Christie Hoos is a wife, mother of 4, sometimes student and writer. She married her high school sweetheart at age 19 and it’s been a crazy ride ever since. They have known the depths of grief with the births of two stillborn sons. They have known the heights of bliss with their three daughters and newly adopted son. Throw Down Syndrome and a few other disabilities in the mix and this is one busy household. In her spare time Christie blogs at SoHeresUs (okay, the “spare time” part was a joke, but the rest is true).
Her message is: life is messy, but wonderful and God is mysterious, but good. Some days it feels like we’re just holding it together with hope and a prayer. And that’s exactly where we’re supposed to be.
Ability and Disability: Loving my kids
I have a terrible sense of direction. Even in familiar situations, I can get completely turned around. I can handle “Left” and “Right”, but if you try to tell me “East” or “West” it makes me laugh. You may as well be speaking Mermish. Once I picked a friend up from the train, got distracted […] Read More >
Crisis Intimacy
A prevailing myth in our society says that during times of extreme crisis, many (if not most) marriages falter and fail. Certainly it was something we were told time and time again when we faced our own tragedies. Grief counsellors and social workers cautioned us about this danger after the stillbirths of both our sons […] Read More >
How Can I Have Faith After Losing My Son?
I have never been a big fan of the “paste a smile on and pretend it’s okay” club. In my case it was months after my son, Noah’s, death that I began to feel angry. I had to return to work and the crushing unfairness of it all began to sink in. I used to […] Read More >
Thank You Mom: You Made a Difference
Mother’s Day is supposed to be about overpriced flower arrangements, really overpriced greeting cards, homemade crafts, and someone else doing the cooking for a change. It’s supposedto be happy smiles and warm hearts. But real life doesn’t always work like that. Perhaps everything is going tickety-boo and Mother’s Day is much anticipated, another feather in […] Read More >
The Gift of Giving: Preparing for Christmas
I never did believe in Santa Claus. My parents rejected the materialism that is so often peddled in the name of Christmas and kept the holiday pretty low key. I’ve always been grateful for this lesson, and rather cynical about those wild eyed Christmas fanatics running amok in the malls. Since the thought of receiving […] Read More >
There is No Such Thing as a Perfect Day!
Monday was a good day. Let me rephrase. Monday was a GREAT day! The sun was out for a change. I dropped my happy children off at school and took an impromptu detour to the zoo. Just the boy and I and 14 squirrel monkeys, 1 kangaroo, 2 pythons, 4 ducks and a dozen baby […] Read More >
Unthinkable Loss: Miscarriage and Stillbirth
“We can’t find a heartbeat. I’m sorry, your baby is gone.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – there obviously had been some crazy mistake. At first I thought they must be in the wrong room. I felt sorry for that poor woman next door – I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes […] Read More >
Unthinkable Loss: Miscarriage and Stillbirth
“We can’t find a heartbeat. I’m sorry, your baby is gone.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – there obviously had been some crazy mistake. At first I thought they must be in the wrong room. I felt sorry for that poor woman next door – I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes […] Read More >
Latest comments