When you feel consumed with anxiety, bring it to Jesus.

“Deep breaths, Kelley. You’ve got this,” I said to myself. 

“Inhale. 1-2-3. Exhale. 1-2-3.”

For the last decade I’ve experienced everything from mild to moderate anxiety, to full-blown panic, but never when flying – until now. 

That’s the tricky thing with anxiety – and any mental disorder for that matter – sometimes there’s a circumstance that triggers it, but not always.

Three Challenges for Parents with Mental Illness

“You are calm. You are in control.” These are some of the positive things I say to myself when I’m in the middle of parenting or disciplining and feel like my emotions might erupt like a volcano.

Toys might be soaring through the air. Doors are rattled. Tempers ready to burst. Fists clenched tightly. The tension in the environment is so high, it permeates the entire house. I can start to feel it in my body; something isn’t right.

A Travel Guide to Portland, Oregon

These are the initial things that drew us to Portland: food, beer, shopping, hiking, and biking. When we saw how reasonable plane tickets and Air bnbs were, we decided to make Portland our 10th wedding anniversary trip destination. The ultimate goal was to spend quality time together for 6 days…while eating too much and hiking and biking our way around town until we felt better.