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DeVos & De Baby

There is something eerie about nighttime. Everyone is quiet. Everything is still. And when there is commotion, it feels chaotic yet incredibly lonely. Deep dark hours of the night have a tendency to swallow up any security I have. It's safe to say that things felt very insecure and uncertain when we rushed Maddie to the ER at 1:30am last Thursday morning. We had spent all day driving home from Indianapolis, turning a 5 hour drive into 10 hours. Maddox had...

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Sweet Assurance

We were wrapping up our 36 week ultrasound, which had to have been our 7th one. Truly. With high blood pressure, my doctor was overly cautious. We were so appreciative of this attentiveness. We loved our Tech too, but she was unusually quiet during this appointment. "You're seeing your doctor today?" she asked. We nodded. I had a passing thought - but that's all it was: a thought. And it wasn't enough to really complete an entire idea and definitely not something...

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Surgery and the Lie That is Primetime Television

Let me start off by saying hospital drama shows are one ginormous lie. There is no good looking, charming anesthesiologist. He's actually a jerk. And he doesn't look anything like McDreamy. You don't have a heart to heart with your resident doctor and swap relationship advice. Real hospitals are ugly. And gross. I recently went under the knife for a minor nose surgery. Problems with migraines and breathing, and a 0.001% chance of smelling again were reason enough for me to...

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When Cooper Met Ashley

Who likes being set up on dates? Me either. That’s why it’s a Christmas miracle that Patrick and I got together. In the beginning of Fall 2011, I was sitting at my parents’ kitchen table as I overheard our friend Amy talking about Cooper from work (It took me a solid month to learn his first name). While the staff at our church had grown a great deal, I still knew names pretty well so I was confused. “Who’s Cooper?” Amy didn’t skip...

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An Anxious Heart

I’ve never been held hostage, but I have been in a group text. Anyone with a smart phone can relate to this. I’m certain. I sub in my spare time – or when I turn my auto Do Not Disturb button off at night. I like my sleep. I do not particularly like 6 AM phone calls. I was subbing the other day and had a jam-packed schedule. But I started the day right. I brought my KIND bar (heaven sent)...

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Perfect Love

I don’t always prefer The Message when choosing a version of the Bible to read. However, I recently re-read my favorite verses in this version and it gave me an even better perspective. Philippians 4:6-7 says “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what...

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