5 Things TO SAY to a Griever

5 Things TO SAY to a Griever

There's not much you CAN say that helps someone who is actively grieving a significant loss - all they want is their person back or their previous life back, but this is always a question that...

15 Things NOT to Say to a Griever and Why

15 Things NOT to Say to a Griever and Why

People say all sorts of things when your person dies and most of it is NOT helpful. Don't get me wrong - of course it probably comes from a good place... and yes, I recognize that people don't...

FACEBOOK POSTS OF OUR TRAUMATIC WEEK

FACEBOOK POSTS OF OUR TRAUMATIC WEEK

Our storm begins on the evening of Sunday, February 12th of 2017. My husband left our home to attend a football meeting with other area football coaches. Two-hours later I received a phone call from...

4 Immediate Tips of Advice to Surviving Widowhood

4 Immediate Tips of Advice to Surviving Widowhood

First of all, before I get into my 4 IMMEDIATE TIPS OF ADVICE, I want to let you know that I know this is hard right now. And yes, it's painful. And I'm sorry. Continuing to live a life when your...

EMOTIONAL ENERGIES

EMOTIONAL ENERGIES

I first learned about this concept as a Grief Recovery Specialist® from the book "When Children Grieve" by John W James and Russell Freidman, coauthors/founders of The Grief Recovery Method®.  ...

How to Help Someone in Grief

How to Help Someone in Grief

  This is gonna be a long one....   I am often asked how to help a griever. "[A good friend of mine | a neighbor | my kids' bestfriend's mom | fill-in-the-blank]'s husband died... what...

Suffering, Self-Care, and Kindness during Grief

Suffering, Self-Care, and Kindness during Grief

If I take the time to stop and really think about those hard times after my husband died, I can almost instantly get pulled right back into those moments. I remember they were painful...  ...

40+ Grief Induced Life Experiences

40+ Grief Induced Life Experiences

You might be surprised to learn that there are over 40 different life experiences where you might feel grief. According to the Grief Recovery Institute®, Grief is the normal and natural response to...

the Waiting Room

the Waiting Room

Are you in the waiting room with your old friend, Grief? Christina Rasmussen, author of the book, SECOND FIRSTS, refers to a “waiting room.” And with all the work I’ve done to understand grief – and...

a Hope & Healing Workshop

a Hope & Healing Workshop

I held the bowl in my hands. It was solid. Weighted, grounded. Whole. Beautiful, almost flawless. It had its purpose and I’m sure it served it well. The bowl represented me, in my previous life. I...

Me, Makeup, and Grief

Me, Makeup, and Grief

My husband died February 2017. Unexpectedly. A massive ruptured brain aneurysm. His death was instant and sudden and just a few hours after he left the house yelling "goodbye" and that he loved us....

ARUBA! How We Fly For Free!

ARUBA! How We Fly For Free!

My husband died almost 3 years ago. He and I valued traveling, reconnecting as a family, reawakening with nature, feeling and seeing the beauty of God's creations. We traveled a lot, but don't be...

In my Previous Life

In my Previous Life

Don't get me wrong, my previous life was beautiful. It was filled with so much goodness - especially in my wonderful marriage. There's so many things that we did right....       B U T... In my...

Why I Refuse to See Breakthrough

Why I Refuse to See Breakthrough

Breakthrough.     I'm sure it's amazing. I'm sure it's inspiring. I'm sure it's moving. And I'm sure it's changing lives and bringing people closer to God and that it's a great thing. And...

the Fairy Garden

the Fairy Garden

Okay, people, this may be one of the cutest things I've ever created besides my two daughters... First of all, it's summer. And my 11-yo, Laurel, desperately needs projects to keep her busy. She's...

Grief Books

Grief Books

When my husband died unexpectedly and suddenly in February 2017 gifts upon gifts were given to us by friends, family, and the community - heck, even strangers - and many of those included books;...

How To Memorialize a Facebook Account

How To Memorialize a Facebook Account

Reasons I wanted to Memorialize Eric's Facebook Account:   So no one would hack into it. So Eric's birthday reminder wouldn't be sent to his friend list, and he won't show up as a suggested...

Etsy Grief Items I Bought After My Husband Died

Etsy Grief Items I Bought After My Husband Died

People constantly ask me questions about what we went through when my husband died, or how we did this or that and why. One of the questions I get are about the gift items I had done... either gifts...