How to Delight in Our Children
As humans, we need to know that other people delight in who we are. Psychologists tell us it’s a core need, and they say we actually can never have too…
Photo by Bryan Johnson
Connect to Community | It Makes All the Difference!
Peter and I have often received praise for our parenting when people meet Penny, our daughter who has Down syndrome. That’s all very nice, but it’s clear to me that…
S8 E9 | How to Talk About Disability with Carrie Hahn
Apple YouTube Spotify More!  Is disability a tragedy? Are disabled people “inspiring”? The language we use often reveals our assumptions about disability. Carrie Hahn, a pediatric speech-language pathologist and mother,…
Family Formation: What is “the good life” for our children?
I loved getting to speak yesterday at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas about Reimagining Family Life. Our topic for their Family Formation evening was: What is “the good life”…
Belonging Begins With an Invitation
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of being a mother is watching our kids get excluded. I’ve seen it at times for all three of them, but exclusion happens most…
Discouraged and Stuck? Let’s Reimagine!
I have felt discouraged and stuck. If I looked back through my journals, I’d find similar feelings detailed over the years, but that statement isn’t mine. A parent of a…
Goal Setting: From A to B to Z
I used to hate setting goals for Penny. It felt like I was measuring her worth based on how quickly she achieved them. Now I see goal setting—for her and…
Why Rachel Handlin’s Art Exhibit Prompted Me to Change My Prepositions
Happy New Year! We’ve taken down our tree and put away the gnomes and nutcrackers. The kids are back at school. We reviewed the highlights of the past year as…
Patiently, Beautifully Wrapping Presents
Gift wrapping has never been an easy task for Penny. Typically, she’s been relegated to the background of the wrapping extravaganza in our household—handing over supplies to her siblings or…
Photo by Cloe Poisson
From Conditional Love to Unconditional Growth
I sometimes beat myself up as a parent. In all honesty, I also beat myself up as a human, but on the parenting front, I think about how I let…
