I have invented this thing called the “Randleman Contingency Plan.” I came up with it shortly after I married Jeremiah. We were newlyweds and I found our love for each other, intoxicating. I’d take a look at my new husband and wouldn’t be able to breathe if I entertained the thought of him getting into a motorcycle accident or not making it home from an out-of-town trip. I remember pointing my finger at him one day and saying, “Don’t you dare leave me a widow!"……
Read MoreArmor Up
Sometimes we remember, and sometimes we just forget - things like packing extra diapers, going to follow-up doctor appointments, buying fruit snacks or laundry soap while at the store, and more importantly - putting on our spiritual armor for the day……
Read MoreStolen Seats and Captured Hearts
When I first met her she was an angry, bitter old woman. I had a newborn and sitting in an aisle seat at church was just the sensible thing for a nursing mother with two small boys to do. I was in and out quite a bit during service and yet “set up camp” on the front row - which was a hot-commodity in our rapidly growing church plant.
One Sunday morning, I got to church a little late to find someone in my seat. And not wanting to come across as being rude and asking her to move, I just smiled and sat next to her……
Read MoreHer Flower, My Leaf
I got my sweet friend an orchid for her birthday last year. It was lovely and in bloom and spoke to me from inside the store. As I had hoped - she loved it. I felt that giving her flowers that would die days later wouldn’t be as special as a plant that would hopefully bloom year after year. And my use of the word “hopefully” wasn’t any reflection on her orchid-growing capability.
It was on mine......
Read MoreThe Days of Small Things
My dad is a builder - a brilliant builder I might add. He’s taken an old run-down acreage and farmhouse and transformed it into a slice of paradise. Over the years he’s completed many creative and challenging projects including a cedar-strip canoe, teardrop camper, and a cob oven......
Read MoreHolding On
“How much longer?” It’s a valid question. I asked it aplenty traveling in the car as a little girl. We lived on an acreage on the outskirts of a very small town for half of my childhood. We had to drive to get anywhere - including church which was 20 miles away. We were there every time the doors were open and drove that commute hundreds of times......
Read MoreMaking Lemonade
I’m the kind of girl who loves traditions. If it was fun the first time, then it’s got to be even more fun the second time! Our very first Valentine’s Day together, Jeremiah and I drove to Minnesota and skied for the entire day. Our lunch and supper consisted of beef jerky, PB cheese crackers, and fun-sized Snickers. It became a ‘thing’ and we got to take that trip a couple more times before we started having babies......
Read MoreYes, Please, and Thank You
A year ago, my daughter attempted to dress herself. Her growing independence had just informed me that she could do it all by herself. I sat and watched as she shoved her legs through the wrong openings of her underwear, struggled with getting her legs into her pants, and kept missing the opening of her shirt for her head. Frustrated, she finally found the opening and yanked her shirt down over her head. With her shirt now on backwards, she punched her fists through the sleeves. She broke down in tears and still attempted to pull her socks up over her heels - all to no avail......
Read MoreYou'll Find Me Here
Merriam-Webster defines vacation as "a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation."
Ours ended five days ago. That means I’m five days back to the Wash, Rinse, and Repeat Cycle of mothering small children. My heart is full. And equally exhausted.
It turns out, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t go on vacation alone with your husband and have your children with. In order to have one, you have to leave the other......
Read MoreDear First-Time Mom
Congratulations! If you feel like you’ve just been thrown into the deep end, without knowing how to swim, don’t worry. So did I.
In fact, until Baby’s grand debut, no amount of nesting, nursery-preparations, prenatal appointments, and childbirth classes could prepare you for that precise moment you become “Mom”......
Read More