Words have the power to encourage.

Do you have kids? No. Awkward silence. This is a recurring conversation I experience and I've finally decided to stop stressing out about it.

Do you ever dream of warping back to your teenage years? So many people I know have talked longingly about all those “wonderful” times. And inevitably they’ll ask me: “Wouldn’t you like to go back? Everything was just so easy then.” Don’t even have to think about the answer to that one: “Nope – would never want to. Unless I could bring back with me all the knowledge I have now.”

On the surface, yes, this post is about our fur child, a lovable Yorkshire Terrier my husband named Emjay, but underneath it's about the delicate intersection of grief and gratitude.

Our wedding anniversary usually overlaps with Mother's Day weekend. Funny how the Lord did that. I think He knew even then that I would need something else to celebrate every year. Something to keep my mind off of my own infertility.

There is so so much I could say on the topic of waiting. I could write pages and pages on the importance of patience, perseverance, contentment and hope. Is it just me, or does it seem like we're always waiting for something?

I started this business from a desk in the corner of our living room. It’s a space I share with my husband when he’s watching TV, with our dog who has decided that the comfy rug under my desk is his bed and with piles of laundry every other week. It’s actually a pretty chaotic place to try to concentrate, especially when I frequently stop what I’m working on to read a prayer request, pray or try to listen for God’s leading on if the ideas that are flowing are in line with His Word.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a wife and mother. Like most little girls, I played house and would name and care for all my dolls. Even before I met my husband, I built my life around having children, but God had other plans...