By Madison Shepard We recently announced that we are moving from Southwest Missouri to Southwest Florida for a church plant! We know that we have been called to move there and join the church, and neither of us are questioning that, but I am finding myself scared to leave the place that was meant to…

By: Amy DohrMommy to Naomiresting on angels’ wings I found out I was pregnant in August of 2018. We had been trying for almost a year, so we were ecstatic. But, my husband and I both have achondroplasia dwarfism, which created a sense of worry for our baby. Long story short, we had a 75%…

By Madison Shepard The term “rainbow baby” — a baby born after child loss — is something I use frequently and find comforting. To me it means that there is hope even in hardship. Azure has definitely been a very welcome little joy in our lives after losing two of our babies, and both his…

BriLisaNana to Milo Milo Adler graced this earth on July 3rd at 31 weeks. He was in NICU for 5 weeks and got to come home for 5 days. Milo then experienced some issues that caused his mom some concerns. At the doctor’s office, before he could ever be seen, he coded. Milo was stabilized…

By: SamanthaMommy to EdenTrisomy 18OAW journey sessions since 2015 Eden was born at 37 weeks and 6 days in May of 2012 via c-section. We didn’t know anything was wrong with her. She sounded strong but was in fact suffering. Eden was screaming because she couldn’t breath and was trying to catch her breath. We…

By Madison Shepard Feeling both joy and grief simultaneously is difficult to live out. I have talked to a couple of my close friends before about experiencing the two individually, but that was in the wake of an early loss and a stillbirth; I had yet to have a living representation of both in my…

Caitlin SmileyMommy to BentleeCongenital Heart Defect, CVID#heartwarrior To say our sweet, beautiful boy changed our lives is an understatement. When we decided to try for a child, we were so blessed to conceive quickly and without trouble. Though, throughout my pregnancy, I was sick. So sick. Though throughout my pregnancy I was sick. So sick.…

I’m an empath. There’s a lot of hippie-dippy, flighty stuff associated with that word these days. Even googling the definition you’ll find references to science fiction and paranormal activity. But it’s a real thing. I don’t perform Vulcan mind melds or have special empath antenna like the bug-girl on Gardens of the Galaxy Vol. 2.…

“If it were not for hope, the heart would break.” – Scottish Proverb By Madison Shepard The month of January is difficult for me in more ways than one. For many people, New Year’s is a time to move on from things and have a fresh start. For me, it means birthdays for two of…

Dear Me,You do not know it yet, but you are going to face great loss. It will be loss too great to fully comprehend, and few will understand in any capacity, but I promise you will make it through. You are too naïve to realize it now but this loss, this trauma and heartbreak, will…