TreasureSeeker

March 9, 3024 “Mom, Dad’s crying now!”  I can’t blame Paul for being suspicious. Oh Emily was always such a Daddy’s girl for years and years, then everything changed. She pulled away from family and from healthy connections years ago. She dabbled in habits and thoughts and people who weren’t healthy or honest. She believed…

February 9, 2024 My Enchanting. She doesn’t get called that often enough. But My Enchanting Emily is 16 today. Emily doesn’t like to be found, but if you know where to look, she is hiding in the background. For a long time she would sit in the hallway while everyone else was in the living…

December 26, 2023 https://988lifeline.org/ “I don’t need to be here! This won’t help me! THIS WILL JUST MAKE IT WORSE!!” Emily has given permission for this to be public. I remember Emily vascillating between confusion and fear and anger and resignation and back and forth and ‘round about when she realized she would be headed…

September 27, 2023 Another birthday for Grace. Sentimentality always pulls me back through my memories. Not all memories feel good, but when I think about Grace, I never leave the past without having a smile for her present and future.  She is the daughter of the Most High King, and her crowning glory is so…

August 6, 2023 I realize the nickname Harry Boi won’t make him the most popular kid at school. But in my defense, I don’t think I was the first one to call Harry that. I believe it was Lauren, aka Aunt L-Dawg. And again, uuggh, these family nick names! His given name is Harrison Elias…

August 1, 2023 Lauren Mauk graduated from high school on May 22. I haven’t had a chance to process her accomplishments yet because other circumstances were occupying my time and energy right after that. That couldn’t be helped, but it wasn’t fair to Lauren. Lauren. Lauren is our middlest child, and all that implies. I…

June 22, 2023 “There’s a boy.” That’s how we learned about Gavin. I had been wondering if she had started seeing someone new. She went on one date with a guy who surprised her by being 30. Usually she lets us know about potential suitors pretty early on. But once she turned 18, she decided…

June 19, 2023 Let’s start and end the conversation with a way to get help. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7. https://988lifeline.org/ Harry fell out of his bed one night at the beach. The fall left him with a reddish bump on his forehead. It was a great beach house, but there…

Please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you need help. Dial 988 and you will be connected to free confidential help 24/7. https://988lifeline.org/ Mom,… I love you and I’m sorry. She left a note.  Emily tried to text me from school after taking 30 Extra Strength Tylenol. That’s more than a lethal dose for…

April 3, 2023 Happy 27th birthday to my future son-in-law, easy on the eyes with his Superman curl. I know one thing for certain…it barely took a minute to realize Eli was THE guy for Grace. She’s had her fair share of suitors, but there was something very different and at the same time familiar…

March 14, 2023 “It’s midnight, Son.” He’s keeping you up all hours of the night. It’s not just midnight. It’s two a.m. and probably four. And there’s no guarantee of afternoon naps tomorrow. You are his everything. You were blessed to create and grow him, and you and Eli are charged with raising him. Right…

November 26, 2022 It’s always been Momma’s choice in picking out the Christmas tree. My fave is the Concolor Fir tree with medium length needles that smell like oranges. Oranges! We almost always head up the mountain to a certain tree farm for my tree, but the Concolor crop has been dwindling year by year….

August 14, 2022 There was a moment in the delivery room when Harrison was being wheeled away by the NICU team, that I remember thinking “God is good when the baby is blue.” I know this to be true, and I don’t doubt it. We are a family that believes in and counts on redemption….

