…I became a mother. Early the morning of February 26, 2000, I woke up and discovered the contractions I had been dreaming about were, in fact, real. And regular. And then my water broke, right there in our bedroom. About two hours later, after a beautiful natural childbirth, we held our firstborn daughter in our…

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This morning, as I searched in my cabinet for a coffee mug, I spotted this one. It really describes how we are getting through these dark days. (And I don’t mean the steaming creamy caffeine inside, either!) As difficult as this has been, I’ve found such comfort in the constant prayer pouring from my heart…

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Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and all I can think about is how much I miss Elli and how hard this month is. I’ve always associated Valentine’s Day with her since her birthday is this month (along with mine) and she was a “heart baby.” And I guess that’s why I’ve been really struggling since I…

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Today officially ushered in the start of a new season in my life: the season I’m affectionately referring to as “Growing Gray Hair.” My youngest cannot leave anything un-inspected. He must examine, deconstruct, ascend, taste, or spread everything he encounters. He is stealthy and swift, taking full advantage of his easily-distracted mother. Recently, and especially…

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The other night, I was digging around in my laundry basket full of papers to sort through, and I found a copy of the remarks Elli’s cardiologist made at her service. He very thoughtfully sent us a copy for her scrapbook. I typed them out so I’d have a backup just in case I ever…

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