Allswell

Each year, I anticipate and prepare my heart to watch my all-time favorite Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. This year, I watched it on the day after Christmas, as I really felt the need to extend the “Christmas spirit” a bit longer. This movie moves me to tears every single time. George Bailey is

An {Alcoholic} Christmas Carol

Mom had a big birthday coming up, the big 40. Meg and I wanted to do something very special. We had a perfect plan & executed it beautifully; we blindfolded mom and gently set her into my little 1997 Dodge Neon for a surprise night out on the town. Our night included a dinner at

Making my bed.

Ellie woke up last week with a bum leg. She is an English Bulldog but thinks she’s a cow-dog. She runs around with Mia, our border collie, everyday chasing birds and wrestling around. I found her laid out on the floor, in her own urine, and panting incredibly fast. Scared, I called our vet and

Cultivating Koinonia

Natalie and I scored some cheap tickets to the Nebraska football game last week. We both had been feeling a tad “cooped up”, so we jumped on the opportunity to have a little day trip at Memorial Stadium. It turned out to be the most gorgeous fall day. The weather was right at 75 degrees,

I was wrong.

‘Walter White, yo’ ran away. We looked everywhere for her; I had a very worried 7-year-old. Our little kitten had run off and living in the country, we talked to our little boy about the possibility that she may not return. Two and a half weeks later, a mangy, skinny, limping, coughing kitten hobbled back

Put down the sword.

The new year came and went faster than I can hardly remember it happening in the past. My recovery story has also, in many ways, gone fast as well. It feels awkward even typing that, over a year ago, it was taking every single ounce of my energy to scrape together 5 days of sobriety.

Cancelled

Last week, my daughter, her friend, and myself were having a little “girls’ day” and found ourselves at Wal-Mart. We were roaming aimlessly in the purse aisle and my daughter’s friend said, “hey, did you hear about what happened to JoJo?” I’ll be honest, I had no clue who JoJo was, but apparently, she’s a

Upside to masks

As part of my recovery plan, I attend a weekly class in a local town every Thursday morning. A couple weeks ago, when I arrived at class, I was greeted with a sign on the door stating, “masks required”. The mask mandate in our area has been lifted for some time, so it was a

Girl, get up.

Months have gone by. Just when I start to think I have lived as much “life” as I’d like, God proves to me that He is in control, and I have so much yet to learn. So many journal entries, so many tears. How in the world do I even start to “sum” up in

Embracing my broken

Shattered. Bruised. Crushed. Broken. These are just a few of the hundreds of ways my heart felt this past week. This journal reflects my honest thoughts, joys, victories, and also failures in recovery. Today, I write to share my broken heart with you, and for me, as I am determined to move forward in faith.