Changes For Everyone
New parents wonder how they’re going to survive keeping a child alive. They blink, and before they know it, graduation caps are being tossed into…
New parents wonder how they’re going to survive keeping a child alive. They blink, and before they know it, graduation caps are being tossed into…
Do you see the dog howling? Or the snail head? Does something else catch your attention? Cloud formations are fascinating. Depending on a person’s imagination,…
There is a song from the late 1980s by David Wilcox called “Leave It Like It Is.” https://www.google.com/search?q=leave+it+like+it+is+lyrics&rlzThe song is about a jar of blue…
There’s no end to the many hats of motherhood. Mothers must be part chameleons or magicians. How else could we change our demeanor or adapt…
“The brass ring only comes around once” is a saying I’ve always loved. The phrase was designed to attract people to ride carousels long ago.…
April is National Donate Life Month, and National Pediatric Transplant Week is April 23-29, 2023. Donate Life is the national registry for matching organ, eye,…
Hip-hip Hooray! This Saturday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. I don’t think of myself as a tree-hugging hippy, but I value the Earth and its…
Oreo cookies in our house are more than a cookie. Those little round cream-filled treats are a small and special sign of my affection for…
Over Spring Break, my daughter’s friends decided to take a road trip. They were in search of a chuckwalla. With little money and an equal…
Snorkeling in the ocean fascinates me, not just the visual beauty of marine life, but the whole experience. In the underwater world there is a…
On a hike last summer, I came across abandoned railroad tracks previously used by miners. Their abrupt end got me thinking. There are times when…
Do you remember laying in bed, frozen with fear as your imagination conjured up monsters under the bed? It didn’t matter that you couldn’t actually…
“Hazards Exist” signs warn of obstacles on ski runs, but life is no different with its unforeseeable challenges. The “Hazards Exist” signs make me laugh…
There are only two options to a couple things in life. Size and age are topics that fall into this logic. Over time our body…
Lucy the Golden Doodle puppy, and Twix the rescue kitten are the newest additions to my brother’s family. At first glance one might think them…
Love is an insatiable human need. When we give a gift we strive to make it the “perfect” gift, so why not strive for the…
The choice to change ourselves isn’t an easy decision, and the action required of oneself is even more daunting. Choosing change requires us to love…
Once upon a time, life gave me what most would call a nightmare. At the encouragement of others, I turned the nightmare into a dream…
I’ve been volunteering in my friend’s first grade classroom. At times the group of six and seven year old’s can get a little too rambunctious.…
Why is saying “no” so difficult? I’m as guilty as anyone for not using this word enough. Thinking I can fit in one more appointment,…
Pinned to my office bulletin board are several of my daughter’s drawings. To Emily they’re nothing more than doodles whipped out during math or English…
I think it’s safe to say we’re all feeling the holiday hangover. I don’t even mean the overindulgence of cocktails. I’m talking specifically about the…
This week I’m taking a break from blogging to break in my ski legs. For those of you looking forward to my mental meanderings, I…
Of all your holiday memories what do you most recall? If I had to guess it isn’t the “perfect” ones. It’s the holiday mishaps that…
In my opinion there’s not a more important skill than communication. Communication is key to identifying and expressing our personal needs and wants. To be…
Viewing life as a glass half full or a glass half empty seems to be a limiting approach in my opinion. The options are left…
Alcoholics Anonymous defines insanity as “doing the same thing and expecting different results.” You don’t have to be in the program to see the logic…
This fall in Colorado has been unlike any I can remember despite being a native of the state. The variety of vibrant colors of the…
As Thanksgiving approaches gratitude is on the forefront of my mind. When I think of gratitude I also think of happiness. In my opinion the…
When I was in high school a friend from Spain came to visit for the summer. Her English was very good but she couldn’t remember…
Meet Malucca my eleven year old Portuguese Water Dog. In Portuguese his name means crazy. He does an excellent job of living up to his…
My seventeen-year-old daughter knows how to own it. She used to be the mascot for her middle school, but set it aside during high school,…
It’s my belief that the majority of people are good. Why then do bad things happen to good people? The truth is, life happens to…
Not many people are willing to put the needs of others before their own, but my friend Angela is that kind of person. In the…
There’s no doubt that fresh squeezed orange juice is better than any store bought kind. Sure there’s something to be said about the convenience of…
Flowers fascinate me. They are beautiful at every stage of their life. What seems fragile is remarkably strong. It’s amazing how blossoms know when to…
The EVVY Awards are the like the Emmys but for self-published books. Several months ago I submitted my book Pink Elephants to the Colorado Independent Publishers…
In high school I used to love weightlifting, specifically the bench press. Seeing my name on the “100 lb+ Club” was my goal. It would…
The other day my four-year-old neighbor approached me with an outstretched hand. On her palm lay a large, listless grasshopper. Lucy said, “Look what I…
