Ponder
I have had two babies. The first was induced, so I didn't feel those first tell-tale signs of labor that send everyone into a panic and find you fleeing at breakneck speeds for the hospital. The second, however, was a different story. The day Emmie was born, I woke up feeling like the air was a little different. I was scheduled to be induced the next day (my babies liked the womb a LOT, staying WAY past their welcome), so I had made myself quite a list of things to do, getting in the last bit of fever-pitched nesting. But something just seemed different. I went about my day, paying bills and cleaning out the refrigerator, then, as I was vacuuming, I stopped. That Braxton-Hicks contraction...
Before We Go Any Further
Last year, my mom gave me a set of Adorenaments. They are the Christmas names of Christ, made into beautiful gold, glittery ornaments, with a neat book of different activities you can do with your family to help them learn those names and what they mean. I hang them all over my tree. Interestingly, however, when the lights are turned off, and the glow of the tree fills the room, there is only one name you can plainly see. Jesus is, quite literally, the name above all names. My friend, Karen, is a born evangelist. Witnessing to others comes as naturally to her as breathing, so when she meets a person, right after she introduces herself, her first question is "Do you know Jesus?" She feels...
What It’s All About
I am home. I am tan. I am full to the brim. You are likely thinking that last statement is referring to food and beverage, seeing as I was on a cruise ship, and you would be correct. However, what I am really talking about is my heart. Allow me to explain. I've written before about being a noticer. An observer of life, I sit back and quietly take things in. I was privileged (and I mean privileged) to sail in the MSC Divina's prestigious Yacht Club, which is touted as a "ship within a ship." Sailing as a guest of a friend who works for a cruise charter company, I got to enjoy benefits that the majority of cruisers never do. In a privately accessed area, there are just 69 spacious and...
That Time I Went on a Cruise in the Middle of December
Remember when I said I was going to write every day during Advent? Well, I wasn't thinking about the fact that I'm going on a cruise with two of my best friends for a week, starting tomorrow. And cruises? Well, they have very high prices for very sketchy internet, because, um, they're boats, out in the middle of the ocean. So I'm not all that confident that, even if I did write, I would be able to throw it out there to the world. All that to say, you probably won't hear much from me next week, unless it's the occasional Facebook post from my phone in port. But, I'm pretty excited about the cruise! This is a "yay for God, yay for us" cruise to celebrate the Authentic Girlfriends book...
Christmas, Fear and the Coconut Head
When I was a little girl, probably around 8 or 9, we spent Christmas Eve night with my Granny, and my Uncle Lewis, who lived with her and took care of her. Spending the night there was way out of the ordinary, because she was not well, and most all my memories of her find her sitting in her red recliner with me on the ottoman, literally at her feet. Because it was so unusual, I remember everything about it...well, because of that and a few other things. First of all, I played Christmas carols for the family on the pump organ, which made me feel really special. Then, I recited The Night Before Christmas from memory, with the help of the book we read at home, and Perry Como's musical...