A Wonderful Life

 This post was originally published here . A few weeks ago, I brought a meal to a friend whose son had gone through surgery about a week earlier. As we had a quick visit in her kitchen, she asked if I had brought a meal to our mutual friend who is battling cancer, and I told her I hadn’t been able to yet. I had been reaching out to her to try to find time to connect and planned to bring a meal, but I couldn’t get anything on the calendar, so the meal hadn’t been shared yet. My friend told me that when they had been in the hospital with their son in the NICU, the only way she could accept offers for a meal was if people dropped it off on the doorstep and left it in containers that didn’t need to be returned. I asked for clarification. “So, they basically ding-dong-ditched you and left a meal behind?” “Exactly, and it was amazing,” she answered. “Aha! I will offer to do the same for our friend,” I replied. The next week, I was making a huge batch of potato soup and I texted the other fri

Fall is all about the changing colors, and for me, it's all about using root vegetables in creative and fun ways, too! Here's a recipe that is family-friendly and pretty easy to put together. If you have other root vegetables you want to swap out or add in, it's a very gracious recipe and I think pretty much any combination would deliver deliciousness to you and yours. Here's what I did, follow along if you'd like! Cube all of the following root veggies: 4 small red potatoes - washed, not peeled 3-4 peeled carrots with ends cut off 3-4 peeled parsnips with ends cut off (these are the long white carrot-looking things you find at farmer's markets) 1 onion 3-4 small beets, peeled with ends cut off Put together in your favorite Pyrex dish (I think I used the 1.5 Quart size), stir together with enough extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat the veggies. Season with a sprinkle of Kosher salt, stir again. Put it in the oven at 375, with the glass lid on f

I had the wonderful opportunity to guest post a few weeks ago on The Ruth Experience again. I wrote about:  "WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW YOU'RE A GREAT MOM " http://www.theruthexperience.com/2015/08/why-its-important-that-you-know-youre.html Enjoy!

 This blog was originally posted here . Last time I guest blogged here, we were in the middle of a very tiring and challenging journey, looking for answers to our son’s medical diagnosis. After 18 months of visiting specialists and running a battery of tests, we found out just before his second birthday that he has a rare genetic abnormality. We’re now about 18 months from that point and have learned so much about what that means for him developmentally and how we can come alongside him in his growth and in attaining new skills. He is doing so well and has grown so much; we’re so proud of him and thankful for all God has enabled him to do so far! What I didn’t realize in being his mom is that along with the pride and gratitude I felt for every new skill and every new word used in context, I also had developed quite an insecurity in my mothering abilities due to all of the questions and looks people have given us since he was born. Questions regarding his size and slowness regarding mee