Perhaps you can relate to emails and voice mails like these that I’ve gotten: “Mrs. Wallin? Hi, this is Marion from the school. We need some things for the holiday party in class tomorrow. Will you bring [something that takes more hours than you’ve got in the day to prepare]?” “Hi Laurie, this is Andie. Someone stepped down from this task at church. Can you fill in for a few [years] … [Read more...]
What if we actually learned to rest?
Can I tell you a secret? I was ecstatic when the kids went back to school last week after Christmas break. This is, of course, not a shocker to you at all. But do you know why I was glad? It wasn't because my routine-craving kids were back to the routine. Or that I could sit still longer than 3 minutes without some sort of emotional or social crisis erupting among my four girls. Or even that I … [Read more...]
Have a Merry Messy Christmas
The world rushes by you—a flurry of last minute shoppers—pushing, stressing to get it all done. You look around and see the harsh florescent lights, thick mall crowds and crammed parking lots. You listen and hear tinny, overplayed Christmas songs, car horns, and toddlers crying. Have you lost your holiday spirit? If so, take a Christmas Break! Close your eyes and imagine the stillness of … [Read more...]
When Life Is Not a Hallmark Card
It’s true. Misery loves company. And probably the reason one of my favorite shows is The Middle, a sitcom about the misadventures of a mid-western family not very unlike my own. Duct-taped appliances? Special needs teens and a seat-of-the-pants mother? Check. It’s a show that makes me laugh because the Hecks (or rather their script writers) “get it”. Life is a daily walk into the precarious … [Read more...]
The Shelter of Each Other
Fifteen years ago, it was just a huge, fallow farmer’s field, streets cut in and lots subdivided. Still, it was a little piece of heaven on earth to young families like us, longing for a new place to call our own. We were one of the first families on the block, buying a “spec home” where we hoped to raise our 4-year-old and 1-year-old. Everything was new with promise. How would we landscape? How … [Read more...]
SO Much To Be Grateful For!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. ~ 1 Chronicles 16:34, NIV ~ Sitting in a meeting with a local business owner, I found myself sharing with him what I share with everyone who seems to feel sorry for those of us raising children with special needs. We are SO blessed to be living at this point in time and in this country. We have SO much to be … [Read more...]