screwdriver up we all are they are still MY … [Read more...]
Day 3: The Holy Calling
Its amazing sometimes how God works. Many say His ways are mysterious. The bottom line, no matter how much we want to control every thing, we simply do not know His plan for all of our lives. His plan is greater than any of us can fathom. For me this hit me head on like a Mac truck (I know clique but it's true) when God decided to answer our prayers about healing my precious baby girl by telling us all no, that it was time to bring her home to heaven where she will be free from autism. God … [Read more...]
Day 2: Sacred Space
When I think of "Sacred Space" I think of it more in the abstract. I can be sitting in my living room in my comfy cozy chair or, like I am right now, writing this on my Kindle as I walk on my treadmill. I think for me my space becomes sacred when I need to write something. I don't like to be interrupted as I can lose my train of thought just like the snap of my fingers. Sometimes I'm so engrossed in what I'm doing that others my try to talk to me but I don't heat them as my mind has been … [Read more...]
Timing…
Time. It's a strange thing. Sometimes it seems as though time goes on forever and in others it feels like there is never enough. For me recently, it seems like time is just slipping away. We now have less than three months until our official move to Alaska starts. The Army will come to pack up our home (tentatively) April 15. Keith's final day of clearing will be on April 19. And then we start on our long adventure as we drive across the United States, stopping along the way to either visit … [Read more...]
Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
Switchbacks up the mountain can mean so many things. I think life in general is a continue road we travel up and down mountain. Sometimes the mountain is more of an easy hill that we climb and where life seems to move forward at a nice pace. But then there are those times where the road going up the mountain is so narrow and steep we feel we might fall off the edge plummeting to the ground below. I know that first year after Mari died my life felt more like the later. It felt like at any time … [Read more...]
Something New (and hopefully exciting): A 365 Day Journey
I’ve been thinking about doing something for a while. I wanted to try to find a word a day to write about. I went searching on Amazon and found a few things I can do this with. However, it won’t be a word but instead writing prompts. I’ve decided to go with “A Year of Writing Dangerously: 365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement” by Barbara Abercrombie. I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time because I’d like to become more regular with posting on Mari’s website. I know when I write I … [Read more...]
Special Unforgettable Moments
I think we all have those special unforgettable moments in our life. Some heartwarming that just make you smile while others are gut-wrenching heartache. We never know when those moments will happen but when they do you know it. For me one of those moments was the day I found out I was pregnant with Mari. Keith and I have infertility issues. After having many test done and procedures performed we were told that the only way we would be able to have children biologically is to have IVF … [Read more...]
“Oh that won’t happen to me”
I think there is an old saying that when something happens to others we always say something like, “I’m so sorry it happened to them but thank goodness it didn't happen to me. We’re human and selfish by nature. I think it is natural that we think this way because no one in their right mind would actually say, “Oh I wish it had been me,” when something terrible happens. I know every one of those parents from yesterday who were able to bring their little ones home were so thankful their kids … [Read more...]
A Sad Day
I was walking on my treadmill this morning like I do almost on a daily basis as I try to strengthen my hip. I had been reading a book by Lynette Bonner when my mother-in-law called. She just called to chat. My cell phone sat on the treadmill in front of me. I have the Fox News App on my iPhone. About an hour and ten minutes into talking to Mom and walking I get a news alert stating this: “BREAKING NEWS: Reports of Multiple Fatalities at Conn. Elementary School.” I told mom that there has … [Read more...]
All in a picture
What do you see when you see this little girl? You might first notice her vibrant blue eyes that remind you of the Caribbean. Or maybe it’s her mischievous smile. Or maybe the fact that she looks like a perfect healthy typically little girl. You can’t see that she has autism or the fact that in just three weeks she will have died from contract E. coli and what it did to her little body. I look at this picture and see the vibrance she always had. She was such a happy little girl. Always … [Read more...]