personal essays
prayers + blooms
We planted small hydrangeas alongside our garage last month. The pathway faces our backyard garden and lines the avenue to our outdoor grill, a well-loved space in the coming months. Hydrangeas, named for the Greek
the common table
A large farm table sits at the center of our home between windows and books and doorways to other rooms. It is the place where we eat and work together as a family, where we
small beginnings
When we bought our first home so many years ago, I thought of home and garden design in terms of magazine spreads–things and furniture and plant life neatly arranged in exactly the right place, constant,
on childbirth and miracles
There is a moment during childbirth where you no longer care what is happening in a room, who is staring or what they might think of the gaping parts of your body. Your attention is
learning patience
There’s a large hole in the window screen just over our kitchen sink. Inside it, two tiny wrens are building their nest, their secret. All day, they pop in and out of that hole, one
light for the dark season
The world is dark, and light is precious. Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux For all of us, there are life seasons that feel bright and effortless. We move through our days with sun-kissed hearts, alive
2015 / choosing now
These last several weeks have been quiet here, I know. The grey days have kept us tucked inside more than usual, where we’ve enjoyed one another in very simple ways again, often near a wood-burning
with my eyes open
Belief isn’t always easy. But this much I have learned, if not enough else— to live with my eyes open. I know what everyone wants is a miracle. Mary Oliver, “In the Storm” Belief isn’t
on slowing down
Living in modern culture often makes it difficult to appreciate slowness. Being a mother sometimes makes slowing down feel impossible. Like so many other parents, I’m a list-maker and planner, meaning at any given point