Heart Day’s Eve
I rocked my little girl to sleep tonight. I know that’s not such a news flash. In fact, it’s pretty routine around our house. Even though all the experts say you shouldn’t let your baby fall asleep in your arms, but lay them down while they’re still awake so they can self soothe and all […]
Christmas Greetings from the Farm
It’s Christmas Eve at the farm on Willow Road. Another crystal clear and cold night and we are all nestled around the fire after a day of visits with family and friends, two great meals (masterfully prepared by Jocelyn) and an evening service at St. Paul Church. My dad is starting to nod his head […]
Goodbye, Bill
I didn’t want to go too long before I paused to remember the passing of one of the last of the old farmers. Ever since our family made its home on sixty acres in Saline Township, Bill’s family was a part of the fabric of the community. His great grandfather settled there around 1870 and […]
Autumn in the Midwest and Elsewhere
Hey – been quite a while. For those of you who have been following our story, I want to apologize. After a year of pounding out these posts in reasonably quick succession, I’ve found myself in kind of a winter of my motivation. I came back from India and honestly wanted to spend some time […]
Good Morning CEM!
editor’s note – sorry for the tardiness of my post! There have been a lot of power outages in Andhra Pradesh due to a coal strike and the internet has been pretty spotty! It’s just after 5am on Monday here at CEM, and call to prayer from the mosque nearby cut quietly through the heavy […]
Wheels Up for India
Today is the day I’ve been anticipating (and dreading) for months now. Jocelyn and I prayed and talked together in February after Julia got out of the hospital, and we agreed that I needed to think about re-connecting with our friends in India. Back in early 2002, I was in the middle of my transition […]
India Through the Lens
I’m getting ready to go to India in less than a week. I gotta get my stuff together: Shaving Kit… Check. Protein Bars… Check. Several Breathable Shirts… Check. Thirty Pounds of Camera Equipment… What? I have a confession to make to you, even though we’ve only just met: I have an addiction. It began almost […]
A Year With Julia
At 6:10pm one year ago today, Julia Paige Cook first drew breath on this good earth. For all of you who have been following our story and praying so faithfully, we have a little video postcard of the last year. Please settle back and celebrate with us! But that’s not all we have to celebrate […]
Bring It + 365
It was a warm Sunday afternoon a year ago that I settled into the comfortable chair in my daughter’s as yet unoccupied nursery to begin the adventure in words and pictures that you see before you. After recounting the challenges we had seen in the months before and those in the future that seemed to […]
Photo Shoot for My Favorite Family
Christian spent the first nine months of his life in a hospital, but now this little boy is completely free of tubes, wires and monitors and his family wanted to celebrate with a portrait shoot.