August 1, 2022 I don’t know why you never seemed to like that song. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs about the goodness of God. You always said that the song seemed so depressing to you. But it has always reminded me of times I’ve prayed release of control over you knowing you are…

June 11, 2021 If you know, you know. 42 stairs from the street. It’s a line from The Old Apartment by the band Barenaked Ladies. Mark, Jen, Paul, and I were in Charlotte last weekend for their concert. Toad the Wet Sprocket and Gin Blossoms opened the show, and all three bands were great. We’ve…

May 10, 2022 Mother’s Day was Sunday. It’s kind of like my birthday because I know my family is going to be super nice to me that day just because. I feel greedy and selfish on my birthday, though, as if just being born entitles me to privilege each December 1. (It does, doesn’t it?)…

April 11, 2022 Y’all this…Grace and Eli are having a son! Won’t it be wonderful to watch a little boy wander through our world?! I have to admit that I was officially undecided despite Grace’s best efforts to make me choose Team Boy or Team Girl. Two weeks ago I was leaning girl, but last…

March 14, 2022 The world is full of long-haired, tie dye wearing hippies. And maybe this one was born in the wrong decade. Maybe Chandler should have come of age during Woodstock and Vietnam and sit-ins. But if he had, I would have missed him all together. It’s sad enough that I’ll have to miss…

December 25, 2021 Y’all this…Grace and Eli are having a baby! I. Can’t. Even. Honestly I’ve enjoyed every single phase of Grace growing up. I haven’t enjoyed everything she has gone through or put us through, but I never wanted to rush life to hurry through to the next mile marker, nor have I wished…

I think about that…it could always be worse. Surely somebody is worse off than me. Worse off than Lauren. She’s having her 5th wrist surgery in 3.5 years, and her 7th surgery since birth (tonsillectomy and cranial surgery). She talked it over with the surgeon just now and he will be using a cadaver tendon…

September 3, 2021 Oh Emily ran away. Her bed was empty when I went to wake her for school, and the back door was wide open when Paul went downstairs to make coffee. Heart pounding. Head spinning. Palms sweating. Can’t breathe. Time stood still. Such an incredibly long 2 minutes from when my alarm went…

August 4, 2021 It just gets better each year. I’m not sure how that happens, and it seems like some year the bubble will have to burst and the beach trip might suck. I can’t say there’s anything particularly stellar this year compared to all the others. Maybe it just seems better and better because…

Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.― A.A. Milne from Winnie the Pooh May 20, 2021 My Gorgeous has graduated from the Zoo and Aquarium Science program at Davidson-Davie Community College. Is it any wonder? Animals and nature are her passion. What a wonderful college graduation party we had this…

April 19, 2021 Surgery. Today. Again. Fourth time. Uugghh. Four years ago she slipped on ice and broke her left wrist. When it was set in the cast, it was set crooked and healed with a bend. First surgery was to correct the bend. The second and third surgeries were basically to repair and tighten…

Zack and Kenzie will be married Sunday February 28, 2021. When they got engaged last May, they FaceTimed me to give the news. I don’t FaceTime, especially in my jammies without my makeup. But I knew I needed to take that FaceTime. We planned on going to the Florida wedding. Wouldn’t miss it for anything….

December 7, 2020 I’ve missed your smiles. We’ve been masked up forever now, thank you COVID19. Just stop. I don’t want to hear your thoughts about conspiracies and fake news and inflated death rates. If that statement pisses you off, then stop reading now. If you need to argue or vent, write your own blog….

November 29, 2020 Oh Emily calls it “catching feelings.” I’m having a hard time catching feelings for this Christmas tree. I prefer the concolor tree because it has a citrus scent. It’s delightful. None of the tree lots have concolor down here, so we always go up to the mountains where we have found one…

October 24, 2020 Well Little League softball is over. This week we played our final game of the 2020 Spring season. COVID19 and the quarantine and shut down delayed us so it really became Fall season. This was the season that almost never started, and I wish didn’t have to end. Coach Bill and Coach…

July 16, 2020 I miss my little Nissan Murano. I call her Tha Bandwagon. But she has limited seating of 5, so when we go on vacation, we rent a minivan. This year we need to accommodate Paul and me, Lauren and Alesia, and Emily and Victoria. Grace always drives separately each year so she…

June 21, 2020 F is for Father’s Day. I cooked a bacon, sausage, and eggs breakfast for Paul (in 3 different perfectly seasoned cast iron skillets without any sticking), and brewed his coffee. But then he spilled his coffee while educating me on the correct method of stirring in the creamer and sugar. Clockwise then…

