Beth Morey's Blog, page 28

5 Sanity Savers for Parenthood After a Loss

When I was pregnant with our rainbow baby, it was hard for me to purchase anything for him.  I wanted to, but the death and stillbirth of our daughter loomed larger in my mind, and I was afraid to bring more baby items into our home that might go unused.  But as his due date drew near, my nesting instinct kicked in, and I began to collect items that would help me to navigate the stressful early days of rainbow motherhood.
Because, as scary as it was being pregnant again after a loss,...

What to Do When Google Reader Bites the Dust

image by anonymous, creative commons
 {Follow my blog with Bloglovin}  So, this week Google made me want to cry when it announced that my much-loved Google Reader is going kaput on July 1.  Google Reader is what I use to stay up to date with my favorite blogs, and I'm really sad that it's disappearing.

I wanted to give you, my wonderful-est readers, a chance to explore new subscription options and find one that works for you if you are also a Google Reader fan.  And I'd of c...

In the Art Studio: Open Hands + New Art

I didn't get very much time to work on my art projects this week, but the little time I did find I put toward finishing these very different lovelies:

 
Open Hands{original for sale}{prints, cards, magnets, + more for sale}
Open Hands was born out of my fear.  Having had my daughter die before she was born, it feels like all bets are off for all the other precious people in my life, especially our son.  I know how easily death creeps in, and it terrifies me.  So my "sol...

My [Writing] Identity Crisis

I've been thinking about writing.

Because I write a lot (here, obviously).  And yet, I don't write what I thought I'd be writing.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved books, libraries, bookshops.  I've loved reading, loved diving into a well-written story.  And I have always wanted to be a writer of books, author of stories.  I even earned a degree in creative writing, and I love talking and teaching about writing.

But, thirty and a half years into this mess, I haven't...

Sometimes Self-Care Looks Like Paint-Covered Hands

This week, I had a little bit of time to get paint on my hands. While our baby's night sleeps markedly improved overnight (thank you, God!), he's still mostly not napping. And by "mostly not napping" I mean that he took a three hour nap on Tuesday -- and that was his nap for the week.  Ouch.  Every other "nap" was the result of me wearing him and going for a treadmill walk. 


It's so frustrating because I can see that he is tired during the day, but if I try to put him down for...

And What if This is Our Last Baby?

28 weeks pregnant with our son
I didn't expect this to knock me over like they did, the words of this one mama.  I started to read her article about why she has decided to be a mother of only one child because I was curious.  And then my eyes met this:

“I’ve had my daughter . . . .  I am so grateful to have my one beautiful daughter. I don’t wish to have any more.”

And those words, they were met with tears.  Are met with tears now, as I write this.

Because ever since my daught...

Creative Resistance + Practicing Gentleness

It's been a rough week for creative pursuits here.  I was glad to be able to create this sweet Not Forgotten babyloss remembrance drawing from start to finish recently, as well as start on an entirely new remembrance drawing, but other than that I haven't been able to grab much creative time for myself.

It's been interesting to observe my reaction to whatever free time (a.k.a. baby nap times) comes my way.  I am constantly longing to get my fingers all paint-y, but if our son does ha...

In the [Sleepless] Art Studio

It's been a rough couple of weeks in our home.  Our sweet boy appears to be going through a growth spurt, sleep regression, and teething all at once, poor thing.  So there have been few naps and lots of wakeful nights, and not too much of anything else.  I think he takes after his mama in his aversion to sleep.  Why sleep when there's so many other options?  ;) 
But even though there hasn't been very much rest for anyone around here lately (and even though it's h...

Learning How to Die {Lent 2013}

I am realizing, as the new Lenten season broadens around us, that my fears, my uncertainties about who this God I gave my heart to is really, that they're about dying.
Dying to myself and my selfishness, to what I want or think I want or think I deserve or think I am owed (dangerous ground).  
And nobody wants to do any dying of any kind, because death is hard and scary and out of our control.  
Death hurts. 
But as I read words of Lent (courtesy of Brandy), I begin to w...

A Prayer for Lent {Lent 2013}

So, I say to God as we lay in bed, my baby and I, nursing at ten minutes to midnight on the first of forty Lenten days.

I know you're not a vending machine - I don't put my two cent prayer in and get a candy bar nugget of truth right back, easy peasy. 

I know you're not like that. Nothing can be bought or earned with you. I get that. I get that that's part of the glory.

But I thought you value relationship. And here's the thing - when I talk to my husband, my treasure and trusted friends an...