Learning As We Grow

IS MEDITATION WOO-WOO? Brett hates the term "MEDITATE" . To him, "meditation " is something the hippies or new-age peeps do. It's strictly woo-woo in his mind.

YE OLDE HOUSE We live in an old house. It was built in 1976, and in that year, all the houses on our street were debuted in the " Parade of Homes ". So, we're extra cool because our house was a Parade of Homes house, right? That's kinds of a big deal. Only the best and most innovative homes are showcased in the Parade of Homes. Super cool. Except...that was 43 years ago...and some of the stuff that came from the mid 70's is just plain weird. We love our house. It's a good house, and it's been good to us. BUT, being from the 70's, and never having had any major updates since then, there are a lot of odd things about the place. I think one of the most dangerous things a homeowner can do when they own an older house is to watch HGTV and other design shows. For me, it's both agonizing and inspiring. I'll fall in love with styles I see on Property Brothers or Fixer Upper (yaaaasss!), and then my wheels will start spinning in my head. I'll g...

It's been nearly a year and a half since I've posted anything on this blog. Doesn't that happen so frequently in life? People get excited about new endeavors, and they start something strong...but then it fades. And it seems that is exactly what happened with me. I was not dedicated enough to make my blogging a priority. But hey. I've been through just about the BUSIEST 2, even 3 years of my LIFE. So I'm not too hard on myself. I'm just acknowledging that I could have done better. My original intent for this blog was to be a space where I could communicate updates to my family and friends about Eoin's health status and conditions. With something as complex as what he deals with, I didn't want to have to answer the same questions over and over again, with the time and depth required to explain things properly. So writing IN DETAIL and sharing on the blog was a good idea. It was easy enough to post a link in emails or on Facebook. But beside that, I wa...

Today I recovered a thought that I had written back in September of LAST YEAR (see below). As I reflect back on how I was feeling 14 months ago, I am just filled with so much gratefulness (perfect for Thanksgiving time, right? GRATITUDE.). I'm not going to lie. It has been a REALLY challenging year. Actually, it's been a REALLY challenging 3 years! (Three years ago this Thanksgiving, my beautiful mother was in the hospital for strange and severe stomach pains. Then, three years ago next month, after a few weeks of evaluation, she was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer. She battled her cancer like a warrior, but her body had different plans. Two years ago this coming January, we had to say goodbye to her. Six months after my mom passed away, we were so thrilled to find out that we were pregnant with an incredible gift from God! What a happy blessing it was during a very sad and heavy time. We experienced a crushing blip in our joy when we found out that our perfect, amazing little bo...

My morning starting out in a frustrating fervor as I was racing to get all the kids in the car. My 1st grader has a field trip today, and we got so many emails and notices from the teacher about "make sure to not be late!" that I already had anxiety about the possibility of being late. Not that I was procrastinating this morning, but it takes a LOT of time to get 5 kids (ages 8 and younger) out of bed, dressed, fed, out the door, in the car, and get to a destination ON TIME that is 15-20 minutes away. We were all in the car, buckled in and ready to go at the last possible minute to still be within our "safe zone" of time where I could comfortably get the kids to school on time, regardless of traffic. So we were okay. Until I turned the key. The engine was wanting to turn over, but sounded tired and sluggish. I turned the key a couple more times, and our sad engine sounded like it was winding down. I took out the key, and inspected for any lights that may have be...

I was driving yesterday, dropping kids off at school. On my way home, a song came on the radio that I've heard a hundred times. It's by an Australian christian band called for KING & COUNTRY , and the song is " Oh, God Forgive Us ". (You can read the full lyrics and listen to part of the song here .) It's a slow and somber song, with a reverent melody. It's on the radio station a lot, but I guess I had never listened closely to the lyrics before. Yesterday morning, though, the song had a resonating message for me. The line that made me rethink the meaning of the song is this: A slave to our uncertainty  Help us with our unbelief  Oh, oh God forgive us I realized that the song is not about asking for forgiveness because of grave sins or mistakes (like I thought it was before). Rather, it's more about asking forgiveness for not trusting in the will of the Lord, and instead letting uncertainty and doubt overrule our faith. The line "He...

The following is an email I sent out to family after we confirmed some findings about the baby: We got some news about the baby that I wanted to share. On Monday, at my 20-week ultrasound, they found an abnormality with the baby's heart. Everything else is fine. He's growing right on schedule and looks anatomically sound in every other way. My doctor wouldn't tell me anything too specific about his heart other than it appears that the left side is underdeveloped. This ultrasound was "meant to be a screen" to discover any possible concerns that needed a closer look. He sent us to a fetal medicine specialist, whom we saw today. She confirmed that the baby's left side is very underdeveloped. She said it looks like a complex condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We're going to another specialist next week at primary children's hospital to have an in-depth echocardiogram and an even more intense look at the baby's heart. They will be abl...

About 2 years ago, I noticed how my oldest son (then in 1st grade), had some struggles and frustrations with his classroom and the general style of public school. In 2nd grade, it got worse for him. My son just had a really difficult classroom environment, and a teacher that was not necessarily nurturing or loving. I hated the emphasis on homework and really felt like if these little elementary-aged kids got home at 4pm, they should not have to do an hour plus of homework after being in the classroom for 7 hours. When did they get time to explore the backyard, or play, or have fun? When did they get time to just be a KID and not worry about grades that they got on a spelling test or a math worksheet? I also didn't love the things that my child was exposed to at school. Some of that came from other students, and some of it came from the curriculum or the teachers themselves. It was not always wholesome. I decided to look into homeschool. LUCKILY, I am blessed to be surrounded by s...