June 4, 2020 Kim,  I’ve been thinking about writing this for awhile but my thoughts and words have come slowly. I know your retirement is an exciting thing for you, and I am happy for you, but the office is losing you and that’s hard for us to process . I texted Kent a few…

May 4, 2020 It feels like we are in a bubble here in Pfafftown, NC. I checked online just now and as of this morning, there were 6 reported cases in our zip code and zero deaths attributed to COVID19. I praise God for those low numbers. I know that life is in His hands,…

April 10, 2020 I found out that I am not essential. OUCH! Sometimes I like to imagine that the world revolves around me because I’m so important. But COVID19 says I can disappear for a little while and no one will notice because pap smears and prostate exams are more fun than dental visits. We…

March 28, 2020 This social distancing and sheltering in place has cramped our style. We are fortunate here in the Pfafftown that our yard gives us some space to stretch out and look for frogs in the creek and relax on the swing. And we can go for walks in the road and maybe not…

Dec 31, 2019 It started as a conversation about the street value of Lauren’s narcotic prescription from her surgery. We aren’t thinking of selling, and I’ll be throwing the extra away because we don’t need it in the house. Somehow the conversation moved to her Nana’s houseplants. Grace told her Nana at Hospice that she…

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23 December 24, 2019 Paul Mauk is the good son. Yes he is. Not everyone will agree, but I don’t care. I’ve watched this unfold and I…

December 23, 2019 She’s a tough broad. Wasn’t always, though. Back in the day, a hangnail would get the best of her. No one did misery and melancholy like My Lovely. She’s currently the least pediatric surgical patient here at the pediatric surgical center at Baptist. The nurse brought back an infant and a toddler…

November 29, 2019 So Thanksgiving Eve, Emily texted me at work to say she had a fever of 102.1°, headache, and chills. I left work before 3, picked her up, and went to the doctor. It’s not the flu and not strep. But getting home after 7:00 interrupted my evening plans for brining the bird…

Photo by my awesome friend and fellow softball Mutha, Angela Gallman September 27, 2019 Y’all this…she’s 21. I. Can’t. Even. She had her fingernails painted almost right out of the womb (don’t lecture me about babies chewing on their fingers). Now she’s getting dirt under her nails while cleaning out the lemur exhibit at the…

August 12, 2019 It’s been quite a story arc over 24 years of marriage. Plenty of highs and lows, conflicts and resolutions, wins and losses. Completely worth it, every last bit. We’ve gone away for a long weekend each year for our anniversary. The last few years, we’ve driven to Gatlinburg, TN. It’s an easy,…

July 20, 2019 Finally home after Mauk Beach Trip 2019. This one snuck up on me. It seemed like it would never get here, then suddenly I was a day behind in my planning and packing. The girls each brought a friend, and since Grace and her friend Sarah are such animal lovers, we went…

June 16, 2019 It’s Father’s Day again. Most days of the year, Paul and I are really good at co-parenting our girls. But Father’s Day is the day that reminds me that there is definitely a prudent division of labor in our family, and it’s best if I stay in my lane. Paul is known…

June 10, 2019 I didn’t expect to be expecting Oh Emily. We were done. 2 kids and a 4 bedroom house. We decided to downsize. We found a cute 3 bedroom house nestled in the woods with wisteria over the pergola and a little creek in the yard right in the PFT, or P-Town as…

May 11, 2019 (and the photo credit goes to my treasure, Paul) Mother’s Day is the one day of the year when my family is contractually obligated to officially show gratitude for all the little and big things this mutha does to make us look like we’ve got all our shit together, even if we…

March 5, 2019 So surgery. She broke her arm 2 years ago, and it was cast incorrectly leaving a bend in her radius. Last July she had surgery to correct the bend and place a metal plate in her arm. Now her ligaments between the radius and ulna are too stretched out, like weak elastic,…

