Dear Sam (on your first day of high school), Here we are—fifteen years old, freshman in high school, and learning to drive. It feels exactly right for you to be tackling these milestones, and also a bit startling. To see you in the halls of high school, with boys who are 6’2 and girls who...Continue Reading
Dear Mom of a New Senior- This will be one of the biggest years of your life. I just finished it and can now see what I didn’t know. Mostly, this year will feel like planning a big wedding, with celebrations for ten months straight. Then, right after the big event, you prepare for the...Continue Reading
2022 I could write a book about this one. Not necessarily the advice I have but rather the complete shock I’m in to be so sad the second semester of my oldest’s senior year. Here’s the deal: I have vowed for 17 years to not be a clingy, needy mom when we got to this...Continue Reading
Dear Nate (on your first day of Middle School)… Yesterday you told me that you needed to get out of the house. We’d been inside for three days, thanks to Hurricane Nicholas and the chaos it brought to our town. You said you needed to “find something more interesting.” So, we went for a walk,...Continue Reading
The other day a memory popped up of you on your first day of Preschool. I was struck by how your first-day grin has not changed. Back then—and on the first day of eighth grade—your smile looks the same: excited, silly, anxious, and grinning like you have a secret. That was twelve years ago and,...Continue Reading
Dear Sam… Whew! Welcome to your last year of Middle School. It’s been such a weird ride… Moving. Trying all the sports. Navigating friendships. COVID! Zoom classes. Quarantine. So much loss, learning, and adjusting. Through it all, I’ve seen you mature a bit more every week. Sometimes more than a bit. Lately, it seems like...Continue Reading
It’s been a bit of bad news lately, but here is something that makes me smile. I’m sharing it with you because it’s beautiful and a captivating illustration of the Bible study I shared with hundreds of wonderful friends in Kentucky sometimes a picture is worth one million words I would use to describe my...Continue Reading
If you haven’t checked out my YouTube channel yet, let’s hang out over there. Okay, honestly, how are you feeling lately? I don’t mean “fine.” I mean, how do you really feel? If your answer is any of these–worn out, scared, sad, stuck, or anxious–then this is your invitation to be inspired. If your spiritual...Continue Reading
Sixteen-year-old Catie tells why you should send your kids to summer camp. After nearly a decade of going to camp, Catie has advice about what camp food is really like, how to fall asleep when you're away from home, and the best part of camp: learning you can live without your cell phone.Continue Reading
