June 17, 2018

The Gospel of Fatherhood

June 17, 2018/ Caroline Saunders

Adelaide was three weeks old in this picture, but she and her daddy still look at one other like this. She's our oldest, and during those newborn months, the weight and magic of my new motherhood and my husband's new fatherhood astounded me. Who were we to be entrusted with someone so precious?

During those months, I came across a quote from Hayley DiMarco that I've never forgotten: "A girl's father is her first love, her evidence that there truly is a God and that he truly loves her."

May 04, 2018

Knowing Your Name When the World Tries to Name You

May 04, 2018/ Caroline Saunders

"But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

Names matter. My parents named me “Caroline,” and somehow that particular string of letters feels eternally linked to who I am, as if they line my DNA like biological alphabet soup. (It’s weird because they could have named me something else, like Karen or Bubbalicious or Raisin Bran, and I’m sure I’d feel just as connected to those series of letters if they had.) Praise the Lord, even though Dad actually loves Raisin Bran, my folks thought carefully and chose Caroline, just for me.

November 03, 2017

Very Little Ice - A Tribute to My Granddaddy

November 03, 2017/ Caroline Saunders

“If they don’t want to hear about my grandchildren, they shouldn’t come talk to me." It's the thing I've heard him say that seems to sum him up the best: loving, unafraid to tell it like it is, and a maybe a tad bit braggadocious. He loved his family deeply and with grit. In fact, he once punched a shetland pony named Trigger IN THE FACE. Trigger had kicked my grandmother, and Granddaddy was not going to let him get away with that.

January 07, 2017

Dusty Old Tooth Baggies

January 07, 2017/ Caroline Saunders

When my siblings and I were little and we lost a tooth, we would excitedly place the tooth under our pillow and drift off to sleep with dreams of the BIG GIANT one dollar bill that would take its place. Oh but Tooth Fairy, aren’t you an unjust little thing, because don’t think we didn’t know that Claire and Abby down the street got FIVE DOLLARS per tooth. What, are their teeth better than ours? NO, they eat just as much candy as we do, and you are probably not as sparkly as people say you are, so chomp on that with your huge collection of tiny child teeth, which BY THE WAY, is a terrifying and alienating hobby, but we look forward to your TLC show.