Lessons from Home - faith, homeschool, and healing from loss

When you Cry Alone

This morning I made my bed as I do every morning. I pulled the soft comforter to the top and carefully placed my pillows, gray first and then green and finally purple accents. I smiled because I like things neat and pretty and this fell into that. On an impulse, I went into Rebekah’s room […]

Happy First Birthday in Heaven

I wish I could explain to you the intensity of the “firsts” that we have experienced over the past seven months. I remember Caleb’s birthday, just a month after the accident. I was in a dark overwhelming fog that affected every aspect of my thoughts. Micah’s party, just three weeks later, found me sobbing at […]

Treasures from the Waves

Early on I read that grief is like the ocean. It comes in waves. Some waves are large and nearly knock you off your feet when they crash into you. As time goes on, those waves become smaller and easier to withstand. They don’t disappear, but you learn to anticipate them-birthdays, holidays, anniversaries. Those roll […]

Embracing Brokenness

” I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit” John 12:24 Growing up, I had absolutely no idea what that meant. I carefully planted seeds one by one and covered them with dirt. What happened in […]

Losing Myself in Grief

I get up every morning with the sun (or before as I don’t sleep much these days). I shower, feed the kids, we work hard at school, we run to piano, swim lessons, the bank, the grocery store. I smile at all the right people, make the necessary eye contact, and speak politely to the […]

Gaining Strength from each Other

Sometimes I picture my husband and I as two tall trees growing side by side. Perhaps he’s a strong oak and I a colorful maple or we are both cedars reaching for the sky. We are independent people, in need of our own space to be individuals (and do things our way!) but our long […]

Letting Go of Anger

My goal for 2018 is “letting go”. When I originally mentioned it in “Family, Fun, and Forgetting my Hairbrush”, I was thinking about Rebekah. I thought that might be too steep a goal so I took a look around my house and decided I could “let go” of the clutter or the dust or sink […]

When Life Gives You Lemons-Make Soup

Hello Friends, I hope this post finds you all healthy and happy as we are having some trouble with that ourselves. We were sick AGAIN last week. This time all six of us came down with the flu. I feel as if I lost an entire week of my life. Looking back, however, on all […]

Rebekah’s Heart

Every night Rebekah and I would play this game. As I tucked her into bed, she would say, “I love you” and I would say, “I love you more”. She would then say, “No, I love you more!” and we would go back and forth several times as I kissed each of my kiddos and […]

Nasty Colds and Pandora

Hi everyone. Last week was a long week of sleepless nights and snotty noses. Brett, Caleb, Joshua, and Joel came down with colds. Brett had to endure it on the road, while I spent the week holding a crabby toddler on one hip and a crying baby on the other. We have lingering coughs, but […]

How a Family Christmas Vacation Helped our Grief

I knew our first Christmas without Rebekah would be difficult. I had no idea what that actually meant, but in anticipation of needing to get away, we booked a couple nights at a large resort several hours from our home. A Christmas vacation to look forward to and focus on just us might help. This […]

The Happiest Time of the Year??

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I enjoy the bright decorations and plates of cookies. I enjoy shopping for the perfect gift and anticipating the joy of the receiver. I love the secrets, cards, snow, and time with family. I love the enthusiasm of my kids as they shop for each other […]

My Love didn’t End when Her Life Did

We decorated Rebekah’s grave last Saturday. The boys pushed holiday signs into the half frozen ground-plump snowmen and happy penguins. Friends hung a wreath with a large glittery bow. A purple snow globe with a friendly polar bear completes our decorations. It looks festive. As festive as a grave can be, I guess. It’s not […]

« Previous 1 … 18 19 20 Next »