Bryson’s 15th Birthday Letter

Bryson, In just two days, you will be 15. It's a slow adjustment as a mother, this transition from parenting babies to parenting teens. When you were tiny, I would share your story as though it were my own. All the silly things you'd say, all the milestones you hit; I would tell folks all-the-things. …

Jordyn’s 13th Birthday Letter

Jordyn, Tomorrow you will wake up a teenager. Even as a type the words it's hard to grasp. This is nothing new. Daddy and I have been down this road twice already. Parents have been saying the same things since forever - it happens so fast, don't blink, they grow up too quickly. It catches …

Layla’s 15th Birthday Letter

Dear Layla, Calling you a 15-year-old is wild. My brain registers it as absolute absurdity and yet, here we are. You are doing it; becoming a beautiful, smart, hardworking, strong young lady right before my very eyes. It is quite a thing to behold. Just lately, as your birthday has approached, something has been happening. …

Bryson’s 14th Birthday Letter

Bryson, Fourteen means you are four years away from what our societal norms deem "legal adult." It also means that when I look at your face I see less and less little boy and more and more man. Your voice deepens, your height progresses, facial hair now occupies what once was a baby face. I …

Jordyn’s 12th Birthday

Jordyn, This is it, the last year you will ever be in the "child" category. This time next year you will officially be a teenager. It has been such a great season of watching you grow into your own. You had some exciting firsts. You were in your first musical. You were inducted into the …

Layla’s 14th Birthday Letter

Layla, The times that we are living in find me increasingly quiet. It's harder to write than it used to be. I have little desire to add to the chaotic noise that surrounds us. The one exception to that is talking about you guys. This family that the five of us have invested in growing …

Bryson’s 13th Birthday Letter

Bryson, From the moment the ultrasound tech said, 'It's a boy!' I imagined what you would be like with fondness. Can I just say that you are nothing like I pictured, but in the very best way? It's true. I imagined I'd need to teach a little boy to be gentle, and kind, and empathetic- …

Hear my heart…

Jordyn isn’t old enough for the COVID vaccine. So we mask up for school and church. We RSVP “no” to large gatherings. We don’t eat in restaurants.  We keep activities outdoors. But with the places we do spend time indoors having policies of “masks encouraged, not mandatory” and the delta variant spreading like wildfire in …

Jordyn’s 11th Birthday Letter

Your 11th birthday comes just after your official induction into the middle school world. It's all happening so very quickly. With you, the youngest in our family of five, I have made a point to pay close attention, to savor, to take in every second that I can, to try to remember it all. Still, …

He will never be 60.

Today I am angry. I am angry because on this day my dad would be turning 60...but he's not turning 60 because he's not here. Age 60 feels like a big deal so it bothers me a lot more than previous years. And I don't really buy into finding comfort from believing people in heaven …