Recent Posts

40 Days of Homeschool

Last night, I printed the final daily schedule for Princess Milkface’s quarantine homeschool, and I had to chuckle. Her school has been painstakingly numbering each day of the distance learning curriculum (just in case we lose track of how experienced we’re all becoming at this “new normal,” I guess). That’s right. Day 40. 40 days of homeschooling. 40…where have I...

Happy Father’s Day, Honyay

Happy Father’s Day Weekend to my Honyay… …the Dad who loved Captain Starburst enough to set very high standards for how I, as stepmom, would engage and support him, not as a mom but as a Sharapu who would always love him and be there for him. I’m so inspired by watching you continue to be Dad, but in a...

A Letter to Princess Milkface on Her 7th Birthday

Dear Princess Milkface, The night before your 7th birthday party, you cried inconsolably because you were afraid you wouldn’t be enough. As we sat on your bed and snuggled together, I listened to you share your fear that your friends would be disappointed at your party. That they wouldn’t have enough fun or enough time with you. And as I...

My Why: From Closing Out to Seeking Out God in Tragedy

Yesterday morning, I awoke to news alerts about bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. It is heartbreaking to think about all the people who were killed, simply for choosing to worship their risen Lord or getting away to spend time with family. These acts of violence hit close to home and remind me of a...

Palm Sunday: Being Jerusalem

I woke up this morning thinking about today being Palm Sunday. Thinking about this final week of Jesus’ mortal life on Earth. Today the church remembers Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem when he was honored as a king. Just days later, He would be rejected, mocked, and ultimately crucified. I was reflecting on how fickle the people of Jerusalem must...

Being Still

This verse is such a conundrum for me. I see it, and immediately feel the Holy Spirit’s tug on my heart that this is what I was created to do. So simple right? Be still. Know that God is God (duh). So then why do I keep finding myself going, going, list-checking, going….from the 3rd time my alarm goes off...

Adoption Day: Forever Family with All the Feels

I’ve been wanting to share about Lady M’s adoption day for quite some time. Yet, every time I sat down to write, I would get stuck. How do I appropriately honor a day that was so beautiful for our family, yet tragic at the same time? I’ve seen this quote a few times, and it makes me stop and catch...

Family Closure After Sexual Abuse – Part 2

I never would have guessed that I’d describe being face-to-face with the kid (now young man) who molested Princess Milkface as “beautiful.” But, when the therapist who facilitated our meeting used that word at the end of the session, I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.

Family Closure After Sexual Abuse – Part 1

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Honyay pulled me aside when I got home from work. I was already in a frantic state from work drama, kid pickup, and rush hour traffic, but I had no idea what was coming next. “You’ll never guess who called me while I was cooking dinner.”

Captain Starburst and Sharapu: A Stepmom’s Path to Purpose in a Blended Family

What to Call the Stepmom? Just before Honyay and I got engaged, we did a Thanksgiving roadtrip with Captain Starburst to visit family in Maryland. We created many fun memories on that trip, but one stuck more than any other. We were playing The Game of Things with the whole family, including Captain Starburst’s cousins. If you haven’t played before, it’s...