Saturday mornings at my house start with delicious sleepiness. Not to be confused with actual sleep, this is simply the act of allowing myself a slow Saturday start, being awake and sleepy and not feeling the pressure to be productive. After my coffee, cruising the news on my Ipad, and feeding the kids breakfast, I reach for the remote for some Ree Drummond time. 

 Just like her books and blog, it is the celebration of her lifestyle and the beautiful images that I find so relaxing.Ree opens each Pioneer Woman, Food Network show reminding us of her roots, introducing herself “ I am a Writer, Blogger, Photographer and Mother”, and that is who I connect with, this same woman who welcomed bloggers at the Kickoff Keynote at BlogHer’ 2013.

 
It happens each day, all around the world. Science can fail to forecast it, doctors can’t always diagnose it, parents can never be prepared for it, and even the best social etiquette experts are unsure how to celebrate it; another child is being born, and sometimes unexpectedly, born with special needs. 

These new parents will still honeymoon with their baby,  experiencing the intimacies of caring for a newborn, and settling in. The problem is the honeymoon won’t last long enough, the mother’s celebration, the elation shared between husband and wife will be cut short, a honeymoon with a sprinkling of heartache, as William & Kate each said “ It is an emotional time”. 

Elation is overshadowed by worry, the fight for your child’s life begins. You may grieve in private,  yet celebrate in public. Happiness, for the day of your baby’s birth is here, and fear, so much fear..that the fragile life of your child could be taken away. 

When we found out that I was chosen as a 2013 BlogHer Voice Of The Year Honoree.. my very cool husband insisted I attend the conference. It took awhile for the plan to sink in.. but it all worked out. A red eye flight from Phx to Chicago, and I would arrive in time to spend all day Friday and fly home Saturday. 

Of course, the girl in me got thinking.. " What am I going to wear? " For years and years, my world was all about trade shows, conferences and convention centers, so it was kinda cool to think about the fact that who I am today, no longer requires a suit and leather briefcase. Today, I am much more casual and comfortable with myself. Happy in clothes that are soft, feminine and sometimes.. meaningful. For Christmas, I got some cool gifts from my favorite store.. Anthropologie. 

It’s Saturday afternoon and lingering in the background of my day is the reminder that tomorrow is Sunday, and so my thoughts keep coming back to God.

Not my God who confuses and comforts me, not your God, whom you may believe is the only God, my mind returns to my daughter Zoe’s God, the one who made her the way she is, with her unshakable spirit yet too-shaky muscles, with her abundant full-of-love, happy heart that lives in a body that is fragile and weak. Zoe is 11 years old now, and is finally finding her faith in an unexpected place.

It was a helluva week of good news and I saved it up for Monday!