Precarious Joy
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
It’s not every eighteen-year-old guy who decides to take his sister to prom …. Then again, Chris isn’t your typical eighteen-year-old guy. And this isn’t just any sister … it’s the sister he hasn’t seen for six years for reasons beyond anyone’s control. Except perhaps the PA Juvenile Court System. But this is a day for joy, and so let’s not muck it up with the details, shall we? One of the few things both the judge in Michigan (who granted our adoption) and the one in PA (who presided over our case when Chris was 11) agreed to was that once the minor children turned 18, it would be up to ..read more
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A Mother’s Day Wish
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
When your child turns 18, is he (or she) going to be able to connect with family members that have not been in his life for a long time? If you’ve already been through it, what advice would you give to those who are anticipating this milestone? Life on the Road Less Traveled So last night just as I was putting dinner on the table, Man Boy galloped through the kitchen, into the dining room, and sent a plastic package spiraling toward the table. “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom,” his voice trailed off as he galloped upstairs to the sanctuary of his room. My annual white roses had arrived. Now, I ..read more
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Life Juggles: Multigenerational Family Edition
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
What do you do when your husband calls in the middle of a work-related event, in Chicago, and says that your mother needs help getting on her jammies, in South Bend? Why, you ask to speak to your daughter, of course. “But she’s already gone to bed,” he hedges nervously. I can’t see his face, but I can read the subtext clear as day: “PLEASE don’t make me go in there!” (*sigh*) “Put her on the phone, honey.” Noises and loud protestations ensue in the background. True to form, said teenager comes to the phone snarling. “WHAT?!” “Sweetie,” I say through clenched teeth. “Do you remember the ta ..read more
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Alone Again … at Lunch
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Earlier this week at “Life on the Road Less Traveled,” I wrote about our recent drama concerning a child’s repeated requests to come home from school. Honestly, if I picked her up as often as she called home, she’d be out of school more than she was in. Which would be just fine with her. For her teachers, and for us, not so much. After some careful deduction, tracking the time of day these requests tend to arrive, it seems that lunchtime is particularly stressful for her. Like many schools in this area, Penn works on an alternate day schedule, and she has an extremely small circle of friends ..read more
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When Mom Prays…
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Do you ever wish someone would pray for you? Just another unexpected blessing of a multi-generational household. Life on the Road Less Traveled Tonight, I’ll be honest, felt like a big, fat fail in the parenting department. I’ll spare you the details (or perhaps it’s me I’m sparing), but at one point I looked into the snarky face of one of my children (ha) and thought (very loudly): “I don’t know if I can hold on another day.” Then I made the horrific mistake of opening my mouth and telling her exactly what I thought of her and her behavior. (Woops. Kind of gave it away there.) My mothe ..read more
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Small Victories are Sweetest
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
“It’s not where you stand, but what direction you are moving” was the apt backdrop of the 17th Annual Work Experience Banquet at Penn High School. As I looked around the room, I saw my children’s  “village”: special needs teens who, just for tonight, were the achievers. Tomorrow they would go back to the struggle, just trying to eke by to get a high school diploma (if possible). But tonight, kids and parents faces were alight with pride. Mr. Mott, who has been running the dessert “banquet” celebration for many years, did not sugar-coat his comments, but spoke from the heart for each stud ..read more
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A Woman’s Life in Shoes
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Today over at “Life on the Road Less Traveled” … what do your shoes say about you? (If you or someone you love is a caregiver for someone with dementia, why not subscribe to “Life on the Road Less Traveled”. I’d love to see you there! Life on the Road Less Traveled You can tell a lot about a woman and her outlook by her shoes. Today I took mom shopping for diabetic support shoes. At the Leather Banana (don’t ask me why they named it that), which was the only place in a ten mile radius that offered both shoes and insole supports. Apparently butt-ugly orthopedics is the tradeoff for ..read more
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Online Inspiration for Catholic Moms!
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Have you heard of the new Catholic Women’s publication, the Helena Daily? Today one of their editors, Dr. Carrie Gress, who is author of The Marian Option, is running a short interview with me about getting into Catholic publishing. Check it out — and check out her beautiful blog, “My Favorite Catholic Things ..read more
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A Mommy Monster’s Heartache
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Today over at WINE (Women in the New Evangelization), I share a bit about what it is like to raise children adopted very young through the teenage years.  In particular, what it is like to come face to face with a version of yourself you never knew existed. I call her “Mommy Monster.” They were still little when I wrote a little study for the Women of Grace Ministry (Johnnette Benkovic). Originally I had titled the book Taming the Mommy Monster, but the publisher decided to go with something a bit more, ahem, uplifting: Raising Up Mommy: Virtues for Difficult Mothering Moments. This book ..read more
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Gladys Aylward: A Heart for China
Extraordinary Moms Network
by heidihesssaxton
3y ago
Whether your “mission” is here or abroad, each of us needs a circle of sisters who inspire us to carry on. These women are my “inner circle.” Who is in yours? Life on the Road Less Traveled Last week I had the chance to speak to a group of local women — and my mother, who had never heard me speak in public until then — about a group of women I’ve come to regard as my spiritual mothers: Women whose example led me, as surely as Moses led the Chosen People to the Promised Land, to where I am today. They (clockwise from upper left): My confirmation namesake, Amy Carmichael; Gertrude “Biddy ..read more
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