This is 39.

by Leave a Comment

This is 39. 🎉 I’ve learned that:
•Life only feels short when we waste it.
•A full life is one that involves risk and adventure, not always playing it safe.
•Each day is a fresh new shot at being deeply intentional.
•This is the time to make good choices that support the future.
•This is also a time to realize that even though we may never see the future we imagine, it’s still worth pursuing.
•Life is fragile and beautiful, and while there are bad moments sprinkled in, overall, life is so very good.

Friends, let TODAY be the day that you begin to #celebrateabsolutelyeverything.  Every little interaction and small gesture is all a part of the bigger picture.

God cares deeply about the details of our lives, and we should too. 💕

Seasons Change

by Leave a Comment

These 3 were so little! 😍

In this photo from 2017, they are 5, 10 & 15.

This makes me cringe a little though (I’ll get to that in a minute), because we had just left the cardiologist where the youngest here was dismissed as a patient after 5 years of frequent checkups, fully expecting she’d be going in for heart surgery. Her doctor had walked into the room, looking over her test results and his jaw dropped! He said he could not explain it, but she was HEALED! NO NEED FOR SURGERY!


I quickly told him I could explain, you see we serve a God who is still performing miracles and this is exactly what we, and so many of you my friends, had prayed for. 🙌

You guys… then we celebrated with McDonald’s!🤦‍♀️

I’m a firm believer in “do what you can in the season you’re in”, and I honestly didn’t know a whole lot better and didn’t understand nutrition and health at the level that I do now.

Now that I do I’m cringing at the fact that we celebrated a healthy heart with Happy Meals, a warm box of sugar/gluten-filled cookies, and ice cream sundaes.

I am looking back and giving myself grace, knowing what life was like going through what we were with her health, barely sleeping with an 8-month-old at home who had issues of his own, and navigating homeschooling a variety of ages while volunteering for everything I could because I still thought God loved me for what I *did* not because of whose I was.

Looking back at this I’m thinking of the momma who snapped this picture and the husband and the baby sitting next to her (me). I’m realizing that so many women, and men, are right where we were. I’m grateful that God has shown us a better way, and I get excited about being able to share that knowledge with others as the opportunity arises.

There are so many free tools when it comes to health care, and I’ll be highlighting those in future posts.

In that season we were in before we didn’t know about investing in our health and even if we had, we really couldn’t afford to. We just needed to start small with things like clean water, sunshine, and more time barefoot on the ground. Things that don’t require a financial obligation or take much time.

Remembering Lincoln Joseph McCormick

by Leave a Comment

Lincoln Joseph McCormick

My dear nephew, Lincoln Joseph McCormick, was the sweetest, smartest, kindest, bravest, 8-year-old boy to ever walk this Earth.

He was an amazing son, the most incredible brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and a compassionate friend and classmate. He was loved beyond measure and will continue to be celebrated daily by those of us that hold him close in our hearts.

Following a tragic accident at his home on the evening of May 29th, 2022 we trust that Lincoln is now in the arms of Jesus.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39ESV

I have such a deep gratitude in my heart for both this online community and our local community. I appreciate the way you all have shown up for our family while we have been begun this journey or grieving well.

After the celebration of Lincoln’s life on June 6th, 2022 our family and our community of friends all gathered outside on the church sidewalk hugging, crying, clinging to each other for comfort, and giving Lincoln one last shout of “Weeee looooove youuuuu!!” (A family tradition we do when we leave each other’s homes). Then his earthly body was driven away.

I stood back and looked at the crowd gathered across the front of the church. Incredible!

If you were there you may have seen me back up and snap a picture of all of you, our tribe, in the moment that we needed you most. Thank you for being there.

You haven’t seen that picture anywhere online, because I wanted that picture for us.

I printed it out and tucked it into an envelope to remind my brother and sister-in-law in the coming years that Lincoln’s life was grand and his impact was profound. Whenever we need that reminder, I know we can reach out to one of you in that photo.

Lincoln Joseph McCormick

You guys, my nephew was so incredible in so many ways! I have heard countless stories of how he touched people in this community and I can’t help but smile at how well he lived his life.

