Summer. The season that doesn’t last nearly as long as I would like it to. The season I wait for all winter. And it goes by way too quickly. As I look towards fall I get a little angsty. The grieving of the season not even done yet. Why can’t I just settle and be … Continue reading Being Patient and Present
My friend, Barb, has one of the most generous hearts of anyone I know. She inspires others to love completely and with abandon. I love her story even though it rips my heart in two. She has similar strengths to mine and yet lives hers out in a way I could only dream of. She … Continue reading Barely Surviving, Trying to Thrive
Meet Kristin. She shared her story with me years ago. It has directed some of my discussions with my teenaged daughters. It has helped me when going through this season where I have felt like my idea of beauty has been completely reworked. This struggle is real and isolating, the feeling of not enough or … Continue reading I am Enough
This was too good to wait for this weekend's post. You won't likely see me sharing a lot of my picks for reading. I can tend to be kind of particular in the books I choose and what I enjoy. Typically, they tend to be nonfiction and first-hand accounts of people’s stories. I know, not … Continue reading Fun Summer Read!
What do you do when your world feels out of control but you have the strength of developer? You foster puppies, of course! The strength of developer is defined as seeing the potential in others. You see everything as having potential and being alive with possibilities. You want to see others experience some bit of … Continue reading The Strength of Developer
Art can tug at your heart. It can capture an emotion, a time, or even a season. When I saw this particular piece of art it was all of the above to me. It captured my attention. It took my breath away. This painting was what breast cancer looked and felt like in my life. … Continue reading Seeing Past the Pain
This is the fourth part of our story as written by Patrick Durand. After we informed our girls of the new diagnosis, I immediately felt relief from the constant tension I had felt over the preceding weeks. I had been so worried about how they would react to the news, particularly Emily, since she was … Continue reading This is Our Story, Part Four
This is part three of our story as written by Patrick Durand. We faced a situation we hadn’t remotely considered only three weeks prior – stage IV breast cancer. And more specifically - death. After the diagnosis, Melissa and I were in a complete daze; we could not concentrate on anything. Our minds continuously processed … Continue reading This is Our Story, Part Three
When you travel through life you meet special souls along the way. One example for me are Gavin and his family. I met Gavin and his mom, Nicole, in a Target parking lot when Nicole was my daughter's math teacher. Meeting Gavin was uplifting. He wanted to know who we were and was genuinely interested in meeting us. … Continue reading Trusting God’s Plan
This is part two of our story by Patrick Durand After Melissa completed a battery of tests: EKG, Echo, CT Scan, Pet Scan, etc. we met with Dr. Thomas to review the results. Over the past two weeks we had come to terms with the cancer. We accepted it. Of all the cancers to get, this … Continue reading This is Our Story, Part Two
Strength in Our Stories 