Category: The Valley
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Days of Awe
Ever since I first started trying to write consistently, there’s been a trend: almost zero words are produced from the end of September to the end of October. It’s never a deliberate decision, just a gradual ramification of the brain fog that comes with the longest stretch of the school…
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Doom Scrolling and Canvas Painting
Disclaimer: this is an adapted version of a previous blog post written on my no-longer-active former site. It is a wimpy attempt at the “new era of blogging, baby.” Sorry if you’ve read it already – I promise it’s been tweaked. I seldom find myself more insecure than the moments…
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The Newells
We got to share a meal last night with the Newells — a measly attempt at expressing our gratitude through Italian House lasagna — and it felt like a family reunion. The sweetest gathering of trauma-bonded souls with an eternal-lasting friendship. They’re a radiant picture of God’s perfect provision when…
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Faithfulness Journal
My last post ended with the phrase, “It’s a new era of blogging, baby.” Which, I suppose, means I should do something different than I’ve done before. I don’t want to stay stuck in suffering — to have my sole identity be “the sad girl with the hard life” because…
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The Ascent
Prior to my past two weeks of writing, it had been over a month since I posted last. Part of that was due to the ever-chaotic start of school coupled with swim lessons and doctor’s appointments and sleeping more than ever. But part of my reason for not writing is…
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A Hole in the World
This past week was brutally, brutally hard. The ache for my mom was almost stronger than it’s ever been before. I felt desperate to call her, hug her, and tell her what an amazing mom she was. I longed for her presence, her laugh, her somehow perfect wisdom of when…
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Could He? Did He? Why?
All summer long, Joe and I attended an 11-week intensive Biblical training course. Every Monday from 9 AM to 9 PM, we sat in the arctic upper room of Lafayette’s Northend Community Center. We heard compelling lectures from some of the best Biblical counselors in the business. And then we…
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My Times are in Your Hands: A reflection on our baby’s due date
July 25 was once a day that I couldn’t wait to arrive: the prepping, planning, hospital-bag packing, the eager expectation of that slightly-too-fast drive down 465, to finally get to park in the hospital loading lot like so many pregnant women I’d watched before, rather than twisting through mazes of…
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Wisdom Observed: Things I’ve Learned from Carrie Saunders
It was a Wednesday in May — two days late on my period once again, but ravaged by fear and overwhelming what ifs. I committed to not taking a test until later. Much later, careful that I might not even get my hopes up about being pregnant until I physically…
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Wish You Were Here
For the longest time, our family has had a group chat titled, “Wish You Were Here!” It was set up by Mom, of course, so that she could share pictures of various family vacations with our grandparents. It became a rite of passage for the add-ons — if you made…
House on the Rock 