marriage
Homeschooling special needs: a story of transformation

This morning, I walked into Ezra’s school and informed his principal we will be homeschooling next year.
Talk about one of the most terrifying moments of my life…
I could sit here and write 2000+ words about the steps that rapidly led up to this decision, the multitude of reasons as to why we feel like homeschooling is the best choice, the curriculum we are looking at, and the plans that we have. But none of that really matters, nor is it really anyone’s business.
That said, I feel that what I MUST chronicle is the transformation that has taken place in my heart and mind over the last week that I can only attribute to a miraculous act of God.
Our Eleventh Anniversary: Musings & a Marriage Playlist

It’s 4:38 a.m. and I’m awoken by a child who needs his nightlight fixed…and a snack. When I crawl back into bed a few moments later, I breathe a sigh and lay my leg to rest across the back of my husband’s calf. He sleeps on his stomach, yet even in his sleep, we somehow … [Read more…]
2018 in review: just a year we were capable of more

Can I be honest with you all for a second? I’ve been a little bit annoyed with the New Year hubbub the last week. People sharing their #topnine photos, sharing resolutions, sharing what they are looking forward to…blah blah blah. I started to wonder if I could boycott the New Year. I’m not even really … [Read more…]
#nofilter: how to be married to an external processor

In my head are two long blog posts that I’m working on as followup for my post Confessions of an introverted wife (married to an extroverted husband). The aforementioned “Confessions” post brings in a good bit of daily traffic (thanks, Pinterest), but unfortunately was not my best bit of writing. The post was word-vomit-ish, one-sided, … [Read more…]
Our Unforgettable 10th Wedding Anniversary Trip to Texas

We’ve been talking about our 10th anniversary for several years now. We’ve been throwing ideas at each other of where we should go, what we should do, how we should celebrate. We thought about New York City, the Florida Keys, going back to Boulder Crest for the 3rd time, and visiting a variety of other … [Read more…]
Confessions of an introverted wife (married to an extroverted husband)

I remember exactly where I was sitting – in my parents’ van in the parking lot of their church – the moment when my future-husband (not-yet-boyfriend) told me these words, “Aprille, you and I could never be together. We are like oil and water. We would never mix.” And yet, here we are – … [Read more…]
Morning Messes and Beautiful Life

“The boys are both still asleep! You wanna get up and have morning coffee with me?” My sleepy brain tries to wrap itself around the paradoxical words as I roll over in bed to view my half-dressed husband grinning tenderly at me. “No. I just need more sleep. I was up a lot with the … [Read more…]
In which I am the “best wife ever”

So yeah, I did a pretty awesome thing. But first, I have to tell you the whole story: Once upon a time, Russ had a favorite shirt. It looked like this: We didn’t spend much time together because we dated long-distance, but the few times we were together, he often wore this shirt. These pictures were … [Read more…]
When you’re too tired to be a good wife

This week was one of those weeks – the kind of week where I really was too tired to be a good wife. Little Brother was going through his sixth week of not sleeping through the night. (He has cut six teeth in five weeks while simultaneously figuring out hands-and-knees crawling AND pulling up – “wonder week” would be … [Read more…]