Welcome! Whoever you are, and why ever you’re here, I’m glad that you found this spot.

I began writing years ago, sensing that it was important to chronicle my journey as the mom of a special needs child. That journaling, which began on a PC the size of an ATM machine, continued in spurts for many years.  A few years back I took a giant leap of publishing my experiences, one small blog post at a time. And just recently I published my first book, Bundle of Joy.

This site is titled Redefine Special, because that is where my journey took me.  After the initial highs and lows (and more lows) of having a special child, a great hope, joy and peace eventually broke through.  It broke out over everything in my life. I truly had an awakening to what Special is.  It’s not a burden to bear, a hardship to contend with, or even something to just accept. The definition of special has been changed by our society and put in “air quotes”  – to be used as a euphemism for less than, undesirable, or outcast.  My journey brought me  back to the original, true definition of the word: extraordinary and particularly valued.

My purpose for writing and speaking is to reach any other special mom out there, who thinks she just has to accept her struggle in life, and deal with it.  No sister!  Follow along with me and you will see, you are so exceptionally gifted in this life.  YOU, too, are special!

If you’re not that mom should you read on? Well, apparently YES! The most unexpected part of sharing my story has been the people who are affected by it.  Men, women, moms, dads, college kids.  People from every walk of life have taken a moment to tell me they are so touched, changed, or challenged by the posts.  Because it is a true story of God’s mercy and grace, it is an encouragement to all.

Browse through my blog posts, order my book and/or follow me on Facebook.  You can read the background story of my son’s diagnosis on the page called “Why I’m writing this blog.”  I would definitely suggest going back in time to my first few posts if you’re looking to find your own redefinition of something (start at the bottom of my list of posts).