As a fresh spring chicken of a foster parent, I was given by one of my dearest friends a candy-pink shirt with the words, “Love is Not...

So he’s twenty-five, newly married, healthy, and well. Though haunted by that sound on the occasion of its fleeting memory, I am...

We don’t have to go back to some of the hard things. We have come so very far. Last year at this time, as the cold set in, we were...

I guess you only get so many chances, at least in this life. Nancy, my favorite chicken, went quietly in the early morning cold of All...

It’s the eve of your twelfth birthday. The picture in my head may have been a bit different from what I was expecting, but I should have...

My mom sent a photo. It’s hard even to think of my parents as senior citizens, though I am nearly one myself. The image shows...

“I had a great time. Can’t wait until next week.” Well, that was a relief, because the faces he made during the hour-and-fifteen-minute...

They’re a bit like my children, hummingbirds. We never know how long they will stay, or when they are going to come back. I have made a...

The purple couch was like an old friend. It accepted us, its people, where we were, with our dirty baseball cleats, fevers, and bad...

My nine-year-old and a couple of his buddies were loading into our car after baseball practice. Before I had started the engine, he...

Lush green foliage exploded up the century-old corn crib which had been transformed in recent years to a hobby farmer’s fancy. The lace...

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding.” –Proverbs 3:5-6 “Shut up, you stupid idiot, or else...

“Last year, at this place in Michigan, they got FIFTY-THREE FEET of snow IN ONE DAY.” The words spilled emphatically from his mouth and...

In the morning, I saw my mother in the mirror for the very first time. A bit later that same day, my husband reminded me that my...

For a span of nearly twenty-five years, children of mine have had the privilege of being taught, nurtured, cared for, and loved by so...

“I know a lot about dinosaurs. My favorite is the Velociraptor.” “Is that a big one?” I immediately regretted encouraging this boy to...

“How long do you think I’ll last? I mean, when do you think I am going to die?” Ethan’s questions still sometimes catch me a bit off...

Maybe he didn’t intend to leave it here, but I’m happy that he did. The whole kitchen fills with the smell of good coffee, because it’s...

Something happened. Something went wrong, or maybe it didn’t. Words that interrupted my idle thoughts as I stood at the kitchen sink, ...

Here is what I hope you will know: it is different. Raising babies that I have birthed is not the same as raising children not born to...