God blessed us with 8 1/2 years with Lincoln. As his aunt, would I have liked more? Absolutely! Yet, I am finding a way in my head and heart to trust God’s plan.

I know the story of his life and his good character will keep impacting this world. Our family will never forget his bravery, courage, and the way he got so amped up when telling a good story! Lincoln could captivate an audience just as his namesake/great-grandfather could.

I want to remind his parents (my brother and sister-in-law), and myself, of the way we felt loved and supported on our toughest days.

Over the past several weeks so many people in our community have shared stories that have touched my heart like never before. Some have been about Lincoln, some about their own grief and loss, and the memories and emotions they have been flooded with while watching us grieve.

Some friendly faces at the funeral and visitation hadn’t met Lincoln but were there this past week because they love one of us.

We love you, too. Thank you.

I pray that from this day forward we will all remember what it means to “just show up”.

Even when we feel awkward and don’t think we have the right words, showing up and being present matters. I can assure you I have forgotten many of the specific words that were said to me, but I remember the way people have made me feel.

I have a greater appreciation of what the word “community” truly means.

Life is precious and fragile. Please, be gentle with yourself and others. Live well, go do things that make you happy, and take more pictures.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

Psalm 116:15 ESV

When you think of my nephew, Lincoln Joseph McCormick, I hope you envision him nestled safely in the arms of Jesus, smiling. I hope his name and any memory you have of him make YOU smile.

Wife + Momma

by Leave a Comment

There isn’t an easy way for me to adequately describe the depth of the joy and honor that I feel to be the wife and mother of this family. The love I have for this tribe is overwhelmingly beautiful, intense, and never-ending.

Gathering around the table for homemade apple pie (my grandma’s recipe) will always hold a special place in my heart.

I imagine the days ahead when my children might make this same treat for their families, and the heart behind the tradition continues to deepen with each generation.

I wonder how they will tell the stories of their childhood. Will they remember the love and dedication we all had for each other? Will they forget the little spats and disappointments?

Will they connect with their families over food, recreation, or something else? Will meals around the table be a priority for them, as we’ve made it here?

Will they willingly work with their hands to provide nourishment for themselves and the tribe around them?

When they fall in love, will it be forever?

I’m excited for the future, while still fully embracing the present moments that are here and now.



No matter how life goes on this side of heaven, I know this to be true, God is always good. 💕

Wishing Did Nothing: I Made Pizza

by Leave a Comment

It’s been about a year and a half since the beginning of the roughest patch of my life.

Both physically and mentally, I lost it all in October of 2020. I’ve come to grips with this. I wish it never had happened, but WISHING that did NOTHING in the way of healing from it.

The mental strength came back quicker, thanks to the prayers and support from family and friends, and multiple phone calls a day to my parents.

Putting in the hard work through counseling so I could to face the scary thoughts that filled my head in the middle of the night and every morning when my eyes opened and my heart began to race was hands down worth the time and effort.

The physical strength is still a work in progress. I don’t want to just be restored to where I was, I want to be stronger than before.

This will take time.

Getting food from the basement freezer and bringing it up to cook requires a break to catch my breath, and I hate that.

I still struggle to open jars (nothing new), cook a meal, eat the meal, and have energy to clean up. Most days I just can’t.

Yesterday I could though, and I will celebrate that.

I was able to make homemade gluten-free + dairy-free pizza for my tribe AND clean it up. I moved furniture with help from my teen son, read books, did a ton of other things, and snuggled with my youngest son at bedtime, something I haven’t done in 1.5 years.

Praise God for the simple and the victorious moments of life.

If you can’t run forward, crawl. If you can’t celebrate a huge win, celebrate the small ones.

In the end, it’s going to be okay.

My endgame is in the arms of Jesus.


#CelebrateAbsolutelyEverything

Ordinary Moments Challenge: Kitchen

by Leave a Comment

If I were to invite you over to my home the first thing you’d see, no matter which door you enter through, is our kitchen.

It’s the heart of every home, right?

It’s the place I make meals, sometimes from scratch, other times from frozen. It’s where the kids sit at the counter for snacks.

