Blog

  • The beautiful stranger, a Whole Foods encounter.

    This new season of life has been full of intimate beautiful time in my marriage. This story was such a palpable example of how years of growing, separately, but together can evolve and I so wanted to share it. As you emerge from that beautiful but extremely challenging cloud of postpartum, there is life on…

  • worship ramblings.

    Hey sweet friends, here’s a rambling that’s probably just for me today but one I needed to get out on paper, or the proverbial paper anyways. This is about what I would deem “modern worship” in the church. If this subject isn’t for you… feel free to close it now. I absolutely respect your opinion…

  • Give them the flowers first.

    Friends, I’m back sharing my two cents. Truthfully I’m sharing from the depths of my heart and hope somehow that any of the things I learn along this beautiful journey resonate. After all, I think the only way one truly learns in life is from experience, both ours and others. Perhaps this in part is…

  • Yes Person.

    For the past two years I have emphatically said that I want to be a yes person. I’m pretty sure that anyone that has had access to my heart, would say they’ve heard that desire articulated.  So, what is a yes person? I’m not even sure that words defining it suite it nearly as well…

  • Regardless of political results.

    I feel a heaviness tonight.  This heaviness is not because of the tension in the air walking past the political tents on my way to vote.  This heaviness is not from the flood of alerts on my phone, that I have chosen to turn off.  Nor is it from news reports about radical extremists.  The…

  • My Little Women

    My oldest and I have been reading Little Women together. I knew that I loved this literary classic surrounding the March family, but I had no idea how it would effect me as a mother. A mother who in fact has been blessed with four little women herself. Mrs. March, or Marmie, is consistently teaching…

  • Audience of One.

    Hey sweet friends. This summer I was navigating buying a house, moving into said house, selling a house, a new school, life challenges, ongoing health concerns with my 3rd daughter, family loss, all during a deployment… this mama has been treading water. You know what though, I’m growing – because I’m unapologetic these days about…

  • 10 things to say or not to say to your children regarding food and how it effects our bodies.

    I was recently having a conversation with my husband about something in child behavior that seems like common sense, yet we didn’t know it 10 years ago. Isn’t it funny how that can happen? Thank God we are evolving and we’re changing and we’re learning. I think as a community we have obligations to share…

  • New stages for us, too.

    I am a self described bibliophile. I love all things books. I love reading, I love the feel of the binding in my hands, I love the smell when you open the pages, I love perusing book stores for hidden treasures. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I often use book analogies in…

  • Baptism and butterfly wings.

    Johnny and I once had someone tell us that God picked us up out of someone else’s pile. Friends, this could not be more true. The latter part of the sentence was that He took us and said, “Look what I am going to do with you”. When I heard those words 8 years ago,…

  • Walk along side them

    Hey sweet friends, spring is springing that’s for sure. I might be biased because I’ve called North Carolina home for almost all of my life, but there is something so unique and beautiful about spring time in North Carolina. Everything is green and blooming and baby animals are abounding. It truly signifies a very tangible…

  • Sunday dresses and Monday attitudes

    Yesterday was one of the days beautiful memories are made of. It was a day social media post worthy. We made it to the early service on Easter morning with plenty of time to spare. We showed up in lavender and sage coordinating outfits. Coordinating, not matching. I’ve learned with 4 daughters, as they age,…

  • Be a helper.

    I had the realization this week that my worldview is quite different than most. I say this week, but that’s not really true. It was highlighted this week, yes, but this is something I’ve always known. I’ve always found my upbringing unique and it has shaped me in a way that I view the world…

  • Loosen your grip

    I think anyone that is close to my family would agree that last year was marked for us by a season of waiting. We were waiting for test results, medical complexities, moving, career changes, a home, and deployments. Almost every facet of our life at some point or another, was marked with waiting. I’m not…

  • Hold their hands.

    This one goes out to mothers that have school aged daughters. Although, you know what? It might be entirely possible that this just resonates for me. It could very well be that I just am writing to get my feelings out. It seems to be that’s the case these days, so much so that my…

  • Christmas mountains and valleys

    Hi friends. I hope you’re finding yourself in the midst of a beautiful Christmas season.  I have been utterly struck, maybe even unsettled, at the dichotomy of events in my own life and between those I know this season. However, perhaps this unspoken push and pull of polars is always there.  The mother that worries…

  • Thanksgiving lunch

    Hi friends! I haven’t written in a while, and I’ll share more on that later. However, I wanted to get some feelings down while I’m sitting in my car with a sleeping toddler! I knew pretty early on that I wanted a big family. Being a mom is my very favorite thing, and raising my…

  • Boat Paddles

    Hey there friends, this mama has been rolling into this new year season with a lot of transition happening my way. Still some medical unknowns with my daughter, but I am hopeful for answers next week. In fact, it has been one medical thing after another it seems. It is a BIG week in our…

  • Gratitude for living.