What began as a disagreement between best friends ended with Lauren being bullied out of her school. Everything between the beginning and the end has been a hellacious nightmare of isolation, attacks, throwing up, crying, therapy, medication, and a school transfer just to finish 8th grade. I’ve been documenting on Facebook the morning ride to…

December 14, 2018 So we are probably the only people you know who have already thrown out their Christmas tree. Yep, I bragged about Eliza Jane, then the bitch up and died. I’m not taking the fall for that. I watered her every day, and she drank a ton of water. I gave her 8…

December 1, 2018 I do enjoy a great birthday. I’m about 20 hours into enjoying 48, and so far, it’s pretty darn good. I’m usually a very demanding diva when it comes to my birthdays. I know this about myself. I want my chocolate butter cream and my thoughtful gifts and the day needs to…

November 24, 2018 Her name is Eliza Jane. I had given up finding her before we ever even left town. The Christmas tree is Momma’s choice. Always has been. Don’t tree shame me. Paul’s fine with it, and the girls can have their own choices someday. We go to a particular tree farm in the…

October 23, 2018 Sometimes it’s just not a level playing field. I’ve watched all 3 girls play softball against teams far more and far less talented than their own. Winning can feel great, but not when you know the girls on the losing team didn’t really have much of a chance. Hopefully that’s when good…

October 5, 2018 I think parenting is asking over and over “why didn’t my kid think we would find out about this,” and “why do we have to know about this,” and “how can we pretend to not know about this,” and “how can we handle this since we can’t un-know this.” I’m tired of…

September 24, 2018 Lauren hasn’t played a softball game since June when her doctor told her she would need wrist surgery. She originally injured her wrist by slipping on the ice January 2017. The broken bone didn’t heal well, but we didn’t know that at the time. She had that cast removed and she was…

m September 16, 2018 Grace, Here’s a story about you… When My Gorgeous was maybe 2 years old, I found her staring at a parade of ants marching across the kitchen floor. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them. At 3 years old at the beach, I watched her grab a fly from the…

September 10, 2018 So the Jason Aldean/Luke Combs concert actually happened the other night. It was postponed last month because it seems an outdoor concert during thunderstorms is a bad idea. I think it’s safe to say that Lauren enjoyed her delayed 14th birthday gift. Her best friend Zoey joined us. Zoey’s mom made her…

August 18, 2018 Luke Combs, I shaved my damn legs for you and I didn’t even get a T-shirt. Lauren’s first concert was going to be Luke Combs opening up for Jason Aldean. Her daddy bought 4 tix for Lauren’s 14th birthday, but we didn’t tell her right away. At her bday dinner, Emily announced…

June 29, 2018. It just seems like vacay gets better each year. I don’t know if inching closer to the time when our girls won’t be with us makes each vacation seem more precious than the last. Or maybe the predictability of tradition gives me one more memory to file away, and as that file…

June 23, 2018 I’m sure Paul Simon never intended to rattle around in my brain when he was writing all those songs that have narrated our lives. But that’s where he has been lately ever since we went to his concert Tuesday night. I’ve had some of his songs on my playlist for awhile, and…

June 11, 2018 Today was the last ride with the middle Schoolers for 7th grade. I’m not exaggerating when I say that driving them has been the biggest kick in my pants almost every morning. I’ve looked back through the Facebook posts, and seen these 3 girls all over the place in emotions and moods…

May 26, 2018 She wasn’t always so cute and helpful. She was annoying and obnoxious and bossy, and I really used to think she would go through life with absolutely zero friends. She grew out of it. She’s probably got more friends than I do, but I’ve got more enemies! And she holds those friends…

May 21, 2018 Yesterday was the annual softball party. This is Lauren’s first season with the Carolina Galaxy team, and she is learning so much. Her skills are growing and she is making great friends. Paul and I worked hard Saturday getting ready for the party, with the help of some friends here and there….

