Jacob's Ladder

11/20/2025

I saw the license plate a week before it happened.
It said BESAFE1.
I didn’t know why it felt important…
until it showed up again — at the exact moment I needed proof that I’d done the right thing. 💜
✨ Read the full story → heathercriswell.substack.com

11/04/2025

I wasn’t feeling thankful. Not even close.

And then something started tapping outside my garage…
It wasn’t what you’d expect in the Las Vegas desert.

But that moment changed everything I thought I knew about gratitude.

✨ Read what happened next in my new LV Family Living column:
👉 https://isu.pub/9PlPC6q

McGee
Vegas Kids Zone

Join us as we spotlight locals making Las Vegas a stronger, kinder place this season. Featuring Miss Nevada Teen USA Cameron Reese on mental health and scholarships, real stories from local teens on r

11/04/2025

I wasn’t feeling thankful. Not even close.

And then something started tapping outside my garage…
It wasn’t what you’d expect in the Las Vegas desert.

But that moment changed everything I thought I knew about gratitude.

✨ Read what happened next in my new LV Family Living column:
👉 https://isu.pub/9PlPC6q

Kimberley McGee
Vegas Kids Zone

Join us as we spotlight locals making Las Vegas a stronger, kinder place this season. Featuring Miss Nevada Teen USA Cameron Reese on mental health and scholarships, real stories from local teens on r

09/30/2025

What Would You Do If Someone You Loved Messed Up?

We all mess up. 
We forget. We fall asleep. We disappoint people.
The question is… how do we respond when someone we love lets us down?
This story is about a dad.
And a moment where he could’ve yelled.
But instead… he cried.
What happened next still echoes in my heart—and it just might offer you a new way to see forgiveness, trust, and the kind of love that calls us up, not out.
🎧 New Soul Talk now live → heathercriswell.substack.com
✨ Listen, reflect, and maybe… forgive someone today. Even if that someone is you.

09/30/2025

✨ Have you ever let someone down… and they chose grace instead of punishment?
Those are the moments that stay with us.

They don’t just teach us.

They change us.

This story is about one of those moments.

But more importantly—it’s about what it awakens in you.

💫 Maybe you’re the parent deciding how to respond when your teen messes up.
💫 Maybe you’re the friend trying to hold space instead of judgment.
💫 Maybe you’re the one who needs to offer yourself some long-overdue compassion.

When we choose love over control… trust over fear…
We create moments that echo forever.

Watch this week’s Soul Talk: The Night I Accidentally Broke My Dad’s Heart
And reflect on the power of being believed in—even when we don’t deserve it.
👇
https://youtu.be/S_Q0CXxKXGs

💔 What happens when you mess up… but someone meets you with unconditional love instead of anger?This true story from the early ‘90s will hit you right in th...

07/23/2025

“LOVEROTS”
At first glance, I was like-wait, what?
Love… rots?
I was driving through the Whole Foods parking lot, saw the plate, and did a full double take.
My mind went into immediate overdrive.
That’s so dark. That’s so sad. Who would choose that? What happened to them?!
I even tried to reframe it in my head:
Maybe they meant “LOVE ROOTS”? Maybe it’s a typo?
Nope. It definitely said “rots.”
So I circled the entire parking lot to investigate. (Obviously.)

And then… my husband casually said:

“Look up.”
I did.
And there it was.
Stickers everywhere.
Paws. Rottweiler silhouettes. Tags that said: “LOVE ROTS” - as in… Rottweilers. 🐾

They loved their dogs. Fiercely.
And what I thought was tragic?
Was actually pure. Loyal. Protective.
It all made sense.

And it hit me:
Sometimes we jump to conclusions because we’re only seeing a sliver of the truth.
Sometimes we assume the worst because we’re missing the full picture.

The Universe reminded me that day:
Check your perspective. Look up. Gather the clues.
Because what you think is “dark” might just be… dog love. 💜

💫 Want more surprising soul messages from the back of parked cars?
Follow my Notes + subscribe here for weekly stories that shift perspective and open hearts.

06/19/2025

🚬💔 This week’s drop is deep, personal, and soul-shifting.

✨ First up:
The Breakup That Changed Everything: A Love Letter to Ci******es
It’s not just about quitting.
It’s about releasing anything you once needed… with love, not shame.
The ci******es spoke (yes, really), and what they had to say? You’ll want to hear it.

