Core Truths

Of all the stories I have ever shared through blogging, there is one story I have not yet told—the story of how the blog came to be in the first place. Brandon and I have been sharing our stories of faith, family, and values through Unbinded Life, but before that, was Core Truths. I started the Core Truths blog in 2018 as a way for me to connect and share stories with other women and moms. But the dream to share through blogging began years earlier. In fact, I still remember exactly when and where I was when I said out loud for the first time, “I want to start a blog.” The year was 2016, and I was a full-time stay-at-home mom. The kids ranged in ages from 2 to 15 years old. I had resigned from teaching one year earlier, and I had a peace within me that I would not return to the classroom, but I had not yet landed on what I was going to do next. I was happy staying home with the kids, and I had realized that’s what I had always yearned to be able to do. But even with the satisfaction of...

Recently, Brandon and I decided to take a last-minute trip—just the two of us. Seriously, it was on a Wednesday he told me he would really like for us to go out of town sometime soon. We looked at each other, looked at our calendars, and said, “How about we leave on Friday?” While the trip was totally spontaneous, it was also very intentional. Let me explain. When Brandon and I first got married, we set a goal that every year we would take a trip, just the two of us, each year for our anniversary. Taking those trips in the early years showed us how important time alone and away can be for our marriage. On those trips, we had the time to visit, to laugh, to reconnect, and to dream. We looked forward to choosing new destinations and seeing new places. I would like to tell you that we continued to take an anniversary trip every year since we first got married, but we haven’t. By the time we had three kids and were knee-deep in careers and calendars, we skipped a year. And then another yea...