One of the things I love, love about this community, is how thoughtful and how kind you are to me, to each other. This Dare Greatly community is special. We are women who are committed to overcoming the hard things life hands us, and to grow from them, learn from them, and find beauty for ashes.

As some of you know, this summer got particularly hard, my cute dad recently passed away. And it happened quite fast, once it happened. He went in for an outpatient surgery, and was gone a week later. He had a series of domino events happen in the hospital that were just too hard to overcome in combination, and I’m so grateful we had that week with him to say our goodbyes and watch the hallmark channel with him, those Christmas in July shows with him, which are his favorite. 

My dad is a lover of all things Christmas, he even played Santa Clause over the years. Who can actually say in real life they had Santa Clause for a dad? That’s what me and all of...

I wish I could ask my mom when I was born, what day of the week, what time.  A Christmas baby. That's what they used to call me since I was born 2 days after Christmas.  But that's all I know. I was adopted at 3 years old along with a Navajo Indian brother a few months older than me, and a Korean sister a couple years younger.

My auntie raised four kids in her lifetime that weren't her own.  Her body just wouldn't make baby's even though every fiber of her being ached with the longing of being a mother. But she raised us like we were her own.  She knew she was taking on quite a lot.  She was doing it for the right reasons, she had so much love to give, and Lord only knows, we had so much love to be needing.

"You aren't my mama!  I want my real mom!!"  I still remember how red hot my face felt when I hollered those words.  I didn't care.  I missed my real mama and in my four year old mind, tantrums had become a way of getting what I...