           Paul only owns Monday night. On Mondays, he steps on the field as a church-league player. Tuesday through Sunday, the girls own Paul. He will be at the field watching Oh Emily practice or play on Minors, or watching Lauren practice or play on Majors, or coaching Lauren on Juniors. […]

January 14, 2018 Grace was home from college for the Christmas break.  College is right here in town, so she is home often.  The neighbors can look out their windows and see when she is here, and it’s often. I’ve wondered why of all places, Winston-Salem would be home to The School of the Arts….

April 3, 2014 GRACE KNOWS I AM SENDING THIS TO YOU. SHE READ IT FIRST. My Sistas, Dot Swoosh. That’s all a semicolon is. But it’s really important. The comma is like a yield. You slow down a little, think about going forward, and go. The period is like a stop sign. Stop all the…

April 9, 2018 The sermon yesterday was a reminder that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  There is a blessing inherent in the giving.  The blessing is much more than just the possibility of that blessing being regifted back to me.  The deep blessing of giving is the joy of a deep…

February 26, 2018 She’s at the age between needing her parents and trying to do it all on her own. 13. Her independence always catches Paul and me off guard because she didn’t venture far away from holding onto my knee when she was little. I credit softball, a circle of good friends both young…

February 12, 2018 Daughters are a mystery to dads. Poor Paul is at a total disadvantage. How is Paul supposed to figure out these girls who are decades younger than he is, when he can’t even figure out his wife who is just one month younger? He experienced growing up a boy, and everything that…

December 10, 2017 Yvonne posted this pic of Grace as a throwback on Facebook.  The pic was from her cheer competition at Disney in 7th grade in 2011. She is smiling and her hair is up in the cheer ponytail.  I spent the next half hour or so texting with Yvonne about how difficult it…

November 24, 2017 Big Betty. She’s rotund. She’s big-boned. She’s a big gal. Lauren thought she was a boy, but I told her only a girl could cause this much drama in my life. You wouldn’t know it from looking at her, but she’s lopsided and pitches forward. Ask me how I know. That’s what…

October 7, 2017 I drive the Middle Schoolers every morning, but today Lauren is staying home. She feels sick. I picked up Sara and Zoey, though, and I offered them control over the hot jam. They both turned me down. Without Lauren scrolling through her songs and playing this and that, the ride was quieter…

October 8, 2017      I’ve become really good at ordering from the Bed, Bath, and Beyond wedding registry. Some people don’t like registries because they think it’s greedy and tacky to suggest what gifts someone else should give. But I appreciate knowing that what I give will actually be something the couple wants and…

September 27, 2017 Happy birthday My Gorgeous!  Hey 19. Please take me along when you slide on down.       Emily and Lauren don’t make me feel old. I guess I feel young enough to have 9 and 13 year olds. But my delusions don’t allow me to think I’m old enough to have a…

    August 12, 2017      Honestly I can’t think of where the time went. I remember all of it. But sometimes it feels like way too much to cram into 22 years of marriage. Other times it feels like yesterday.       Who came up with the term “wedded bliss?” I don’t even…

July 29, 2017 The ground beneath my hammock is housing a yellow jacket nest, so I’m making do with the garden bench. Last year July 29 was a Friday. I leave work at 3:00 on Fridays, so a year ago I was just arriving home just about now. From almost this exact spot near the…

September 27, 2016My Gorgeous, 18.  I’m almost at a loss for words. Almost.  I think I always expected this birthday would be emotional for me, just like all the milestones are. First birthday. Kindergarten. Middle School. High school. 16. But this one…I don’t know. I expected sentimentality because,come on, it’s me. But I think that…

July 5, 2017 There’s a sweetness to watching daughters grow up. We’ve seen more than our share of pink and flowery dresses and nail polish, but even more dirt and creek water and critters. There’s been an awful lot of awful, but even more wonderful. The 3 of them are responsible for making me half…

