Nearly 15 years after I first walked into my husband’s life, it is hard to fathom that my stepdaughter is now a mother of her own after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl this week. There are both perks and downfalls to being a stepmom. Over the years, I have tried to not over... Continue Reading →
More Hours in the Day: Every Working Mom’s Wish
It's just after midnight on Nov. 1, and I had just spent the last three hours baking four dozen cookies, wrapped probably two dozen little beef wienies in bacon, sliced two pounds of strawberries, filled my seven-day vitamin container for the next week and finally changed the apples and cinnamon sticks in my infused water pitcher... Continue Reading →
From the Mouths of Babes, Our Tears are given Meaning and Purpose
There are literally hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars of all shapes and sizes taped to my boys’ ceiling. When their light goes out for bedtime, their room still glows like the night sky at the request of both our boys. But what I didn’t know until recently is that the boys have given certain stars to... Continue Reading →
Being Adopted: It’s just another part of who I am.
Remember those little evil things you say to your siblings when you were young just to get them where it hurt like, "Well, you know what, you're adopted!" Well, can you imagine my surprise when I was about 6 or 7 when my brother said that to me and I went running to my mother crying? And... Continue Reading →
Those Damn Life Events that Automatically Play on Repeat When We Least Expect Them
It was a beautiful Saturday evening in June, and Tim and I had decided to get out of the house for a little while. I remember that we were walking down Main Street in Collinsville when my phone rang. Tim was carrying Sweet Pea's pumpkin seat in one hand, holding my hand with the other... Continue Reading →
Be the ‘Do as I Do’ for them, not just the ‘Do as I Say’
So I know I’ve been in a mother-figure role for the last 14 years, but since I had my boys I have come to realize how impressionable the young minds of children really are from the moment they are born. Now at the ages of 5 and 2, nothing gets past these two. And I mean NOTHING! Any... Continue Reading →
Don’t miss the journey rushing to the destination
When I was younger, I was like most girls who had dreams of finding the man of my dreams, getting married, having children, living in a house with a white picket fence and having this carefree fabulous life without stress and worry. Dream on, hooker! Dream on!!! But I also always thought when I met... Continue Reading →
Five years: so much time, so little you… A Letter to Heaven
Over the last five years, I have written and rewritten the letter/email that I would send to my stepson if I could. I do wish there was a way to send letters, emails, texts or even make phone calls to heaven. But it's hard to believe that five years have passed since my stepson died on June 14,... Continue Reading →
Worrying is only for adults, right? Oh, wait…
When I was younger, that is what I wanted to believe – that worrying was only for adults. This was quite an ironic idea for me since I have been a natural worry wart my entire life. But when you’re younger, your worries are a bit naive as they should be because you are young... Continue Reading →
No Guarantees in Life
At 23, I met the man who would later become my husband. But when I met him, he already had a ready-made family that came with him like a package deal. For some, that may have scared them away. For others, it may have made them want to nestle in and want to take command... Continue Reading →