Posts by Kate Swenson

See these two boys? They are brothers. One is 12 and the other is 10. They both have birthdays coming up and at least once a day I hear… ‘First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Cooper’s birthday and then mine!’ This family loves their birthdays. This photo may look like no big deal and when I snapped it, as the little brother walked his older brother into his first day of school this year, I remember pausing and thinking…this is it. This is what I prayed for. Every day. While driving.…

A while ago a newspaper article showed up in my Facebook newsfeed about a petition to ban drive thrus in a neighboring city. It had thousands of comments. And hearts. And angry faces. I was so confused. How could anyone feel that strongly one way or another about drive thrus. What did they ever do to anybody? Well, after reading through countless comments it became clear. Food places that have drive thrus appeal to lower income people. Therefore, bringing down the cities appearance and value. Which was news to me.…

To not always believe what the professionals told me. That no one has a crystal ball about his future. That what I am feeling is grief. And grief is love. To let go of the guilt. To focus on self-care earlier. And my marriage. To make finding peace a priority. To not judge my beginnings so harshly. To focus on the good more, even when it is hardest to find. To stand up for myself sooner. To realize that the child I have right now is not the child I…

I think that social media has led us to believe that a lot of families are perfect. I know I follow a few pages that make me feel that way. And sometimes it hurts me heart. My family isn’t perfect. We aren’t even close. We are loud and messy and probably even a little bit annoying. (I say that with the love of a mother.) There are six of us. Two adults. Four little people. And we smile and pose for a photo that will be shared on Facebook. Often…

When my second son Sawyer was three he asked me if we could go to a fair. I of course said…’yes, but we have to wait until summer.’ Per the usual he said to me…’can my brother Cooper go?’ I told him no. His face immediately fell. ‘Cooper can’t go with us, buddy.’ I went onto explain how the fair will be too scary for him. ‘Too many sounds and people for Cooper.’ He thought about that for a minute and then looked up at me and said….’is that because…

Last night we brought our four kids to a greenhouse to pick out pumpkins. Our middle son was very excited. He loves all things holidays. He also loves overdoing things, much like his mama. 17 pumpkins seems totally reasonable to us. And the little ones, they were in heaven too. Our older son Cooper, well, he was along for the ride. Pumpkins aren’t really his jam. That is until he realized that the green house had Christmas trees. So many Christmas trees. He immediately gasped and brought his hands to…

Hi there. My name is Kate. I am a mother to four children. I share that because my life is full. Fuller than full. There is very little quiet. There is never a day without laundry. And I get no less than a hundred hugs a day. I am an expert in putting bandaids on owies, blowing on mac and cheese, and finding blankets before bed. Skills I never knew would be so important and vital to life. My first born, Cooper, is twelve. He will be 13 in 55…

This morning, while drinking my coffee, I saw a commercial. It was for some insurance company. Perfect family, house and kids. The oldest graduating from high school. The tag line said something like…”these are the moments we prepare for. The only moments that matter.” I’ve been thinking about it all day. My mind keeps going back to it. The only moments that matter… First day of school. Getting a driver’s license. Graduation. A college acceptance letter. First job. A promotion, Marriage. Babies. Retirement. But what if a person doesn’t achieve…

My son has been in school for a little over a month now. He is a 7th grader at our local middle school. Except it looks a little different than most. He doesn’t switch classes. Or have a locker combination. And we’ve never had to worry about the cell phone policy. I have no idea what the cool kids are wearing or even what middle schoolers are into. And I don’t know anything about the extracurricular activities and often I tear up when I read the newsletter. It’s hard to…