No matter how many blogs you read or books you scour, despite the advice and assistance of other mom friends, nothing can prepare you for new motherhood except new motherhood. You dive in face first, splash around in the most undignified sort of way, bob to the surface for a gasp of fresh air, and […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 1
Dear Kirsten Grace, It has been one month since we met face to face, and what a life changing introduction it has been. In many ways, our lives are completely different and can never look the same again. But in a mysterious work of the Divine, you fit so flawlessly into our family it’s hard to notice […]
Limitations
When people ask how I’m doing with motherhood, I’m never sure what to say. On one hand I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m fairly confident that I never will. As soon as I think I’ve figured something out, our daughter changes and we have to learn everything over again. On the other […]
My Postpartum Self
My dear sweet Kirsten, This is the first letter I’m writing to you as I look at your sweet little face, asleep and expressive right beside me. Last night was the hardest night yet, mostly because you’ve been such an amazing sleeper and eater. I think the most difficult part of your crying is when […]
Protected: The Birth of Kirsten Grace
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Her Name
Nearly a lifetime ago, a sauve 17 year old boy made his intentions clear. The girl was 18 and naive to the world of dating, but she was confident that this guy could be trusted. God was good to weave our stories together, teaching us how to love, how to argue, how to commit. It […]
Christmas Newsletter 2015
For years we prayed for this moment. Our hearts ached, our minds questioned, and our spirits sought the Lord. Yet I’m not sure we ever dreamed that just days before Christmas 2015 Melanie would be 39 weeks pregnant. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love by which he loved us…showed us […]
Days Like This
Dear Little Girl, Our days together, in this intimate relationship of pregnancy, are drawing to a close. As difficult as it has been to carry you, I am certain that I will miss (even grieve) your nearness. Over these months I have described many times the challenges of being pregnant. It is a hard, hard […]
Advent Waiting: Mine and Mary’s
In December 2013, I wrote about Advent and shared my confession of our own season of waiting. I thought it appropriate to revisit that post as I await the birth of our long-awaited child. From “Advent: a Reminder to Wake Up“ The difficulty is in this time of liminal space (as described by Richard Rohr) in […]
Baby Girl’s Bedroom
Dear Baby Girl, We are as prepared as we can be for your arrival. The task lists are completed, and we know that the next step is jumping into parenthood head first, ready or not. Before you join us on the outside, along with the sleepless, glorious, craziness that is sure to accompany you, I thought I’d […]