    I haven’t written in a while, as I was truly drinking in time with my family. Special memories. Family time. Moments of pure perfection.  I heard something once about perfection and it’s achievability. Many people say it’s unattainable, but I don’t believe that. I think we have perfect moments. Snapshots in time that are perfect.…

  • Butterflies and roaring seas.

    I have so loved my 30’s. I would pick 30 over 20 EVERY SINGLE time. That is not just because 20 year old Sara was totally ridiculous, either. I have spent my 30’s learning about myself and in turn my relationships. I won’t sugarcoat it either, sometimes the learning process can be painful. The journey…

  • Shark teeth.

    Hey friends, been a while. I sure hope everyone is surviving and thriving in the summer sun. It has been a whirlwind of a start to summer break, hence my absence. Baby #3 had surgery and the down time/recovery has been more extensive than I thought. If you know her, you wouldn’t find it surprising…

  • Swimsuit Season!

    Remember how I said that my desire is to share the very things I am actively learning and walking out? As promised, here it is!  Summer break is pretty much here!!! You know what that means in my house? Any and all things water related. Considering our summers are incredibly muggy and hot… The water…

  • Little by little.

    I once had a professor ask, “Is the sun in the sky right now?”. He told everyone that knew the answer to stand up. Systematically he went down each row and after each person answered, he asked them how they knew that information? There were a lot of “because I know” kind of answers. No…

  • Take time to remember them.

    I read a transcript regarding a broadcast today and it went a little something like this… The broadcaster was offended with something he read regarding how it’s not appropriate to wish someone a “Happy Memorial Day”. He kind of associated it with facebook culture and said, “Also, I feel like if they had really wanted…

  • Preschool Graduation

    My third daughter graduated preschool today. After the fun that is summer break, she will take the trek to join her sisters in Elementary school. I can vividly remember dropping my oldest off to kindergarten and hesitantly driving off. If you’ve never had the privilege of doing a school drop off, they are not looking…

  • Following through.

    It wasn’t until this year that I realized how unbelievably hard disciplining children is. This is not referring to any kind of physical discipline either. How did I not know in the 18 years I lived with my parents that whenever I had an imposed consequence, they were actually suffering too?  I once had a…

  • It’s always been there.

    How many times have you said or heard, “if i could do it all over I would…”? It wasn’t until fairly recently that I’ve learned I actually would in fact, not. That’s right, all of it, the good the bad. The beautiful and the ugly. All of it. I’d keep it all.  Not for your…

  • Happy Mother’s Day

    Y’all, I received what I think is my greatest compliment ever today. It left me not only in tears, but dare I say speechless. That is no small feat either.   Do you know where that compliment came from? From the mouth of my seven year old. Well, technically her pencil. That, my friends, is impressive.…

  • Slow down.

    The start of every new school year always feels like a little bit of chaos, trying to get into a new rhythm after the relaxation of summer. However, the end of the school year and beginning of summer is what I’d consider chaotic madness. You’ve got the simultaneous culmination of ALL the things. Chapters closing.…

  • That’s enough to carry.

    Today was a day. Insert deep breath. We were supposed to go visit my sister and have a birthday party for her at a park in her city. She’s not very far, but most often she makes the effort to visit us… so I try to reciprocate when I can. Apparently it was also the…

  • The Law of Opposites.

    * Please hear that I am steeped in a family that validates and supports mental health. My sister is a licensed therapist and the Director of a facility-based crisis center. My parents are longtime therapeutic foster parents. My mom is a family partner liaison for those transitioning to lower levels of care. If you are…

  • Let them in.

    If I’m honest, the previous month, was as my 7 year old would say, “a real stinker”. We’ve had sickness during more time than not. 2 wrist injuries resulting in 2 separate X-ray visits. House closing problems. Emotions running high during military child appreciation. A dental problem. A sick dog. A demeaning softball coach. A…

  • Hack : Linger

    Hey friends, I know it’s been about a week since you’ve heard from me. I have been chasing my children all over kingdom come. The quote, “my kids are living their best life and I’m their ride” could not be more accurate in this season of my life. Today, I am going to share with…

  • Make the appointment.

    Before you read any further, this one is total practicality. I even struggled putting this out there because I consistently questioned myself if perhaps I am the only one that thinks this way. I once read a thread about a person with “very bad anxiety” struggling with the idea of going into SUBWAY®. This poster…

  • Redemption is a verb.

    In my sweet sleepy town we have a very idyllic downtown area. I should rephrase that. Our once sleepy town has given way to a lot of growth. Much of this growth has come at the bemoaning of many. Unpopular opinion, things that are healthy grow and our area really IS that great! We surely…

  • Infantile Spasms EEG

    One year ago today I sat in a room at UNC children’s hospital gripped by fear. We had just checked in knowing that they were going to do an EEG for my youngest daughter to detect if there was any seizure activity taking place. When I tell you all reason and sensibility had left me,…

  • Mental Load

    Mental load. It’s the buzzword. It’s everywhere. Maybe it’s just on my algorithms because I spend an incessant amount of time trying to be introspective. Given the fact that I’ve heard the term used three times this week while out and about, I would say it might not just be me. Do I think some…