It’s where we do messy science experiments and place papers and mail to be handled later.

It’s the place Chad and I sometimes find ourselves talking to each other after our kids have gone to bed for the evening.

This place needs a “quick tidy” multiple times a day, just ask my kids.

I have such a deep appreciation for the way this space serves us.

It is the place I have learned the most patience as a wife and mother.

It’s the place my little 9-year-old gluten-free girl has created and continues to create, her own recipes with pure joy. Never feeling left out, always empowered by the gift God has given her through her food intolerances. She loves the challenge of making meals and treats that everyone can enjoy.

Our kitchen is ordinary. The messes here are common. It’s the people and their activity that have made it what it is today. It gets messed up, it gets sticky, it gets cleaned again and again, and all the while it provides a space for ample amounts of love, lessons, safety, and entertainment.

If only these walls could talk.

Thank you, @amanda.volsen for helping me see this kitchen with renewed appreciation.
#ordinarymomentschallenge

Hey There, 2022. I See You.

by Leave a Comment

Welcome, Sweet Friend.

First of all, I’m so honored to connect with you in this space. While I occasionally do want to ditch social media from time to time, I’m also not ready to give up on the relationships we’ve made here. I enjoy this space and the joy it brings to my life.

I’m invested in you. I hope that comes out as genuine care, and not creepy. You are important to me. I value the time you spend on the content I create.

I’m just as grateful for the new faces here as I am for those that have stuck with me since my password-protected blog was called Lucky Ducks back in 2006 and the password was “baked beans”. Yep, it happened.

I want to give you a peek at what you’ll see from me in 2022, yet I’m not even sure what the year will bring. I’m grateful that I don’t have to have that all figured out today. God already knows what is to come.

I do know I will be putting a focus on gentle restoration of the mind and body. No sales or memberships, just me, sharing how Jesus redeemed my physical body and mind from a near-death experience.

I’ll be sharing what I’ve invested in for my health, sharing why and how we home educate our children, and whatever else the Lord puts on my heart to present to you here. Of course, there will be plenty of food mentioned, because I’m a momma of 4 and I handle 21 meals a week for 6 gluten-free and mostly dairy free people.

This is and always will be a competition-free zone. I want to be your cheerleader and encourage you in the areas you need it most.

What is on your mind as we head into a new year?

2022 First Quarter Focus Word: CONNECTION

Two Days Post Christmas

by Leave a Comment

It is two days post Christmas. I’m laying in my bed, sad. This is the first time in many years that I have given in the commercialization of the holiday and while the shopping was fun, it doesn’t feel good today.

I feel physically sick at how emotional I am over this.

I didn’t get to go to the candlelit Christmas Eve service at church and feel the community around me. I didn’t sit in a church pew and feel the comforting weight of hearing the story of our Savior’s birth.

Rather I watched parts of the service on my phone while waiting in line for the car wash bay to open up on the unseasonably warm December day, then arrived later than we expected at my husband’s family Christmas.

The Christmas gifts we gave were investments into health, a sauna for Chad and I to share, clothing, audiobooks and players, paint and canvases, upgrading things that we decided last year no longer served us well (toxic nail polish, etc.) A TV and a couch for our family room, to allow for greater crowds to gather more comfortably in our home.

Small toys that were intentionally picked for the way they spark creativity and free thinking.

Then, after all the gifts were opened, I surprised my husband with a Playstation 5. This may sound fun, but it does not align with our family values. I spent too much on it, and we had already talked about it and decided it wasn’t best for our family.

We’ve had a similar video game system with hundreds of dollars invested into games, and I donated it when it became a problem for our family.

I knew in my heart this wasn’t a gift that would serve us, and I gave it anyway because I liked the wow factor.

If you have one and it works for you or your family, that’s great. I’m glad you can set healthy boundaries and feel it serves you.

To me, it’s invasive. It’s another thing to pull attention away from things that are more productive and bring value to our lives.

It’s the fact that I went against my husband’s wishes, and I’m disappointed in myself.

