News & Current Events

I was a freshman in college in Greenville, SC. I normally wouldn’t be up that early, but we had a soccer game in Atlanta and had to be on the bus for 9:30am, which meant we’d better be at the field house by 8:50, at the latest. As I walked up, Pickens (one of guys from the men’s team) called out, “Have you seen?! We’re under attack!” I laughed at him, he was always joking about something. “No, seriously, someone’s bombed New York.” It was still hard to believe. Attacked? New York? What? As I stepped in the field house with the rest of the team, we stared at the tiny tv as the second plane hit. Somber. None of...

“Is this normal?" My friend asked today. “Has the world always been like this? Or do we just know more about things since the news is at our fingertips?” The overwhelming turmoil in Afghanistan, the Taliban taking over as US troops are pulled out: we’re seeing videos of people grasping onto a plane, lines in the airport, people desperate to flee their country. Men, women, children—lives truly at risk, falling apart. Uncertainty, terror, at every door. The major earthquake in Haiti, ravaging an impoverished country that’s been wrecked before. Damage, devastation, death amongst a beautiful people whose economy and infrastructure haven’t recovered from the last time. Our nation being upended yet again by Covid, being pulled apart by the arguments over the...

Preparing for a Hurricane With Kids Is your family ready to pick up and go if there's a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico? Do you have a hurricane evacuation plan? Preparing for a hurricane with kids can be overwhelming, which is why it's best to get your storm plans ready when things are calm. My best piece of advice as a Louisiana mom is to make your family a hurricane binder. Truthfully, I think a family binder is a great idea for many scenarios, but it is absolutely essential for hurricane prep in my mind. Family Hurricane Plan :: Make a Binder Every year in advance of hurricane season I update our family binder with insurance info / phone numbers /...

On Monday May 17th, our brand new home flooded. Just a few inches, but enough to require major repairs. I woke up to the puddles in my house and immediately just thought what a pain this is.Over two and a half weeks later, I sit here feeling more blessed than ever from this entire experience. It taught me how to accept help.We woke Tuesday morning to digest all of the damage that happened. We slowly realized the baseboards needed to be pulled and the sheetrock needed cutting. I was there, with my baby asleep in my arms, listening to my husband work alone. My phone had 26 unread messages - all offers of help, prayers, supplies, food, etc. and...

My best friend Katelyn and I have been discussing Twilight for a couple months now. Twilight was THE teenage romance series, while we were in middle school and high school. It is also a perfect example of emotional abuse, which, by the way, sets a great stage for physical abuse. Wind Goodfriend Ph.D. does a great job of naming a few of the thousands of examples of abuse Edward displays: He stalks Bella He encourages Bella to have as little interaction as possible from anyone outside his family He preys on her low self esteem He damages her vehicle so she can’t get away Before you go on assuming he was doing this to protect Bella, I just want to point...