A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

Kara Holmes

I look at this picture now, and a flood of memories rushes forth. The events leading up to this picture are just as important as the moment it was taken. Having only slept in fitful bursts for the past 36 hours, I remember the exhaustion I felt in that moment. The anesthesia, combined with the physical and emotional fatigue of the entire experience, found my body spent and my eyelids heavy, as if weighted by sandbags. It’s funny to me now, but in that moment, all I really wanted to do was to acquiesce to the pull of my eyelids and fall into a deep sleep. 

Down Syndrome: The Bigger Picture, A Better Dream

Down Syndrome: The Bigger Picture, A Better Dream

Kara Holmes
Down syndrome, Joy in the Unexpected, When God Says No

Each of us, I think, has a picture in our minds of the way we hope life will turn out. We could describe these snapshots in any number of ways: dreams, plans, aspirations, desires. Our days are spent reacting to life as it unfolds and adjusting those images to incorporate any new information, surprising developments, or obstacles that come with living in this sometimes unpredictable world. 

For the most part, we’re able to keep any reasonable picture of the future intact as we plod along on our life journeys. Sometimes, though, an uninvited change comes along, drastically distorting the image we’ve held dear for our future. Before we know it, the unexpected has crashed into our reality with all of the impertinence and audacity of an unwelcome house guest. 

Inside Out, Upside Down: An Interview with Rachel

Inside Out, Upside Down: An Interview with Rachel

Kara Holmes
Adoption, Inside Out Upside Down

Tell us about yourself! Do you prefer coffee or tea? What do you enjoy doing when you have a kid-free moment?

Hi Everyone! I am a “mostly” stay at home mom to my 4 children, but I also own and run a small screen printing business, and I work 10 hours a week as a Physical Therapist. I prefer coffee, but my husband would claim that with the amounts of flavored creamer that I add to every cup, it no longer counts as real coffee.  I am unashamed. 

Technology and Us: Who is Consuming Whom?

Technology and Us: Who is Consuming Whom?

Kara Holmes

We all have had those unexpected epiphanies, moments when we realize we have a problem. Mine came through a casual conversation one night with my husband.

He was telling me a story while packing his gym bag, and I was laying on the bed, looking at my phone. I don’t remember what the big deal was with whatever I saw on my screen. Was I scrolling social media or checking my email? Responding to a text message or perusing the news app? I don’t recall. I just remember my eyes being glued to the screen while Trey talked away in the background. I imagine I must have looked a little bit like Sméagol with his ring, my face lit up to an unnatural blue by the screen's artificial light. 

Inside Out, Upside Down: An Interview with Nicole James

Inside Out, Upside Down: An Interview with Nicole James

Kara Holmes
foster care, Inside Out Upside Down

Introduce yourself! What are your favorite family activities? Tell us about your family.
I am a physician assistant, musician, and homeschooling mother of four children—two girls (10 and 8) and two boys (6 and our 2 1/2 year old foster son). My eldest is a writer and a nurturer who loves animals, babies, and nature. My 8YO is an inventor who studies anatomy in her free time, sells her paintings on the side of the road, and hates socks. Both the boys are extremely loud and love music and drums. My 6YO dreams of playing the tuba and sharing a bunk bed with his little brother “if he gets to live with us.” And the littlest? He just learned how to tattle on his siblings and is obsessed with Thomas the Train and chapstick. 

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