I Want to Tell You About My Baby

When we announced our first pregnancy, my mother in law cried in joy. We’d brought a specially ordered cake. When we announced our second pregnancy, my sister in law cried in shock and excitement. We’d caught the entire moment on video, while in Disney World. When we shared our third pregnancy, we came home from the fourth visit to the…

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Mirror, Mirror, On the Floor

A lot can happen in three months. Your little girl can get the worst case of the flu she’s ever had, just days before a solo trip across the country. Your doubts in being a mother, a daughter, a wife, and a friend can fall back in familiar negativity. Your emotions can get the best of you, your relationships, and…

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Winter’s Dirty Little “F” Word

It’s been a never-ending Winter in Canadian Narnia, and the Cabin Fever is Real: the slippery lanes, the snotty noses, and the rising temperatures in fever, rather than the outdoors. In all honesty, I love that Winter brings the cozy warmth of hygge and holidays and hot coffee infusing every morning, toasting up the fingers, but enough is enough. For…

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To My Daughter on Her First Birthday

The second they placed you on my chest, Time Stopped, and the Whole World Changed. I’m sure of it. In these last 365 days, there are so many things I want to hold onto forever, and yet so many times I want to forget. Does that make any sense? Can love push the away nightmares and only choose the memories…

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For Those Quiet Days

Today, is Quiet. The air is warm, but the sky is dull and wintery. I’ve been wearing sweatpants all morning, and my hair, though washed, is thrown back in an offset ponytail. I can’t decide if the silence is welcome, or uncomfortable. But I’m sitting here, coffee in hand, waiting to hear what He has to say to me. Because…

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I Guess There’s a First Time for Everything

They say that becoming a parent changes you, and while I couldn’t agree with that statement more… I can’t say that it’s all in a way even I would have expected. This last year has brought me into situations I have never even thought of, and sometimes, wish I’d never encountered, but for better or for worse (for information, and…

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She’s Got Freedom in Her Hips (And the Hips Don’t Lie)

I could watch her all day. My daughter already has a fairly vibrant personality, with her eyebrow raises and dimpled cheek, but ever since she’s learned to walk, she’s been able to express herself in an entirely new way – jumping up and down, twirling in circles, downward-dog, walking, pointing, running, tumbling, climbing back up and playing it all on repeat.…

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Today, Jesus, I Pray for “Zing”

I don’t want to feel tired before I’ve even begun. I don’t want to curl in when I can stand up. I don’t want to be afraid of What Might Happen if I Do. Or Don’t. So, I’m asking for “Zing”. For the pep in my step… the complex conglomerate of Vitamins B and D, with the smell of orange…

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In the Year of Great Expectations

I scrawled across the top of the page: January 2, 2018. And so it begins. Baby Girl decided to ring in the new year before 6 am this morning. Thankfully, (being the party animals that we are), we had turned in and fallen asleep by the stroke of 10, so I switched on the lamp, boiled the water, and started…

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The Soundtrack to My Holidays

1.It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… Family Brunch, puzzles, board games, wrapping paper, jokes re-told, home videos, way too many photos, and a nap before dinner. It’s Baby’s First Christmas, and I’ve been trying to contain my excitement for months. 2. Baby it’s Cold outside… As in, -28 degrees Celsius, and it feels like -37. The scene through…

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