It’s not just that device weighing on me. It’s all the things that are out of place in our home because we opened new gifts that don’t have their resting places in our home yet.

We are off routine. I ate a whole candy bar over the weekend… twice (too much sugar makes me weepy), and I still don’t have the gifts figured out for our next family Christmas gathering in 2 days.

That’s all.

I’m fine, but I’d like to feel better than that.

DIY Painted Rock Dolls

by Leave a Comment


My youngest daughter celebrated her half-birthday while we’re safe at home during this coronavirus pandemic. Half birthdays are a big deal when you #CelebrateAbsolutelyEverything like we do.

In an effort to save money where we can, not overwhelm the shipping warehouses and delivery drivers, and create a unique gift that wasn’t just another toy, we used what we had on hand to surprise her with a little something special that is just her style. My craft-lovin’ girl really appreciated this!

This idea was inspired by a rock painting set that she was given by her church grandma, Kathy. Thanks, Kathy!

My girl has the biggest heart and will not keep anything for herself, so when she opened the rock painting kit right away she started making plans for all of us to use the set with her in a “BEST EVER ROCK PAINTING SESSION!”

It really was the best!

We gathered additional rocks from around our home’s landscaping, some big, some small, and all got to work on our own painting projects.

I used Folk-Art acrylic paint (I most of picked ours up from Wal-Mart back at Christmas, some bottles we’ve had on hand for 8 years or more, some was given to me by my mom) and what we had on hand for paintbrushes (we have a lot as our two older kids get new brushes their used ones are handed down to the two younger ones to use for painting on the sliding door with water or for small crafts). You really only need a couple of brushes for this project, and you can use the back of the brush as a dotting tool if needed for adding details.

HOW TO:

  • Wash and dry your rocks to get any dirt off that may interfere with the paint sticking. I didn’t actually do this, but I’m sure it’s a good idea.
  • Paint a flesh tone oval or circle on your rock as the face, and let it dry.
  • Add the eyes, using two horizontal white ovals as a base, then putting adding circles for color, and a dot of black for pupils.
  • Add a smile using red, pink, or a combination of the two.
  • Add hair. The trick here is using small brush strokes, and slightly lighter or darker shades of your original color to give dimension.
  • If you’d like to you can add a sweatshirt, clothing, or headdress.

You can get as detailed as you’d like. I am so not an artist, so I just painted until I felt like I had enough and stopped. Us non-crafty people are just that way.

When your rock looks how you’d like it to wait a while, or a few days, and hot glue some pieces of scrap material to the back to protect the playing surface. We used felt, and when I say “we” I mean I asked my oldest daughter to do it. She IS creative and loves using a glue gun, so it was a win-win.

I think it’d be fun to design rocks to look like cars or animals as well. Hey mom, will you do this for your favorite grandkids?

If you give this a try I’d love to see! You can e-mail me pictures (aslightlybetterwife@gmail.com) or tag me on Facebook or Instagram I’d love to see your work and share it too!

We’re making the best of this #SafeatHome movement, and pray you’re doing the same

Some fun rocks painted by our kids. Eventually, the paint will wear off of the rocks if they aren’t sealed. We weren’t painting with the long term in mind, so we didn’t seal them with anything.
Random rocks painted by ages, 2-39! and stored in my late Mother-In-Law’s Tupperware. ♥

The Most Greatest.Gift.Ever

by Leave a Comment

 

As I held the phone in my hand talking to the receptionist and looking at my calendar I held my breath and tried not to let my worry show through the phone lines when she gave me the next available appointment date.

My words said “Great, I’ll take it, thank you”, but my heart said, “Oh no!  Why so long!”

 

We’ve shared with our family and many of our friends, now we want to share with all of you too.  About 3 months ago I scheduled my youngest daughter’s routine appointment with her cardiologist.  We can typically get in to see him within 2 weeks, but because of some unforeseen circumstances, their calendar was booked out quite a ways.

 

I hung up the phone and sat down and prayed.  The baby was crying, the big kids wanted me, but I needed Jesus so badly in that moment that I just paused and prayed, or I would’ve been bawling too.  

