News & Current Events

  Cracks and All {One Year after the Flood} As our new floors were being finished a little over a year ago last October, I took this picture. The larger tile square had been cracked while pulling up the carpet wooden room dividers in the living room. Jeff, who had laid our new wood-tile floors right up to the existing kitchen tile, mentioned we could just replace that one square with the missing chunk. I wanted to leave it – partly out of laziness, but mostly because of what it represented. There was something about the old and worn right next to the new that caught my attention. A year ago we flooded, and what has been a whirlwind of a year...

Many of you may have read our post from last year titled How to Raise a Rapist. If you didn't have a chance to read, run, don't walk and read it now! That post really struck a chord with me as I raise my boys, one of whom is a teenager now (please pray for me). The post inspired me to write something similar but from another perspective.  The wake up call...  Last year, Baton Rouge experienced more tragedy than most of us knew how to process. The Alton Sterling shooting, then the police shootings, then the flood ... it was all too much! System overload, cannot compute. My husband and I are quite passionate when we speak in our home, and we...

In our family we have rules surrounding electronics. I have barely lived in the world where my son has a cell phone, and already I realize I've made a mistake. Isn’t that half of what parenting is all about? Mistakes and then learning. We decided our son would have an iPhone once he was in middle school because he was riding the bus home in the afternoons. I set up his iCloud account so that I had to approve all apps before purchasing. Our first rule surrounding social media was that our son had to remain friends with us on social media so that we could see posts, comments, etc. We set times that are to be “phone free” and rules...

Editor's disclosure: This piece was written prior to the events that took place on March 18 in which EBR Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Shawn Anderson was shot and killed by a suspect and is not a commentary on this or any specific incident in the news, rather a reflection from one mother to another.  I wish I could sit down with you over coffee and a cupcake and express how much more alike we are than different. I wish I could tell you how much I appreciate you and your family’s sacrifice. Then I wish I could have a moment of your time to express my heart to you, and have you hear me -- really hear me -- without assuming I...

 "Time heals all wounds." I believe this is true - for the most part. Call me impatient, but I keep waiting for this flood thing to be OVER. There are always mile markers after a tragedy or celebration. One month, six months, a year, five years... At this six month marker, I don't think I'm alone in feeling that we're still pretty much in the middle of it. According to the adage, maybe I just need more time. However, I work hard to be thankful and live in the positive, but I'm not always successful. I also realize a few things: 1. None of my family have been injured. 2. We're far luckier than some. 3. First World problems, all. It's been six months since...