She is obsessed with Theo the hedgehog these days. She wants to go see him first thing every morning and tell him good night every night before she goes to bed.
Watching this man love this boy has made me fall in love all over again with him.
I was so honored to get to interview Max Lucado for the podcast — look for his fantastic episode coming up soon!
I love this picture so much because that’s Kathrynne cheering Silas on through the fence. She had surprised him and showed up for his game along with some friends of hers and she was speaking such words of encouragement to him when she got there. Watching your kids encourage and be each other’s biggest cheerleaders is one of the greatest gifts as a mom.
I taught her how to feed Theo his food… so she always makes sure that he has plenty now. Maybe more than plenty! 
As Baby D grows and learns new skills, more and more they can play together and they have the best time! She adores him and he gets so excited to play with her.
This might not seem like a big deal… but this is actually huge for Baby D. This was the first day he was ever able to hold himself in this position (on all fours)!
We are so proud of this boy!! In the last four weeks he has accomplished some major milestones: getting his first two teeth (a big sign of nutrition and that he is no longer malnourished!), learning to sit up (he can hold a non-prop sit for up to 5 minutes sometimes!), holding a hands and knees position for at least 20 seconds, starting a blended diet (real food) through his feeding tube instead of formula, pushing up with extended arms and holding it, improving his spacial awareness and fine motor skills.
Case in point, in feeding therapy last week he got excited about eating and grabbed a teething biscuit offered to him and put it in his mouth (he’s never grabbed something and put it intentionally in his mouth! He doesn’t know how to chew and swallow it yet, but wanting it and knowing to pick it up and put it in your mouth is a great start to getting there!)
Some of these might seem like tiny wins or things you would take for granted, but they are a BIG deal for him!! We are so grateful for his therapists and doctors who have gone above and beyond to help him and us these past 6 months (truly… multiple medical professionals have given us their personal cell phone numbers and have texted and called off hours to check on him when he’s been going through a rough patch!) I have never had greater respect or appreciation for medical teams and therapists as I do these days and we know that this boy would not be here if it weren’t for them (he was born at 27 weeks weighing one pound!!)
He is a miracle in every sense of the word and the joy that he brings to our home is hard to adequately put into words. We love you to the moon and back little boy and are so grateful for your life. You are such a gift to our home!
Baby D’s new food! Such a milestone to move from formula to this and he’s done so well!
They’ve started to be able to play together in the playpen together — and it’s the sweetest to watch.
Mamas, let your kids witness you relying upon God.
Last week, I spoke at the Fresh Grounded Faith event in Chino, CA with @jennrothschild.
It was my first speaking event like this in around two years — and two days before the event, I almost completely lost my voice.
Silas — who was coming with me to the event — said to me, “Mom, I don’t know how you’re going to be able speak with your voice like that.” I told him, “I’m just trusting that God is going to show up and help me.”
I did all the things: rest my voice, drink hot throat coat tea, take local honey, take throat lozenges, drink probiotic drinks, eat Ruffles potato chips (my singer friend @katerapier told me about this trick), and I even drank some sort of mushroom potion Jesse bought for me at Whole Foods.
Even after all of this, my voice was still hoarse and I felt like it was on the brink of going out completely at any moment.
Y’all. God showed up on my behalf when I stepped onto that stage. Not only was my voice strong for the entire 35 minutes, but I barely even looked at the few notes I had written down. Instead, I just felt His power coursing through me to deliver a message on the freedom I’ve found in Christ as I’ve stopped believing lies and starting camping on and immersing myself in the truth of how much I am loved by God.
And my boy was on the front row watching all of this. He got to see God’s faithfulness to his mama in such a profound way.
God doesn’t need us to be strong, capable, or have it all together. He just asks us to be willing, to say yes, and to step out in faith. We can trust Him for the rest!
Thank you to @crosspointchino for these two photos (above and below).
Little did I ever dream that I’d be packing a breast pump in my speaking suitcase when I was 40 years old! Only God!
Traveling with a 12-year-old boy revolves around food… his most common questions on the trip were something like, “When are we eating? Where are we eating? What are we eating?”
It was beautiful in Chino, CA!
The ladies at the church rolled out the welcome mat for us — including giving us a gift bag as soon as we got to the hotel!
My publisher made this new banner for speaking engagements to advertise Love-Centered Parenting.