💛 Second:
“It Wasn’t Your Fault”—The Words Every Mother Needs to Hear
This one’s sacred.
For every mom who’s carried silent grief.
For every heart still holding a baby it never got to hold.
There’s healing here—from spirit and science.

Both stories are live now on my Substack →
heathercriswell.substack.com

🎧 Or find them on the Heather’s Soul Talks podcast + YouTube

🕊 One conversation can change your life. 💫

06/17/2025

🎉✨ BIG NEWS, FRIENDS! ✨🎉

Guess who just became a monthly columnist in Vegas Family Insider Magazine?! (Spoiler: me! 🙋‍♀️💜) My heart is doing cartwheels and my soul is doing the Macarena because this is the beginning of something SO special — and I get to share it with YOU.

Introducing my new column: “Soul Talks with Heather Criswell” — where parenting meets presence, where tantrums become truths, and where one quiet moment can change everything. 💫

🌟 In this first column, I share a story called “I Don’t Want to Talk About It: The Power of Sitting Still.” It's about that sacred moment when silence becomes connection — and how sometimes the bravest thing we can do as parents... is not say a word.

This is not about being a perfect parent.
It’s about being a present one.

📖 If your kid has ever come home in full meltdown mode…
📖 If you’ve ever felt like your words weren’t landing...
📖 If your heart is ready for a new way to hear your family…

Then this story’s for you. 💛

A HUGE thank you to the incredible Kimberley McGee of VEGAS.com Kids Zone for believing in these soul stories and inviting me to be part of such a magical publication that’s lifting up families in Vegas — and all over the world. 🌍💫 You are a light, Kimberley!

🗞️✨ Read the column in the brand new issue of Vegas Family Insider — and let me know if it lands with you. (Parents, caregivers, grandparents, soul-connected humans — I see you.)

https://issuu.com/vegaskidszone/docs/vegas_family_insider_june_2025

📚 And if you haven’t picked it up yet, this story comes straight from my heart and from my book, How to Raise a Happy Child (and be happy too). It’s a conversation — not a manual — and one that might just shift everything you thought you knew about parenting.

Let's keep the soul talks going. This is just the beginning. 💜

The June issue of Vegas Family Insider is here, and this one’s packed with everything you need for an unforgettable summer and saving $ in Vegas—amazing stories from local kids, fresh recipes, home ma

06/12/2025

🕊️ A baby bird. A Vegas morning. And a message I didn’t know I needed.
I’ve experienced a lot of loss—my mom, my dad, five babies, even a stranger whose spirit I saw leave his body.
But nothing prepared me for what a tiny, lifeless bird on my walking path would stir in me.
I tried to walk past it.�I tried to pretend it didn’t matter.�But something told me to stop. Look. Listen.
And what I heard?�It cracked me wide open.
✨ This isn’t just a story about grief.�It’s about the things we run from…�… and the healing that shows up when we finally stop running.
If you’ve ever tried to out-walk your pain, silence your sadness, or fake your way through the hard stuff—this story is for you.
💛 Watch the animated short, listen to the podcast, or read the full story now:�👉https://heathercriswell.substack.com
One baby bird. One whisper.�One conversation that changed everything.�


https://youtu.be/GfkFBKh1ywg?si=aajrJMf5kOmZfVET

Sometimes, the universe sends a message… wrapped in feathers and silence.This is the true story of a dead baby bird 🐦, a Vegas morning 🌵, and the moment I ...

06/04/2025

✨ Two Stories. One Message: Love doesn’t leave. And being seen can save us.

This week’s Soul Talks will grab you by the heart and whisper something you didn’t even know you needed to hear. 💫

🦋 “When Love Doesn’t Leave”
A best friend. A faucet. A flood of signs from the other side.
This animated story is for anyone who’s ever wondered: Are they still with me?
(They are. And they’re probably running up your water bill.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoEnVgenjwE

🚗 “Surviving High School, One Ride at a Time”
I was 15. Bullied. Done.
Then my dad asked four words that changed everything: What can I do?
This one’s for the daughters, the dads, and the people who show up before sunrise.

🎧 Watch. Read. Listen.
Because one conversation really can change your life.
👇
https://heathercriswell.substack.com/

Some love stories don’t end. They just shift. 🦋This animated Soul Talk is about my soul sister Sami, who passed unexpectedly—and found the most magical ways...