July 2, 2017 Perfect Love By the time Paul got to the hospital, he’d had some time to think about what had happened. He was the one who found Grace in the bathroom trying to throw up, and he asked her if she was alright. She told him that she just felt sick. Paul woke…

     Grace’s graduation came and went, and I didn’t cry. Not one single tear on graduation day. Nothing surprises me more about that day than my lack of tears. I started crying over graduation months ago when buying back-to-school clothes, and when Paul and I started choosing pictures and text for the yearbook tribute…

Y’all this… “Mommie don’t be loud.” Today was a huge day. Grace has been accepted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. I. Can’t. Even. Lauren brought the mail inside around 2:30, and we had to wait for Grace to get home from school after 8:00 before finding out what was in…

December 30, 2016 Christmas is just messy. Paper shreds and bows and boxes and crumbs and boil-overs and meltdowns and gift returns and sugar rushes and hurry and hurry and hurry. I wanted this year to be different. I wanted to have everything baked and prepped and wrapped and decorated and complete in time to…

December 5, 2016 My Lovely is right there at 12 and quarter. Close to teen. She was the preemie and wore the preemie outfits, but she has been taller than most of her classmates, and a couple teachers, since kindergarten. Middlest. Stuck in between the Biggest and the Littlest. Closer in age to 8 year…

August 28, 2016 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 So it took me 4 weeks to get up the courage to ask My Gorgeous if she had left a note when she tried to kill herself. I’d been too afraid to find out what a note would have said, and what it wouldn’t have said. And…

June 12, 2018 Y’all this…I came home from work today and Grace and her boyfriend are removing all the cards and pictures from her walls. I couldn’t even speak when she told me she was taking it down to taupe walls. My Gorgeous started covering her walls in 2012 when she was secretly cutting herself…

July 23, 2016 Vienna Elementary. That’s Vy-anna. In a few weeks, Paul and I will walk Oh Emily down the halls to her 3rd grade open house and in our minds we will remember when Lauren met her 3rd grade teachers. And we will remember that Grace’s first open house at Vienna was for 3rd…

July 17, 2016 I’ve lost track how many +ones we have entertained through the years. From the little neighborhood girls in Seattle at Grace’s 3rd birthday party at the hell known as Chuck E Cheese when Grace was too little to really know what a friend really is, to Lauren and her menagerie of silly-pusses…

July 3, 2016 “My faith has exploded since I’ve been here!” Well, you can’t just make a comment like that and not explain. So we left Ridgecrest Conference Center with Zack and spent the next 3 hours listening to what God was doing in the life of a 19 year old. Zack is Paul’s cousin’s…

March 2016

February 15, 2016 I’m certain that I’ve made every bone-headed mistake and poor choice that all the people in the Bible made. And I’ve somehow found favor in the sight of the Lord. I’ve had lack of faith, and I’ve been a hero of faith. Been in the valley of the shadow of death, and…

December 28, 2015 “May integrity and uprightness protect me because my hope is in you,” Psalm 25:21 Several years ago, my little family was in danger–relationally, spiritually, physically, every way. Our fear was real to the point of having the police here twice that I remember, hiding weapons around the house, and prayer walking the…

November 30, 2015 Lauren told me about the time she was doing a little skit. I don’t even remember when this was and she doesn’t remember the details either. When I asked her to flesh out the story and what kind of character she was playing, she said “I dunno. I was just some girl.”…

October 5, 2015 Disclaimer again…this is all with Grace’s permission. Just when you thought there wasn’t anything else about My Gorgeous that could surprise you, I’m gonna surprise you. Well maybe. You might have wondered. I mean, something was up with her. The cutting was hard. Really hard to deal with. There’s something about the…

  June 5, 2011 My Sistas, So about a year ago, Lauren took to calling me “The best Mom in the whole entire… Pfafftown!” That’s right ladies. You can drive the 4 miles down Yadkinville Road from the Food Lion to Ted’s Kickin Chicken and you won’t find a better mom than me. Oh Snap!…

