My usual tendency is to say WAY more than is needed; but every once in a great while, I can actually be guilty of saying too little, and I hate, hate, HATE to generate misunderstanding 😀. On that note, I'd like to clarify my recent post of the quote from Atticus Finch of "To Kill a Mockingbird." As I've said, "To Kill A Mockingbird" has been my favorite book and favorite movie as long as I can remember; largely because I feel it sets forth the sterling value of courage to

Gregory Peck's son, Jonathan, took his own life at age 30. Peck, who played Atticus Finch in my all-time favorite movie, "To Kill A Mockingbird" (favorite book, too!), was unable to return to work for two years afterwards. It was years later that he was quoted as follows:

One of the reasons I always so loved both book and movie.

A praise in the midst of all my whining: After getting the estimate of $1500 to fix the AC on Carissa and BJ's car (which her condition renders a need, rather than a luxury), Karen and I figured we could just lend them our minivan indefinitely, only to find the AC had suddenly gone kaput in it, as well! We took it in to the same place, and braced ourselves to hear the same figure for our own AC repair. On the contrary, we were blessed to hear it was only a case of depleted

Thank you all once again for your loving, compassionate response, AND FOR YOUR PRAYERS. I think all of us here agree that the hardest thing about Carissa's new diagnosis is the whole medical establishment is unanimous that the condition is irreversible. Carissa's body is, in a word, broken, in such a way that it cannot be repaired. Her MCAS specialist (who, again, is an MCAS sufferer, herself) says it is like a fire hydrant that has been busted open, and now we are left try

My little girl is very sick and is hurting. Carissa and BJ have now had their second meeting with her M.C.A.S. (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Disease) specialist, who has M.C.A.S., herself, and are learning more about this very distressing condition. At the same time, Carissa seems to be developing NEW sensitivities very quickly as time goes on. She now has to eliminate oats and raspberries, along with the myriad of other things she has already been reacting to. Unfortu

We knew our grandson, Elliot, was born with Lyme disease. Today we found out he has "a very sick liver." Apparently, it is only functioning at about 67%. The lowest this doctor has seen is about 62%. This week, Danika, Jared and Elliot were all finally able to see the doc in Couer D'Alene, Idaho who treated us. I know we're keeping you all busy with prayer, but many folks have expressed they want so bad to be able to do SOMETHING to help. Well, you really help tremendously by

Carissa has MCAS ("Mast Cell Activation Syndrome" or Disease) "without question." For most of their lives, I have been too quick to share details of my kids' lives that were not mine to tell, so I will not say much about this except the following: 1) This is potentially game changing. 2) She and BJ are meeting today with one of the foremost MCAS specialists in the country (EXTREMELY fortunate to get this appointment so quickly after receiving the diagnosis!) 3) I really ha

I have to honestly admit that these words, penned by the beyond-brilliant author of "Wuthering Heights," do not always describe my own attitude. I do find them inspirational, and I hope you may, as well: "No coward's soul is mine; No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere. I see Heaven's glories SHINE; And Faith shines equal; arming me from Fear!" -- Emily Bronte II Corinthians 4:17-18; Romans 8:17-18; Hebrews 10:32-35. [Bronte saw more than her share of personal t

A few posts ago, I mentioned how our friend, Alice, told Karen and me we were "just babes" in the world of grieving. I should explain, she was not talking about grieving in the most general sense, but the severe kind of grieving we are experiencing for the violent, unexpected loss of a child by suicide. And I was talking in that post about being "qualified" to speak about that level, that depth, of sorrow and pain and trauma and loss. Not to minimize anyone's pain and loss