I know this may sound controversial, but here’s the truth: kids don’t need toys. At least, not in the way our culture tells us they do. Toys are a man-made, corporate invention. They generate billions every year in the U.S. alone, and commercials exist for one purpose: to convince us—and our children—that the newest, flashiest…

It’s no secret that the world has felt chaotic for quite some time, but recent events seem to have magnified that chaos. Everywhere you turn, there’s division. Everything feels like “my way or the highway.” We’ve drifted far from the simple American dream lifestyle that once defined us, and now we live in a tornado…

Sometimes life doesn’t happen like the movies. Sometimes the breakthrough never comes.Sometimes the breakthrough is realizing there isn’t one coming.Sometimes the addict never gets clean.Sometimes the alcoholic wastes away on that worn-out barstool everyone so desperately tried to get them off of. Sometimes family isn’t healthy.Sometimes our very own parents aren’t healthy.Sometimes the people we…

Sometimes a reality check shows up unexpectedly — like watching your three kids roll down a hill in a wave of uncontrollable, soul-deep laughter. The kind of laughter that bubbles up from the belly.The kind that’s impossible to fake.The kind that’s contagious enough to make strangers smile. This afternoon, I sat on a park bench…

This post contains descriptions of a medical emergency, infant CPR, intubation, and traumatic hospital events. Please read with care if these topics may be hard for you. 💛 When my daughter was 14 months old, she suffered a severe, complex seizure that nearly took her life. She was life-flighted, intubated, and placed in the PICU…

I know what you’re thinking: What in the world does that have to do with anything? In today’s world, while we’re inundated with bad news, tragedy, fear, sickness, and countless unknowns, it can become overwhelming — the kind of heavy that makes you want to lock all the doors and hide from the devastation outside….