Memorial weekend…

While Memorial Day weekend is about honoring those who have died while serving our country...our Memorial weekend was about honoring our mom. This is usually the weekend we go up to my sister's cabin...put the dock in, get the boat, clean and set up for summer...We did just that but without our mom and yet…

Bittersweet goodbye…

When you can't have a traditional funeral service due to a pandemic, you make due and you find a new way to celebrate and say goodbye to a loved one. Yesterday we did just that. Our family of 13 gathered at the funeral home - no social distancing. We had a service that my mom…

Mother’s Day…a new norm.

Today is Mother's Day. I sit here trying to put into words how I feel - I struggle with just how to feel and react. I often feel a bit of grief on Mother's Day - being a birth mom you feel that grief of loss to the child you gave birth to. As an…

Covid and Cancer…

The last four to six weeks have been eye opening, challenging and a test for all. Our lives have been changed, new challenges have presented their selves and we are uncertain to when this will all be over. We are learning what we NEED vs. what we WANT. What we NEED to do and what…

The “filter” world…

We all have things we hide behind to make us feel or seem better. It could be a photo filter, cropping a photo to only show our good parts, photo shopping our photos to make us look thinner, retaking photos hundreds of times to get the PERFECT shot...the one that makes us look just right.…

Merry Christmas from The Murphys…

Merry Christmas!  The hustle and bustle of the holidays is here in full swing. I decided to remove some of the things off my list that take time, money and stress away from it all....that includes mailing out cards. So, I'll use the gift of gab and love of writing and internet this year! Quick…

Meet Kasey…

Sometimes we need to be attacked by words to see a new light. I had commented on a Facebook group on how I felt about adoption. Because I am a birth mother and an adoptive mother I have positive feelings towards it. The response I got was from adult adoptees - they were angry that…

Grateful….

I always feel reflective and somewhat emotional on my birthday....I think it is because I slow down enough - if just for a day - to reflect, take time for me and think about the past year. By emotional I don't mean all in a tizzy because I am turning a year older. Age does…

Faith AND freedom…

When I think of God, I think of this wonderful spirit that watches over me, guides me, gives me my amazing gifts to share, sets moral guidelines in which to live by and be a decent human being. God has carved out my life story and I need to trust it and have faith that…

Advice to Graduates…

Graduation season is in full swing! This year not only did my daughter graduate, but many other kids I have know since elementary school. Our kids have grow up together, played together and whose parents are good friends of mine. As I sign cards, insert money or wrap gifts...I wanted to include something personal -…