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 …

Layla’s 13th Birthday Letter

Dear Layla, The afternoon we brought you home to stay, I sat in the living room of the two-bedroom apartment we were living in at the time and I held you close. You were sleeping, but I was dreaming. I dreamed of what your voice would sound like when it began to form words. I …

Bryson’s 12th Birthday Letter

When you are a man, with a family of your own, and a life that doesn't daily intersect with mine the way it does now, this is what I want to remember- In 2020, a year where it feels like the world is on fire, you have kept your cool. You, at the age of …

Jordyn’s 10th Birthday Letter

Jordyn, Who would have thought you'd hit double-digits during a global pandemic?  There's this saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."  It's so true.  So much of this life has gone differently than I planned.  But you, my dear, were one of the best surprises.  I love that I get …