I’ve had the privilege and joy of watching my grandson, River, twice a week for the past few months as Alayna went back to work part time. In a shameless display of grandmotherly picture sharing, I give you ten things I’ve learned from River lately: It’s okay if your hair looks funny. It makes people… Read more »
Family
Peace Like a River
His name is River, and we are enchanted. Ever since our grandson came into this world on April 8th, my world of walking the dog and editing my manuscript and answering emails and doing basic daily tasks has faded next to the primary goal of when I can get myself back to the River. Leon… Read more »
The Best Story Ever
On September 4th I wrote a post about Nate and Jo’s wedding ceremony getting postponed due to Covid, and while we were sad we had to cancel the plans in Washington State, we knew it would all work out and there would be a good story to tell. We had no idea what was in… Read more »
The Story of Love
Consider this Part Two to the post A Dark and Stormy Night, the story of Nate’s proposal to sweet Jo. On May 28th they got engaged, and ever since they’ve been planning like nuts for their wedding. They also had some really sweet engagement photos made. The plan was to get married in Olympic National… Read more »
A Dark and Stormy Night: The Proposal
It was a dark and stormy night, the night Nate proposed to Jo. Nate had been planning it for months, a carefully orchestrated event that first involved choosing the perfect ring and the perfect location (the roof of the Long Center parking garage where he and Jo go for downtown views and to watch the… Read more »
It’s Time for Storytime
I was recently zooming with another writer who asked me about my blog and so I screen-shared to give him a look at it. I was surprised to see entries going back all the way to 2011. I was blogging way back then? And then there’s the link to Faces in the Street in the… Read more »
What You Don’t Know
I had no idea six months ago that I would travel with Alayna and Benji to see Nate play guitar and sing on stage, in a band, in front of hundreds of people. Or that I would leave a beach with green sand on the big island of Hawaii to ride on the back of… Read more »
Baby #2: No Operating Instructions

I introduced baby #1 in June 2017. Baby #2 came to our family in September of 2017. She was much different than baby #1, partly because she wasn’t a baby. She was a thirteen-month-old bundle of energy and destruction and yes, cuteness. The cheeks, the chunky thighs, the poofy pom-pom ponytail that sprouted from the… Read more »
Baby #1: A Strange New World

We are not allowed to share names or identifiable pictures of the foster children we care for, aren’t allowed to share details about their backgrounds. What I can share is how these tiny bundles of flesh shape and change my family and me personally. How they make us slow down, realign priorities, and inspire us… Read more »
The Next Adventure

Although my last post was from August 2014, that doesn’t mean nothing has happened in the past two and three quarter years.