Recently, I was asked what I think it means to have grace. My answer was that grace and kindness are much the same. Both are…
Life can be incredibly disappointing at times. People work hard for what they think they deserve only to be left wanting more. The want for…
On our first anniversary I started a tradition of giving my husband a penny. It has become a penny of many. The idea was that…
Deep down we all want something to believe in. The only way to know that our beliefs are not foolish is to question them. Take…
Everyone has a story to tell about a traumatic experience because there’s no escaping trauma. Trauma is a thread that connects people, as no human…
Rainbows have always stopped me in my tracks, even as an adult. The riches of a rainbow exist with or without a pot of gold…
A diamond is considered by many to be the most precious of all gemstones. The untrained eye isn’t able to see the beauty of diamonds…
I don’t pay much attention to “pop-up holidays” as I call them, but I think this Thursday is one worth noting. Thursday is National Chocolate…
Living in Northern Colorado means that every now and then my family has reason to drive through Wyoming. Often when we do so it’s at…
To be a father is an honor. Good fathers are men who choose to live up to the title. They are men willing to care…
As the curtains closed on my Gramma’s life she had one request, “take me with you.” Those were the some of the most important words…
Ridding a garden of weeds is a never ending task. Removing them before they get too big or out of control is important. Mowing over…
Snails and humans are vastly different from one another but there are a couple of key similarities. For starters both species have comfort zones. These…
So many people are constantly in search of measuring up. Rather than finding satisfaction in what they already have, they look for validation outside of…
Zelda Fitzgerald said, “No one has ever measured, even poets how much a heart can hold.” I think Zelda was talking about a mother’s heart,…
Join me as I speak with fellow author and podcaster Kris Clink. We discuss how my family survived the life-threatening illness of our daughter, why…
In a couple of weeks, it will have been four years since I was involved in a serious car accident. Going 75mph, I was in…
Did you know that April 22nd marks the 52nd Earth Day? This is a day to enjoy our planet and consider ways to better take…
My dog and I walk almost everyday. Bad weather or Malucca’s stubbornness are the only reasons a walk gets skipped. He’s only willing to walk…
We have all heard of the windows and doors of opportunity. There are windows of opportunity. When one door closes another opens. Opportunity knocks, is…
Bring on the temporary distractions from life. Pull up the curtain and strike up the band. Let the shows begin. Theatres, stages, concerts, and comedy…
Every day is a beautiful day in my neighborhood because I’m blessed to have incredible neighbors. Though Mr. Rogers and Tony Danza don’t come by,…
These days dinner reservations are practically a must. Lately, my house is no exception. Connecting over the dinner table has always been a priority in…
For the first time in a long time the world seems to be on the same page. What is happening in Ukraine is not okay.…
At three-years-old and not more than three-feet tall, my sweet, little Emily blurted out a statement I didn’t understand. With one hand on her hips…
“Mom are we rich?” was a question my brother and I occasionally asked our mother when we were little. She always offered the same answer,…
I have learned not to begrudge my hardships, because of the insight they provide later. Each experience of life is preparing me for whatever is…
The simple beauty of life is not so different from that of a kaleidoscope. With every turn of a kaleidoscope the pieces fall into place…
After living together only a few months, my husband and I were still getting used to one another’s habits. We were learning what was worth…
We could all use a boost to our spirits lately. Tensions are high, tolerance is low, patience is next to nothing. A collective sense of…
Surprisingly, the most common question I have received after the publication of Pink Elephants, has been, “How did you and Tyler manage to stay married?”…
This week I would like to enlighten you with different kinds of thought provoking messages of positivity. For some time now I have been collecting…
Move the “S” at the beginning of SWORD to the end and you have WORDS. Completely different in their meanings, but surprisingly similar in how…
Though the presents are all unwrapped there is one more. Since it can’t be put under the tree, placed in your hands, or delivered to…
Whether your beliefs were born in a manger, celebrated by lighting a menorah, or took flight beside a jolly man in a red suit, they…
There’s not a direct line in life connecting Point A to Point B. Instead, the road of life lays before us with turns, twists, and…
Not long after I released my first book Pink Elephants, a fellow author approached me with the idea that we exchange reviews for one another.…
This week I invite you to join me for a podcast interview instead of a blog post. Hannah Hopkins Walton is the host of Hannah’s…
It is unfortunate to me that all four-letter-words get such a bad rap, since there are two categories of them. There are the words that…
During a recent drive through the mountains, I spotted two large moose standing in a field. I pulled over to watch them for a moment.…
Living in Colorado I have the privilege of experiencing the gifts of all four seasons. Each abounds with its own abundance of wonder and joy.…