Football season is here which means a few things in our house. Fantasy football teams are drafted, our living room will become a football haven Sunday afternoons, and I’m spending a lot more time in the car taking W to and from football practice. It’s been a year since I’ve had this much solo windshield... Continue Reading →

I find myself saying often, I can’t believe I get to live this life. As I reflect on spring break and our recent road trip to Florida, I know how much the time with our girls and my parents was a gift. One I will cherish always. Planning for spring break started late. At one... Continue Reading →

I vividly remember the months leading up to my divorce. Blurry and gut wrenching with a side of hopelessness and just overall confusion. My world felt like it had been turned upside down and I was living out one of worst fears - a failed marriage. I remember the conversation about how someday we might... Continue Reading →

At age 23, I was in self destruct mode. Angry, full of fear, and addicted to alcohol. From 16 to 23 I had been on a roller coaster of extreme highs and extreme lows and on September 11, 2003 I hit my bottom. A few days later I attended my first meeting and haven’t felt... Continue Reading →

This summer our family was supposed to head out west for a couple weeks. It’s the second time we’ve planned this trip, and the second time we’ve canceled. Because of…well, life. First it was a global pandemic and this time an injury with time required for healing, and being financially responsible amidst uncertainty. My husband... Continue Reading →

In some ways I feel like there is no way I am 44 years old and in others I feel like I’ve lived a lot of life in 44 years.  At 17 and again at 23 I found myself in a dark place and not wanting to live.  I got sober at 23 and now... Continue Reading →

I vividly remember running the trail at 37 (back when I could still run) thinking about the space between 80. I was born in 1980 and was thinking about life up to present day, and then I started thinking about life from 37 to 80 years old. None of us know how long we have... Continue Reading →

We recently made the decision not to participate in travel sports this summer. When I was sharing this story with a colleague he shared we are the only family he knows that doesn’t have kids in travel sports. Fun fact - he lives in AZ and we live in IL. More than a thousand miles... Continue Reading →

The last three weeks have been full of twists and turns. On January 5, Gretchen went to the ER for the second time that week. She is a healthy (and very fit) 61 year old woman with no pre-existing conditions. Fast forward and she’s at her third hospital in three weeks. It’s hard to keep... Continue Reading →

If you’re new to our blog let me introduce you to our family. My husband and I met in 2018. We got engaged and planned a wedding for May 2020. Then a global pandemic hit and we pumped the brakes (more than once and for a variety of reasons). This is why we call it... Continue Reading →

It’s been a summer full of beautiful chaos. My husband coached our boys basketball team again and we had a house full of kids most weekends. At times it felt like summer was on fast forward, but we also had lazy days where I felt like we got to really enjoy our home and each... Continue Reading →

Summer break is in full swing. The end of the school year came fast and I had mixed emotions about it all. I took extra time off from work to attend activities for our fifth grader knowing that our days in elementary school were coming to an end. We had kids and more kids at... Continue Reading →

The real deal. The messy. The plot twist. The good, but hard. All phrases I use to describe this season of life. A dear friend of ours who has experience raising kids in a blended family often shares that during a period of his life when he was asked how he was doing he would... Continue Reading →

We enjoyed all the things in December. Tree trimming, cookie baking, Christmas movies, and quality time together. Everyone was healthy this year so we were able to attend Christmas Eve service, as well as all other family festivities. We rounded out 2022 with full hearts and wonderful memories. But who the heck pushed the fast... Continue Reading →

We are more than four years into our blending adventure (3 years of dating and 1.5 years of marriage). In our home, we use words like sibling instead of step, and ours instead of yours and mine. I’ve mentioned on the blog before that when you remarry and blend it seems like the stats are... Continue Reading →

In January 2020, our youngest started to ask about baptism. My former husband and I made the choice when our kids were babies not to have them baptized. We wanted them to make that decision on their own. It was the right decision based on where I was in my faith journey at the time.... Continue Reading →

Cooking for a family of six can be challenging. I’m still finding my way. The frustrating thing about cooking for our family is not everyone likes the same thing. And I can hear the older generations chime in here to say when they were kids they ate what was served or they went hungry. I... Continue Reading →

If I’m being honest the month of August has been challenging. We have a saying in my circle of friends - hard, but good. August has been hard, but good. All of the back to school coordination and activities started to wear on me and my family felt the brunt of it. In this season... Continue Reading →

Our July has been full of basketball. Three out of our fours kids played on spring/summer leagues through the YMCA and attended basketball camps. We spent the last two weekends in hot gyms with stinky kids losing a lot of games, but also winning a few and making some great memories. I am sad the... Continue Reading →

Recently, a couple friends came over for an afternoon of sun and fun. As they were leaving one of the girls asked her mom to list three of her favorite things. I smiled as I listened to my friend’s response, and watched her kiddo smile as one of the things she listed was snuggling with... Continue Reading →