Annie B Garman

Motherhood, Mayhem, & The Meaning of Life

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Garman Year in Review: 2013

Dear Ones All, Oh, how to recap Garman 2013 for you... Obviously, there was a lot of this...   Yes, we've endured our share of teething (Lord, have mercy...are we done yet?!), conflict management, sibling rivalry, stomach viruses, instruction and training in righteousness, and potty training...but we have also had moments that have shone through the occasional rubble: In all reality, 2013 was a year for the Garmans to learn how to be a family of six. Let's start at the very Read More

Wet Seeds

Let's just be honest...living in Iceland from 2009-2010 had its share of difficult moments.  It wasn't just the VISA problems or the miscarriage or the fire or the loss. It was most likely culture shock--this tremendous weight I had to bear up under day after day.  The heinous, icy winds ripped through me every time I went outside...and we had no car to shield us from its wrath.  There was much internal pressure to learn the language and keep up with Colby as he excelled.  I also felt the Read More

Today is Our Anniversary

I never wanted to get married, at least that’s what I claimed.  I met Colby John Garman my freshman year of college right outside the post office on campus.  He was wearing a plastic bow tie (obviously attained from the nearby dollar theatre) and shook my hand jokingly like a politician.  I can remember the morning sun was in my eyes as I looked at him and could really only make out a fuzzy silhouette.  I didn’t think twice about him.  I was meeting new people every single day. As the year Read More

The Story of My Miscarriage (Proceed with Caution)

My friend asked me to write about my miscarriage for an e-book she's writing.  After a few hours writing/crying/reliving this experience, I thought to myself:  Why would anyone want to read this? This question prevents me from sharing a lot of what I write.  However, today I'm deciding to post this in hopes that it will 1) help someone not feel so alone in the wake of their miscarriage 2) encourage someone by telling them how I got through it.  If you don't like miscarriage stories, you Read More

Plucking Chin Hairs

When I was in college, I spent the majority of my Friday nights in a nursing home. There was a group of us who used this first night of the weekend to get off our Christian campus, out of the Christian bubble, and spread some love to those in the community.  Some went downtown, some went to the hospital, but I usually chose to go to the nursing home. Some of the elderly we visited greeted us with huge toothless smiles, while some didn't even look up from their folded over slumber.  We would Read More

Unravel

The day after I deep clean has historically been a very rough one. I cringe (on a good day, worse on a bad day) as I stand watching my hard, sweaty work completely UNRAVEL before my very eyes.  In most cases I have to step outside and practice deep-breathing techniques as a coping mechanism.  Today I stood by Penelope’s high chair literally trying to catch her crumbs as her windmill arms swung and flung...my upper back starting to ache as I envisioned myself cleaning the floor for a third time Read More

Growth Hormones

  It’s been awhile since I’ve given a report on our current status…so…well….let’s just sum it up this way: At this exact moment, I am hiding in my garage. The footsteps that I hear above me sound like mice on artificial growth hormones, but this is literally the best I can do today.  I have locked myself in my van in the garage in an attempt to get a few minutes of uninterrupted solitude. There are only 13 minutes of battery life left on my laptop, but if you think I’m going to risk it Read More

Book Review

I was talking to an old friend today.  Although she is a full-time teacher,  she serves in the youth group at her church.  She was talking about how hard it's been lately to serve in the youth ministry because she's having trouble with her OWN children at home, and was just sighing it all to me.  Breathing it all out.  Long, heavy sighs.  Then she said, "Well, YOU know how it is...ministry is hard." And, then it hit me. Okay, not true.  It hit me a few nanoseconds after I had the thought, Read More

Waning Gibbous

I have been a mother for eight and a half years, yet today I felt it stronger than ever:  I still don't have this thing down. The hard thing about parenting is it is more dynamic than the moon. Yes, I do have QUITE SOME experience as a mother...BUT, I have never parented an eight and a half year old before.  I find myself in totally new territory every single morning.  I HAVE parented a six year old before, but never one who was a second child, one who was both a little sister and big sister. Read More

Meet Annie

 

“Remember He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted” -CS Lewis
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