what her profile picture won't tell you

A quick scroll though the newsfeed. A like here. An eye-roll there. Another status update. Another picture. We become numb to it all. And we keep scrolling. And we forget. We forget the breathing, real-life people behind the snapshots in those little boxes. And most importantly, we forget their stories. And you guys, this is […]

when he said try, i said why?

You guys, you have to watch this video. This is 22-year old student Kristyl J. L. Smith, performing spoken word about the challenges she has faced living with sickle cell disease and how she has met and overcome those challenges. She is talented, beautiful, and rooted in a real, raw, and relentless faith. Her poem […]

a messy day

We can’t avoid the mess. We try to stay inside the lines, but inevitably the crayon slips and the juice spills and chaos ensues. It’s a lesson I’m learning over, and over, and over again. We can’t avoid the mess. So what do we do? How do we act when we realize just how messy […]

confessions of a cupcake culprit

“Mommy! Mommy!” I rolled over, eyes squinting, hands fumbling for my glasses on the nightstand. “So sorry, Mommy!” I threw on my glasses and lifted my heavy head from the pillow. “Mommy, so SORRY!” My hazy eyes adjusted, discovering Joseph in our bedroom doorway, loudly and profusely apologizing for a crime that had not yet […]

when my little world goes quiet

When the growing-too-fast baby snuggles into his fleecy pajamas, cozying into his crib. When the jumping-off-the-walls preschooler nods off, nestled under a fort of blankets. When the juggling-a-million-plates husband’s eyelids fall heavy as he reads the little ones just one more story. When my little world is fast asleep, I’m wide awake. My days are filled […]

a few of my favorite things: melissa & doug wooden toys

Before I became a mom, I was an awesome mom with an awesome aesthetic. I had perfected my playroom designs. Visions of Dwell magazine spreads danced in my head. I imagined charming wooden toys thoughtfully organized in color-coded designer bins. And then I became a mom of two boys. Now I live in a reality […]