August 5, 2015 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there…

July 12, 2015 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. (‭Psalm‬ ‭139‬:‭17-18‬ ESV) Precious. Lately I feel like I don’t want to waste myself on what isn’t…

June 22, 2015 I’m a Softball Mom. That’s my official position as far as Lauren is concerned. My role is to sign her up for the next season, shop for equipment, buy Gatorade and sunflower seeds, sew on her Little League patch, pitch the ball to her in the driveway, and take her down the…

June 7, 2015 A year ago I wrote of Grace’s struggles with cutting and depression in honor of Semicolon Day http://cowbird.com/story/91702/Semicolon_Project/ To mark the occasion, I drew a semicolon on my wrist and had my puzzle piece bracelet turned to the words “I AM.” Despite Grace’s cutting and scars, I could see glimpses of God’s…

May 8, 2015 Sometimes I don’t know how to do Mommiehood well. Sunday is Mother’s Day and even though we as moms act so outwardly selfless through the year, inwardly I resent my station sometimes. I feel taken advantage of and run over and manipulated and gerrymandered and boundary-less. It’s overwhelming to have 3. Don’t…

April 25, 2015 “MY NAME IS LAUREN AND YA KNOW WHAT I GOT? What d’ya got? I GOT A TEAM THAT’S HOTTER THAN HOT! How hot is hot? GRAND SLAMS AND HOMERUNS, TOO! Uh huh! Uh huh! NOW LETS SEE WHAT MCKENNA CAN DO! MY NAME’S MCKENNA AND YA KNOW WHAT I GOT?…” The day…

March 21, 2015 So Emily wanted to play Headbanz. That’s the game where each player puts on a headband that holds a card with a picture saying “I am a…” Since you can’t see your own card on your own head, you ask questions to the other players until you figure out what is on…

from so long ago June 8, 2009 Sistas, So this morning was crazy. Most mornings that I work are crazy. I’m up early to get myself and the three girls ready with breakfast, getting dressed, straightening rooms, brushing teeth, and doing dishes. Without Paul living here anymore, I have to get the girls to the…

January 19, 2015 Open letter to the Sons in Law, I feel for you. You’ve got quite a challenge ahead of you. We’ve been working hard, lo these many years, to raise the bar on what our 3 girls will expect from you. If they choose you. You see, I’ve got mustard and mayo on…

December 17, 2014 You know it’s you, right? You’re smiling right now because you are my Best-Born. But look around you. Your sisters are smiling right now, too. But if it wasn’t you, would I have slept on your bedroom floor with a bucket waiting for when, not if, you throw up again? Would I…

November 14, 2014 My Sistas, So I am a make-up foundation snob. Only Bare Minerals for me. And I’m a creature of habit. I only buy it at the Sephora department at JCPenny. I’ll buy cheap eyeshadow and lipstick, but I’m stuck on my Bare Minerals. I was at Sephora a while back to get…

10/08/2014 Sistas, So after a rash of seizures one week last summer…nothin. I’m good with that. Emily’s general demeanor about the seizures has been pretty nonchalant, aside from occasional questions about if God makes her have seizures because He is mad at her. I’ve told her that God trusts her with seizures for some special…

July 19, 2014 My Sistas, “Mrs. Sandie! Emily is telling me what to do! She’s not the boss of me!” Well Luca, you’re right. Emily is not your boss. But listen to me…I am telling you to stop throwing sticks and rocks into my creek! “Mommie! Luca is not making me happy! I would like…

June 21, 2014 My Sistas, Summer break. Aahhhh! I so need that. I’m tired of homework. Packing lunches. Packing snacks. Signing permission slips. Spelling tests. Projects. Multiplication facts. Tired of it. I need a break. Lauren has found her break. Softball. She wanted to play even though she has never been interested in the game…

April 19, 2014 Mommie’s epistles to her arguing muses…the First, Second, and Third Contraries. Grace. My Gorgeous. My First Contrary. Oldest. Sissy. Seattle-sojourner. Deep waters. Artist. Keeper of secrets. Wanderluster. You fight quietly…sometimes. You don’t give up on a fight. But you’re like me, you decide when you’ve fought enough on the outside, then you…