 

I cried out to God and told Him I was SO.WORRIED.  I couldn’t imagine waiting 3 months to get in.  Even though it was a routine appointment, I like to have the most up-to-date facts, and I wanted them right then.  It’s so hard for me to give up control.  I begged God to take away the worry since there wasn’t a thing I could do about the wait.

 

A couple weeks later we visited our favorite pumpkin patch and our kiddos got a bounce house all to themselves while there was a lull in visitors.  Best day ever for any kid, right?!  Well, you see, our sweet girl NEVER gets to go in bounce houses, because it’s hard for her to keep up with the other kids, and you know, all those stinkin’ germs.  So it really was a dream come true for her to bounce alongside of her big brother and sister.  She STILL talks about it, months later!  

 

The bad part:

Later that evening and for the next several days she just sat, completely exhausted.  She had bounced and bounced until she couldn’t bounce anymore, and now she was paying for it. She didn’t run and play, she didn’t get excited over anything, she was just so calm, but almost seemed limp and pale. She asked to be held and kept her hand near her chest feeling her heartbeat and asking me to feel it often too.  It broke my heart.

 

As much as I want my kids to stand out for their greatnesses, I don’t want them to stand out for their weaknesses.  I don’t want anything to slow them down or hinder them from reaching the desires of their hearts.

 

I knew we couldn’t get into her heart doctor, and even so, what would they be able to do?  We prayed.

 

Fast forward to just last week… It’s late, I’m in bed nearly asleep and Mr. Awesome comes in and asks what time we need to leave for the cardiologist appointment the next day.  “What?  THAT’S TOMORROW?”  

 

If you know me at all you know I am a planner.  I should’ve had outfits laid out, snacks packed, and water bottles filled and activities to keep us busy while we waited.  I have calendars and reminders everywhere, and I had somehow (through the grace of God) forgot all about this!

 

I am so grateful that the weight of the worry was removed so I could just enjoy the days and months leading up to the appointment, rather than looking for all the signs that something was wrong like I had done in the past.  

 

At the doctor’s office what I expected to hear were the words we often hear and are grateful for: “No change, but we will see you in a year”.  That’s been fairly typical since we graduated off of every 3-6 month appointments.  It sure beats hearing that things are worse.

 

What we actually heard was something like this: “I am going to dismiss you as a patient, as far as I’m concerned, you are healed”.

 

What?!  Seriously God?  You did that? For our sweet girl?  For us?

 

THAT was the new best.day.ever.  And I think it may take quite a while for anything to top that.

 

What the doctor explained typically could heal itself around the age of 15, had healed at age 5!  FIVE!  I feel like 10 years of waiting and worrying were wiped clean!  

 

Now it doesn’t mean her condition has totally disappeared, but it as not anywhere near a place that surgery would be considered a necessity, which we had thought at one point as we held her in his office when she was an infant.  

 

She’s to go on and enjoy life.  No problem, enjoying life is what this girl does!

Friends, I have said I’m giving things to God before, but I can be a bit of a control-freak and take it right back. This time, I gave it, I trusted Him, and I didn’t turn back.  

 

What a gift it was to follow through, and to feel His blessings poured out on us.

We explained what all the doctor talk meant, and asked our girl how she wanted to celebrate, letting her know that ANYTHING was game.  Her choice, MCDONALDS for the “expensive ice cream”.  Oh, my heart!  I love her to pieces!  

 

By the way, McDonald’s online ordering through their mobile app is amazing.  Even though we ate inside this time, picking out everyone’s choices from the privacy of our van using the app, is simple, and simply amazing!  No more wishy-washy time spent at the drive-thru window or in front of the counter while others wait for our kids (or us) to make a perfect choice of a meal.  Bonus:  I’ve discovered menu items on the app that I hadn’t ever seen on the physical menu before.

 

You know we love to Celebrate Absolutely Everything, but this thing, this sweet and glorious thing, really deserved celebrating.

 

Please, celebrate with us and head out for ice cream soon.  You can tag us on Facebook or Instagram, and use our hashtag #CelebrateAbsolutelyEverything.

Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting A Slightly Better Life!