Author: aprincessinprocess

Dropping my Snack – Renewing my Appetite this Advent

She painted a picture with applesauce on my hardwood floor again. Then Baylor followed behind her licking it up.

She is now toddling off to wiggle some more to the music and wave her applesauce around like a lasso.

I probably should follow behind her with a wet rag, or take the snack away. But at this point, I need her to eat. I cannot nurse 432 times a day anymore (Okay, it’s really just 6 times…but still.) And dropping messy snacks is her new deal, and I’ve accepted it as part of my current normal.

Also, Baylor is auditioning for the role of “robot vacuum,” though he doesn’t seem to eradicate the fur as well as the vacuum might. We will see if Santa delivers on that one.

Summer’s new snack dropping habit is as beautiful as it is annoying. It’s only beautiful because God is using it to teach me.

If Summer sees a toy that she finds interesting, she drops her food, entranced by the toy, and makes a beeline for the item of interest.

One day I watched as she was double fisting a purée pouch and water. She saw a teddy bear out of the corner of her eye and literally dropped everything and ran to the bear and gave it the biggest hug. She forgot all about the snack and the bear took center stage for the remainder of the morning.

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Eating Glitter and Embracing Santa: An Uncomplicated Advent

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“But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” Philippians 1:18

Here I sit in the sacred space of yogi snacks, spilt sippy cup puddles, and puzzle pieces that may never find their home again. Oh, and Christmas décor. Oh, the beautiful, toddler-proof Christmas décor. My home looks like Country Living is forcing an awkward relationship with the Babies R Us catalog.

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As the Trees Thin

I feel this advent season is going to be marked by the word “gifts.” The Lord is sewing powerful meaning behind this word into my spirit right now.

For now, I’m reveling in the gift of presence. God’s presence, of course. But also the gift of being present with others. Oh, how being physically present with one another can breathe hope and life into our very bones.

He chose to make Himself physically present with us: Immanuel. That’s what we celebrate this season. The greatest gift ever given to mankind. God’s presence leans more intimately into the lives of men and women with each chapter.

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She Will Water the Pumpkin – A Lesson on Expectations & Anger

“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” Proverbs 29:11

The new morning routine now includes me carrying a bath towel downstairs to the living room. I’m learning that quality towels, puffs, and Ziplock baggies are all powerful tools in the game of parenting.

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10 Tips for Traveling with Tiny Humans

We have taken our colicky, strong-willed, loud, fiercely independent and active daughter on (going on) 18 flights. Traveling with a baby is anything but easy. And when that child is colicky or strong-willed, the challenges are magnified ten fold. It sort of feels like walking a tight-rope 30,000 feet off of the ground with a tiny break dancer attached to your chest. There is no easy way to do it. You sort of throw yourself out there with a prayer and hope you don’t misrepresent the Lord by shaking your baby or yelling at your spouse in front of an audience of people. (Disclaimer: this is a joke. I’d never shake my baby in real life).

With the Holidays just around the corner, I thought it was an appropriate time to share some tips for traveling with your petite powerhouse based on our experiences so far. Beware that these tips are geared toward high-energy, colicky little ones…so they may not apply to all families.

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The American Heart

Above: My daughter watching the election. She wore my feelings on her face. 

I’m learning that freedom and security in our world are simply mirages.

Perhaps the more unbelievable and comical aspects of this election are the responses that flood my Facebook feed and the corners of cable television in the wake of such brutal campaigns. It is quite amusing that we are, in the least bit, surprised by the results of this election.

I understand that many of my readers are optimists. And many of my friends are hopeful. And we should be. As followers of Jesus, we should know hope intimately. As humans with hearts and heads, we should be sensitive to the wellbeing of one another, and the basic human rights of all people.

But, I must admit, in light of prophecies outlined in Scriptures and the recent tune of our society at-large here in the United States, I am not the least bit astonished by our options in candidates or by the outcome of this civil war masked as an election.

I feel an urge to share some observations as a woman who has had the privilege of knowing a wide array of people types in my short journey. I know some of our nation’s wealthiest and some of our nation’s poorest people. I know people of color, people of various faiths and spiritual convictions, republicans, democrats, libertarians, and socialists. I have known people washed in elite academia, people educated by hard knocks from life on the streets, people who have had their futures secured by trust funds, people who have never known financial security, farmers, financial gurus, doctors, and the mentally unstable. I have brushed shoulders with pastors, politicians, prostitutes, professors, drug dealers and professional musicians. And among all of these people, I have noticed that we have one thing in common:

We all claim to be people of love.

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10 Phrases to Not Say to Someone with an Eating Disorder

Walking in relationship with someone who stands in the grip of an eating disorder must feel like an impossibly delicate position.


Everyone experiences eating disorders differently. Everyone is triggered by different words and situations. What triggers me may not trigger someone you know with an Eating Disorder and vice versa.

It’s important to tune into the individual struggling and learn from careful observation, good questions, and genuine conversation to know exactly what words, phrases, and behaviors act as triggers for him or her.

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Showering with a Screwdriver

The laundry towers, dishes pile up, trash multiplies, toys scatter. The dog needs feeding, bed needs making, the baby needs attention…

I mustn’t waste this day away on chores.

Today there are laughs to be had, beauty to see, tastes to savor, words to be read, written and exchanged. Love to be shared, sidewalks to stroll, ducks to feed, and swings to play on. Coffee to be enjoyed, smiles to pass along, messes to make, and places to tidy up.

She will not remember the clean home. I will not wish for another moment to wash dishes or fold laundry as I reach the end of my earthly journey. I will wish for more moments to allow Love to come in, take charge, and trickle powerfully out.

And so I began packing up in preparation for our upcoming walk to the park. And then I saw them.

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Sanity and Soul-Care

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”  ~ Benjamin Franklin

My sanity is still messy, but it’s a restful sort of messy.

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I will never forget the lessons I learned from my mom as I watched her go about life when I was a young girl. She is the most selfless, strong, servant-hearted women I know. Growing up, she integrated teachings from Scripture in sweet and tangible ways.

One of the most priceless lessons my mother taught me was the value of soul-care and self awareness. Through example, she taught me to begin with self-awareness, and then to implement healthy boundaries. She taught me that soul-care paired with selflessness is key to living a full life.

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Naked and Napless

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:12-13

Babies are fun! They are hard. But they can be fun.

It’s been one of those mommy-ing days when you just throw the lofty goals like meal times and naps out of the window, and you charter new territory in hopes of at least making a memory out of the mix.

I’ve had several of those days lately

Just the other day, following a sleepless night, a runaway dog expedition, and a 45 minute bumper to bumper car ride serenaded by a screaming baby, I wandered around the wine store with my baby on my hip and realized upon getting to the register that my breast was out of my shirt.

Embarrassing. Exhausting. Laughable.

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