Welcome to our blog - we are the Bessette family: Jackie, Shannon and Oliver! An extraordinary life is created from all of the ordinary moments....and here in our little corner of the internet you can follow our extraordinarily ordinary!
Dear Shannon, A few Saturdays ago war broke out in the middle east. This area, the “Holy Land”, has been tormented for centuries by battles for ownership, power, and control. In fact one of your favorite pre-bedtime rituals is to watch these old Bible Stories for kids on YouTube and one of the preferred stories … More Dear Shannon, In the Midst of Battles, Stand in Faith
Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: “’My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own … More Sunday Reflection: September 24, 2023
This past week included picture day at Shannon’s school. The first feeling about picture days are: these are the moments I dreamt about. The parenting milestones that remind you of who God has given you to steward. Before I knew her I wondered what she would like look… who she would be. Then when that … More Did you pack a napkin? Picture Day 2023
This school year Shannon is a “yellow jacket”: in a class for 3-4 year olds. And it is the first time it’s actually feeling a lot like school and not just daycare. The core group of kids she has been with since the 17 month class were divided up between two classes and this has … More 2023-2024 School Year & Bible Quote
One of the things that has surprised me about adulthood is how certain familiar details are comforting. Who knew all those adult freedoms we envy as kids come with this desire to be reunited with some of the truths of life that were so prevalent in childhood? As summer started this year I found such … More Summer Does Not Disappoint
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: “And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”Matthew 13:52 This week’s gospel is a parable that shares the value of Heaven & how it is … More Sunday Reflection: July 30, 2023
Dear Danny, 13 years ago on this date we said “I do” and I can say with absolute certainty I didn’t picture celebrating this date in the future in the way life has gone at all. But the truth is, it is what Cystic Fibrosis does. A CF veteran mom told me once “they just … More July 17, 2023: 13 Years
Recently I posed a question to myself: “why are the exact things that used to propel me forward or motivate me to keep going the very things that are destroying me?” If you can’t tell raw honesty was what I was looking for in this reflective moment. I am not destroyed, but that is what … More Pivot to the Truth
Dear Shannon, Potty training. You have been doing this pretty good since before Christmas. But our life is very full, we are on the road a lot, I have a ton of my own stuff around germs, mixed with the advice I chose to follow: “don’t bother until 3”- so we waited. But over the … More Dear Shannon, No But Thank You for Asking
When I started to learn about bloggging a Mommy blogger talked about how she wanted so badly to have a place to write out her experiences as a mom right in this moment, because she wishes she could hear her mom’s voice from specific moments. Every family and every individual has a set of stories … More Mother’s Day 2023
