I had an epiphany the other day. The concept of having a relationship with Jesus has always been somewhat abstract for me.  Most Christians understand the philosophy behind this idea, but the practicality is hard to grasp; how does one have a relationship with a person who is not physically present and does not tangibly

We went to pick Jessie up from childcare at church last week.  As it turned out she was one of only two kids that evening.  The other child was a girl named Bella, who happens to be just about Jud’s age. When we walked into the room, Jessie and Bella were playing.  Jessie was chasing

Drake and I celebrated our 12th anniversary yesterday, which also marks the start of our thirteenth year of marriage.  I was recently told that because we were married on the 13th of the month, our 13th year of marriage is supposed to be our “golden year.”  Coming on the heels of Judson’s suffering and death,

I am just so desperate to hold and talk to Jud.  Everything in my being aches and longs for him.  I would give anything to simply have another moment or two to cradle even his most broken body in my embrace, or talk with him even when he was mute and could not respond. It

How does a one year old respond to the loss of her older brother? This is a question that has been posed to me several times, and one I have often wondered myself. I have no idea how Jessie is processing through the fact that one day her brother was present with her, and the

When Judson was around 4 months old, he was having such difficulty sleeping, that we decided to invest in a video monitor.  It helped save my sanity; he was so frequently fighting the much needed rest his body desperately needed or waking up with intense screams, that it enabled me to see whether or not

Dear family and friends, Today marks two months since Judson died. Every thought is still consumed with the loss of our sweet little man, but we are slowly starting to re-emerge, and once again join “normal” day-to-day activities in our sphere of influence, though it continues to be a slow and hard process. The world

Drake asked me yesterday, “Do you think the worst is behind us or before us?” Initially I answered his question stating that I thought the worst is still in front of us.  But as I thought more about his question, I realized that whether or not we are in the deepest stage of our grief,