Let me start off by saying that I love my parents' neighbors. Growing up, our neighborhood was charming but most of the residents were elderly. We hardly saw them and clung to the few families near our house when we wanted to engage in conversation. Now that Nick and I have moved out and away, Euclid has been the dream street. You know the movies where the kids run from yard to yard and they all play together? Euclid. The...
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The INFP in me is a dreamer. Sometimes I have to remind myself to think big enough to dream but small enough to act. I live in a great community in West Michigan. I see so much opportunity here and I can't help but desire to be a part of it. It's something I can't shake and it's a vision I've had for months now: a retail shop in West Michigan. There are wonderful parks, restaurants, shops, and beaches in Muskegon....
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Four weeks ago, on Friday of Labor Day weekend, I rolled up to my family's cottage expecting to meet a locksmith. Instead, I met four dear friends of mine; four (of six) girls from college who have seen me at my very worst and love me anyway. Girls who celebrated with me on my wedding day. When we moved, I stumbled across a pile of inside jokes from college: I unwrapped a wine glass with a note that said "because...
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My Dear Sweet Son, You've had a whirlwind of a week. You've been hauled across three states, put to bed in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar apartment. Honestly, I feel I've ripped you away from anyone who knows you well. You'll never know the Northwoods the way you could have, so there's a couple things I want to tell you about the place where you were born. I'm very proud to have been born where I was (in East Michigan), and...
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Last week was a whirlwind. My sweet and sassy grandma passed away. Patrick, Maddie, and I packed up on Saturday evening and headed down in an attempt to see her one last time. We didn't make it. But we are grateful for her peace and God's true presence and provision in those last hours of her life. We realized Maddox was sick as we were nearing Illinois so I knew we were in for quite a treat. After a nasty cold...
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I often tell myself that I won't blog unless I have something thought-provoking or funny to say. But I don't want to forget these little moments that are actually very big. I don't want to grow old without remembering this beautiful (yet messy) life of mine and the wonderful people who fill it. So here is a diary entry of sorts: I got to spend the weekend with my very dear friends from college. There were six girls, five babies, and...
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Yes, I did just make up a word: Framily. It will be trending by Friday. In late July I found joy in spending time in Washington DC with friends who are more like family. I am one of the rare pastors' kids who got to spend a long time in one place. I grew up in a small lakeside town in Michigan, and I still maintain several relationships that I developed there. One of those relationships is with the Harrington clan....
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Tonight, I'm sitting in our sunroom with all the windows open, and I'm thinking about our summer. It was packed with meetings, surgeries, trips, and camps. But it was also packed with people. I loved every minute of youth group this summer. While our house will never be quite perfect enough for guests (I'm my mother's child), students came over almost every week this summer and played yard games and made s'mores. They don't count as guests because they'd probably...
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Our lives have been absolute chaos lately. We've moved (a mile away) and have had several youth events since my last post. Camp. Camp. District Conference. Holland. A missions trip. And countless hours around bonfires with friends and students. And to top it all off, my husband got ordained in the Wesleyan Church almost a month ago. And while I can sit back and soak in what this day means, what it felt like to sit with friends and family and...
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Alyssa insisted we do the shower today. I told her I wasn't ready, but all the guests told me this was the only day that could work. So we approached the cafe that I had never seen yet booked, a dark building with hardly any windows. They didn't close the cafe for us. Not only were we not alone, it was also the early bird special so the Q-Tip tour had packed it out. The walls and chairs were covered...
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