Big, Loud, & Upside Down

06/30/2025

Some days I feel like I'm too loud.
Too messy.
Too exhausted.
Too intense.
Too emotional.
Too opinionated.
Too everything.

Other days, I feel like I’m not enough.
Not patient enough.
Not organized enough.
Not gentle enough.
Not spiritual enough.
Not healthy enough.
Not mom enough.

But here’s what I’m learning in the chaos:
God isn’t asking me to be “enough.”
He’s asking me to show up.

And if I show up with a soft heart,
even when I’m stumbling,
even when I’m overwhelmed,
even when the laundry wins again—
He meets me there.

Maybe you're not supposed to be "just right" today.
Maybe you're just supposed to be real.

04/06/2025

03/27/2025

Parenting teens is so much different than parenting the other ages and stages! Having 4 teens in the house, including one adult, I’ve learned that half the battle is with ME! We have to constantly be examining how we’re listening and processing what our kids say and do. While we have wisdom and life experience to impart, we also carry our own baggage complimented by our rose colored glasses that we have to put aside. Fresh eyes, fresh ears, big hearts, and lots of patience!

03/25/2025

When you’re still buying pull ups with an almost 7-year old, you buy the good chocolate to go with it! Follow me for more tips! 😂

03/24/2025

Have a great Monday!

04/13/2023

Hi friends! We’re participating in this year’s Dash for Down Syndrome with GiGi’s Playhouse and I would LOVE for you guys to be a part of our crew supporting Miss Lael and her friends!

This organization has literally been a lifeline to my family. Personally, as a mom, it has salvaged my hope and my resolve to do everything I can to live a beautiful life as a caretaker and parent for someone who has different abilities.

GiGi’s provides all of its services to families 100% FREE! This is only possible because of amazing friends and family like YOU who support the sweetest, hardest working, funniest, most determined people around us, like Lael.

Last year, GiGi's Playhouse Cleveland was able to launch the Amina Grace Speech & Language Program because of the support our community raised. Lael directly benefited from this and has been receiving free speech therapy from an amazing therapist who has become a part of Lael’s dream team.

Support for GiGi’s directly impacts families like ours. I would be so honored if you would become a part of our Big, Loud, Upside Crew for this year’s Dash for Down Syndrome!

Here’s the link to sign up. If you can’t physically make it for the dash, your team support is still appreciated! But I would be thrilled to walk with the support of our dear friends and family this year!

Support The Big, Loud, Upside Down Crew.

04/12/2023

Bone aching,
Mind racing,
Hand wringing,
Heart beating,
Eyes crying,
Fist clenching,
Knees kneeling,
Head bowing.

This is my daily act of worship.
I pour myself out to the point of exhaustion only to find true rest knowing I did exactly what was asked of me.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.

04/06/2023

Today is Maundy Thursday. We used to attend a church where they had a service and then, for whoever felt comfortable, the Pastor washed our feet. I admit, I was a little grossed out. But if you remember what today is about, it’s such a holy moment.

Jesus knew he was going to the cross. He knew he was soon going to be in pain. He knew this was going to be his last feast celebration, his last night reclining at the table with his friends, laughing, listening, loving.

If you knew this was your last night here on earth, what would you be doing? Jesus spent that last night washing feet.

Contextually, it was dirty, smelly, and oh so humbling. It was the job of a lowly servant. And he did it voluntarily, joyfully, knowing that even some of those feet would run from him, turn him in, deny him.

This picture of Jesus washing the feet of someone who so happens to have a little something extra struck me this year. Our family had our own Passover Seder meal last night, doing our best to understand what Jesus went through that Holy Thursday. But my sweet girl with her little something extra was not wanting to sit still or be quiet enough to read or listen or even let anyone else participate. So…we washed her feet. She giggled and laughed and thought it was so fun! And I got to experience just a sliver of joy that Jesus did that night.

Can you imagine the Savior of the world lovingly bowing low to wash the crusted earth off your worn and calloused feet? Washing the cute little chubby toes of my joyful interrupter was SO much easier! And yet…

It’s not about the dirt or grime,

it’s about bowing low and loving one another.
It’s about being interrrupted.
It’s about being inconvenienced.
It’s about setting aside your agenda because of someone else’s needs.
It’s about helping someone else even at our own detriment.
It’s about setting aside our sorrow, our anxiety, and our valid feelings to be present and show others that we’re invested in them.

Today, I pray that every interruption, every invitation, and every inconvenience can be met with a heart that is willing to bow low and set aside my agenda and feelings to help someone else feel seen. I pray the same for you.