Let me start by saying this: we are alright. So often, after someone finishes my memoir, they urgently reach out to my editor or to me to ask how we are today. The concern is heartwarming, but I don’t want anyone worrying about us. We are as flawsome as ever. Over the years, we have carried on and endured the ups and downs of life just like everyone else in this world. Some days this life feels like the Land of Plenty, and some days it feels like the Land of Lack. Much of what our family walked through during the years described in Eleven Days shaped who we are today. That season stripped away many things we once believed defined us and brought us face to face with what actually mattered most.

Our focus now is to trust that the unfolding of life is a process meant to serve us in a divine way. We lean on God, follow Jesus, and allow His light to lead the way while we do the work necessary to build the lives we feel called to live. Day by day we grow, gathering the lessons along the road. We choose to be real rather than perfect, which means you might see one of us looking less than perfectly put together from time to time. Our goal now is simple: to live as authentically as we can and to show up for whoever needs us along the way. Because in the end, we are all traveling the same road…the road that leads us home.

What my family thinks about me writing this tell-all memoir: I started this book to heal myself, and when it got hard, and I wanted to quit, but instead, I made a decision to finish it not for myself but for my husband, Bill, and our three kids. I figured that it wouldn’t matter if a single soul read it. It could simply be a document (a trust fund, if you will) that I could give the kids where they would see how hard we worked on ourselves individually, each other, and on our marriage in order to keep the family connected in love and if possible, together. Today, they appreciate the Amazon reviews and comments. They see how it is “our story,” but it is clear that other families find their story in it too. And for that, we are happy to share this.

THEN (in NC):

NOW: