Something to Fight For
November is National Prematurity Awareness Month and Today, November 17th, is National Premature Awareness Day. I had not stopped to think of this cause before today, and now it is in my heart. Like so many worthy causes, this is one that works its way in and stays with me, as I visit stories of other’s experiences, as I think of my own children, as I look at pictures and visit the website created by the March of Dimes…I think of so many babies and families affected. My son almost arrived quite prematurely. I went into premature labor at 33 weeks. I was hospitalized and given a m

Community Walk ‘09
This past weekend I was privileged to be a part of the Kansas City Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Suicide Prevention. I was honored to be a part of the committee that worked to put the event together and I was blessed by the whole experience. I gave my first public “speech”, at least formally considered such, and I think it went quite well. The turn-out was rather small, quaint, and intimate. The weather was cold, almost frigid for October in Kansas City, but my heart was warmed… I felt the warmth of love from family members there to support me and the walk. I felt the warmth of those present who needed this day, this event and occasion as an o

Cooks for a Cause
Tonight, in the company of some dear twitter friends…an idea emerged. We were discussing hot chocolate and then @cinammonswirly came up with the idea of collaborating for a cookbook and having the proceeds go towards suicide prevention efforts…I immediately jumped on board. I came up with a rather silly idea of a cookbook title and @cinnamonswirly came up with title of  “Cooks for a Cause”! I just love it…so with her permission, I am writing this blog post so that all who care about this cause (as you probably already know I do) can submit recipes that we can use to create this beautiful gift of love in the name of suicide preven

What’s it worth?
Do you ever find yourself  just wondering, for a moment, if you matter? Have you ever had those nagging thoughts nip at you… “no one would notice”, “you aren’t doing a good enough job”, “you are just taking up space”…? I know I have, or I would not be able to write about it. In fact, today even, I have fought off those thoughts, choosing to disregard them, although for brief moments I must admit, I believed. As I realized how much of my time has been spent neglecting some truly important things…I found it all too easy to throw myself into the pit of self-deprecation. But, I have to choose to climb back out, no

Still Intact
I seem to be a little distracted lately, feeling like things are scattered and out of focus. But it took one good moment to bring things back  into great perspective for me tonight. My husband sent me a text message tonight, a truly simple text message, updating me on his experience that he is in the midst of. I can’t begin to explain the immediate smile that was plastered across my face almost instantaneously as I read his message. If I was at liberty to share details, I would, but I have to be a little vague here… please forgive me. His message was one of renewed faith and hope. It was a brief message but what it said to me was “I am in a new