January 11, 2014 My Sistas, My friend Carla posted a Pay it Forward Challenge on FaceBook. The first 8 people who responded to her challenge would receive some kind of blessing from Carla sometime during 2014. Duh, sign me up! Carla asked that anyone who accepts the challenge also offer it to their own FB…

March 3, 2014 My Sistas, “QUICKLY!” In my house that could mean a million things. Emily has tried again to put Kitty Sunday in the dishwasher. Lauren can’t find the remote. Grace is having a nail polish emergency. But at 2 am, “QUICKLY!” can’t be good. I couldn’t sleep again and was downstairs watching Will…

December 14, 2013 My Sistas, First mistake was probably watching 19 Kids and Counting yesterday. I mean, who can compete with Michelle Duggar? Second mistake was on Saturday when Laura said her kids were whiny and I snarkily joked that I personally couldn’t relate. Third mistake was most likely my 3 cups of coffee this…

  April 9, 2009 Sistas, All of you have been so kind with your phone calls and emails. You can’t imagine how much they mean to me while I am struggling with direction and purpose. I know that God has put each of you in my life for many reasons, but certainly for this trial….

January 8, 2013 Sistas, We are a week away from Blessing Sunday at church. Of course I am looking forward to hearing what God wants to speak over me. I remember last year hearing that God wants me to experience His joy more and to find my dance and to know He has huge plans…

October 3, 2011 My Sistas, Let me whisper in your ear…”Hey hey Aunt Sandie! Guess what? I’m a secret agent!” Oh Grayden! And “Mommie, Mommie! Guess what I did! I hid wormies in my room!” Oh Emily! . They are sooo yummy! Not the wormies. Those little whisperings in my ear. They always make me…

4/12/2009 My Sistas, I wonder what time Jesus arose Easter morning. It must have been very early because Mary Magdalene would have wanted to annoint His body with myrrh as soon as the Sabbath was over. John 20 says it was still dark when Mary went to the tomb and found the stone rolled away….

July 14, 2012 Here we are on our way to the beach for family vacay. Thankful for this time away with Paul and the girls, and our bonus-daughter Annemarie, Grace’s dear friend. Sitting in the car gives me lots of time to think. I have been thinking about freedom lately. 4th of July does that…

January 21, 2013 My Sistas, Back in the day when I was coming up, the house phone was in the kitchen on the wall with a 10 foot cord, so if you called me, I was in the kitchen within a 10 foot radius of that spot on the wall. Then when I got my…

January 12, 2013 Sistas, It’s 6 miles from church to my driveway. Six short miles. But a few weeks ago driving home from church Emily called my name 36 times. 36 times! Numbers 18,19,20, and 21 at mile 3.2 went like this “Mommie! Mommie! Never mind. I forgot. Mommie! Nope, never mind. Mommie! I still…

March 17, 2011 Sistas, “MOTHER WILL YOU PLEASE SPEAK TO YOUR DAUGHTER ABOUT STEALING?!” Sure Grace. Which daughter? Sticky Fingers Lauren or 5 Finger Discount Emily? Or is this a confession, and you really want me to talk to YOU about stealing? Turns out Lauren stole 2 pieces of Grace’s gum out of her book…

January 17, 2011 My Sistas, I had a friend in Seattle who suffered from frequent sinus infections and she was miserable to be around when she had one. Since I had never had a sinus infection before, I thought she was just being dramatic by complaining so much. But when I got my first sinus…

April 21, 2009 Sistas, I want a love story. Passionate. Scary. Hearts. Rainbows. Impatient. Hungry. Tender. Monogamous. Forever. I want Puppy-Love that starts with a coy note. “Do you like me? Check the box…yes…or no.” Daisies with their hopeful petals. He loves me. He loves me not. Initials carved inside a heart on a tree….