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 – 10 … [Read more…]
“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…]
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…]
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…]
Dear Beautiful You: I call you beautiful, sight unseen, because I know that you are. Not because of how you look, but because you are committing your life to a military man. And that, my dear friend, is no easy thing. While you may not have a full scope of understanding of all that will … [Read more…]
It was our one-month wedding anniversary the day that I wrecked my Chevy Malibu. I was about to turn right onto a busier street when I saw a pickup coming fast. I panicked and pressed the gas instead of the brake. Bam. I hadn’t had the car for long. My parents had bought it for me … [Read more…]
The cursor blinks on this white blank space. My mind and heart know exactly what I want to write – in idea. But what words to start with? 2015 marked 10 years since 2005. Which may not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. In 2005 I turned 18. I graduated … [Read more…]
Hey you. We fought a lot this week. And I just need to tell you… It’s not you, it’s me. And I know you know that I’m pregnant and that it’s hard. But as I went to bed at 9PM, angry, huffing, frustrated…I felt unsure if you understood just what these last few weeks are … [Read more…]
I read a statistic a few years ago that said that when marriages dissolve, they often do so around year seven of the marriage. That thought kind of frightened me. I kept seeing SEVEN looming in the distance, wondering if we would be able to make it over that hump or not. This Saturday, we … [Read more…]
As parents of a child with special needs, we are wandering in the wilderness. We are thirsting in the desert. But through both arguments and tears, laughter and joy we can walk together as a couple and, because of that, as a family.
Both my husband and I would agree our faith was much shallower before we had a child with special needs. The Bible talks repeatedly about the reason for trials and tribulations in the life of a believer, but we both thought that Jesus was supposed to make everything easy and happy all the time. Having been through what we have been through, we both now realize that our faith is deepened through the hard times when we lean on and trust in Christ.
The greatest need that the special needs family has is recognition of the fact that they are first and foremost, “normal” people, just like you.
There is so much fluidity here…in the everyday us.
Join me as I open up the conversation in this post over at Singing Through the Rain, 6 Things I Wish I Had Known About Sex (Before I Got Married).
He’s where I belong. I’m where he belongs. And that’s never gonna change.
