SCHOOL OF MOTHERHOOD

    2020 was eventful, and not just because of CO-VID. ASTA   THE DOG   came to live with us. The circumstances were nothing short of a miracle. Handsome became our ward's   BISHOP . I got a stupid   CONCUSSION . DISNEYLAND  was a fun family vacation. C & R got  ENGAGED . CTR got a buckle - FRACTURE  and I had a lot of  FAITH-BUILDING   opportunities. We explored   GLACIER NATIONAL PARK  with family. We were more  HOMEBOUND  than we'd like, but  HIGH FITNESS  was my sanity-saver. I   learned to be a lot more flexible. Plans? What are those? Live  IN   the moment, one step at a time. That was not my modus operandi ever before this year. JESUS CHRIST  has been my light and hope.  He is my  KING ,   b ut I  KINDA  still   cried a lot (my closet is a great hiding place). LOTS  of plans were changed, post-poned, and canceled (see "I") MASKS  bec...

Twenty years ago, my second baby, H, was born. Two weeks later, I began the long learning journey of realizing that my children are not an extension of myself. They are their own separate beings, and I simply get to love, teach, guide, and do a whole lot of growing alongside them. It started with colic every evening. Did I call it colic? No, because my kids were perfect and good! She just…cried for several hours. Then came the inconsolable daytime crying unless I was a human pacifier. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, eating leftover lasagna while waiting on hold with the pediatrician’s office to figure out what could be wrong with my baby. The nurse got on the line and we went through the typical list. Then she paused and asked, “Have you eaten anything with red sauce?” I looked down at my forkful of lasagna – red sauce was my staple! Enter in a new diet: no spices of any kind other than salt, no salad dressing, no chocolate or broccoli and certainly no red sauce! It wasn’t un...