The first email came a few months after we formally joined the church. The message from the pastor was cryptic, asking my husband and I to come to meet with him. Despite the sparse words, I shuddered, knowing in my bones that this was about me, not a friendly “let’s get to know each other”…

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We don’t normally associate Christmas with our uniquely human need to understand and be understood, but I think the two are inextricably intertwined. I’ve spent my professional life learning how to communicate to people in a way that they can understand. That doesn’t mean I succeed all the time (or even most of the time).…

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I’ve been sending photo Christmas cards for as long as we’ve had children. We’ve printed photo newsletters, bought cards with built-in frames, and most recently, ordered photo cards from Costco. The first few years, I chose one of Costco’s designs, but they don’t have a huge selection and many of our friends chose the same…

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Yesterday, I received the gift I hadn’t allowed myself to admit was at the top of my list. Our youngest had a checkup with his specialist. We’ve had to take him at least every 6 months for his entire life, sometimes more frequently, to keep on top of his condition and make sure we treated…

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Christmas has never been picture-perfect, or at least not since our first child was born almost thirteen (ouch) years ago. That first Christmas we just enjoyed having her home after three months’ worth of hospital stays, two open-heart surgeries, and three separate life-or-death crises. She was home, but with feeding tube, high-calorie formula, many prescriptions, and weekly…

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Many of you know that my daughter was born with congenital heart defects and spent her eight short years with us fighting off infections and other complications. I made it my full-time job to make our home as healthy as possible. Even though Elli is no longer with us, we still work hard to stay…

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