I love Lent. Every year, its solemnity descends on Ash Wednesday and carries through to Holy Week, and I feel like I'm better able to dive deeper into my faith. I'm never successful in my Lenten disciplines, but I try again year after year, and each time I grow closer to God, which is, I … Continue reading To break every yoke
Come thou fount of every blessing / Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Last Sunday was bright and clear. The girls did online children’s chapel in the morning, practicing their song for the upcoming Zoom Christmas pageant. We did drive-through Holy Communion for the first time and were able to connect for a few moments with our much missed clergy, while partaking in the sacrament. I dropped Mike … Continue reading Come thou fount of every blessing / Tune my heart to sing thy grace
On Lent & Faith
To talk about Lent, I need to talk to you about my faith journey. I was baptized as an infant at St.John’s Episcopal Church, in Norman, Oklahoma. In our faith tradition, we believe that through infant baptism we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. We also believe that sacraments, … Continue reading On Lent & Faith
Hilde, Born: Part 2
Nothing was happening. That's not entirely true. We were having fun. We blew up the hospital's gloves into hilarious balloons with the girls and my mom. We snuggled with the girls. Friends visited. We talked with the chaplain. We organized our teas, herbs, oils, books, rice pillow, massage tool, birth balls, chargers, and comfy PJs. … Continue reading Hilde, Born: Part 2
Hilde, Born: Part 1 of 2
This wasn't a quiet pregnancy. We found out the day after Thanksgiving, on the road in Amarillo, Texas. There's more to the story, but that's the beginning. And almost instantly, just after those first feelings of joy, I felt awful. I couldn't keep anything down, sitting in my bed each day with my laptop and … Continue reading Hilde, Born: Part 1 of 2
Hilde Is Here
It's true! And she's really lovely, currently lounging next to me as I write. Georgie has a face full of lipstick and is asking if I can get her a ladder so she can be a helper, lest you think it's quiet around here. Hildegard Ramona Guinn Anderson* was born on July 30th, after two … Continue reading Hilde Is Here
Ginger Bugs & Plum Blossoms
I originally posted this over on the Spruce Tips instagram, but thought I'd repost it here for folks who have yet to join the ol' Spruce Tips train. We’ve been really into homemade sodas lately: lovage syrup became homemade Cel-Ray, bits of leftover pineapple became pineapple ginger soda, and we just turned the lingering plum … Continue reading Ginger Bugs & Plum Blossoms
Forget the kiwi, here’s your cheese pregnancy, week by week
Since I'm now about halfway through cooking this babe, it's obviously time to repost the Pregnancy Cheese Chart, a week by week guide to the size of your fetus, by cheese. Is Your Fetus More of a Cheddar or a Blue?
On the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, or: I’m sorry, Luther, I’m just not that into you
Today churches all over the world will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s theses and the Protestant Reformation with music, sermons, tree plantings, workshops, and more. Like most folks raised in the Christian tradition, I’m no stranger to Luther. My husband was raised in a Lutheran tradition, with numerous Lutheran clergy relatives. When I … Continue reading On the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, or: I’m sorry, Luther, I’m just not that into you
Treatment Resistant Mental Illness & Me
It's been a year since it all fell apart. About a year ago, after a successful recovery from postpartum anxiety, depression, and OCD, the carefully cultivated set of tools -- medication, meditation, self-care -- just stopped working. Just. Stopped. Working. Poof. I'm done trying to figure out what happened, whether my body chemistry changed or … Continue reading Treatment Resistant Mental Illness & Me
This Family Anderson 