Bug-Collecting and a Mother’s Heart: Lessons in Compassion

What Hearts Remember I read this amazing story the other day, I say to my mother-in-law. She and I sit in Denny’s, lingering over the last bites of our pecan-banana pancakes. Really?  Yeah. It was a blog post. Your kids caught bugs when they were small, didn’t they? And they brought them home in jars? She nods, […]


Weekend Reflection: Choose

Choose Holy. 2 The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush […]


Candy for Elaine. WordCandy.

Dear Elaine,  It’s all going to be awesome.  (And by “all,” I mean this part, this part–every part.)  With love and confidence,Mom Me, Daphne, Elaine, Sawyer, Cadence. Pumpkin Patch. October, 2012. ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, surely I will […]


On The Things We Keep

Baby Clothes, Ridiculous Flowers, A Bassinet Skirt. And The Things We Give“I must be flunking Grandma,” I tell my daughter on the phone.  “Oh, I doubt that!” She laughs, music, and I hear joy and fatigue in her voice, stretched as she’s been to play her role in a brand new miracle. “Because,” I continued, […]


Do It For Daphne

Daphne Kate Matoushek, Minutes Old. Safe in Daddy’s Arms.  Do It For All the Daphnes. If you were here on Monday, you know that we expected a new granddaughter. As it happens, Daphne arrived at 3:09 p.m. local time on Tuesday, weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces (3.46 kilograms), and measuring 19.25 inches (49 centimeters) long. […]