3 Fun Things to Do with Your Kids This Thanksgiving

It’s the week of Thanksgiving, which means your kids are officially out of school or in their final days before Thanksgiving break. If your family is like mine, you are so ready for some time off from school so you can eat delicious food, catch up with family and friends, and begin your Christmas shopping (and decorating!). While it is easy to fill this week with lots of activities, the thing that I cherish most about Thanksgiving is it can be a time to rest. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is taking a nap after lunch on Thanksgiving Day!!! While …

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When Motherhood Looks Different Than Planned

All my life, I’ve been a planner. When my parents would take my brother and I on a vacation, I would be the one who would pick up the travel brochures and determine where we should go, what we should eat, and how we would get there. Today, I carry a spiral bound planner with me wherever I go. Inside this notebook is my monthly calendar, my to-do list, my grocery list, and my goals for what I want to accomplish for the day, month, and year. Having a plan makes me feel like I am in control. Until I’m not. …

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5 Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids

“Mommy, when are we going to have Adi-Mommy day?”  My oldest twin, Adeline, had been asking for a special day with me for months now. It’s a tradition we started when our twins were three — my husband would take one twin for one-on-one time and I’d take the other. These special days help us spend quality time with our girls and also allows them the chance to have our undivided attention; something that is rare in a house with three littles, two full-time jobs, and busy evenings filled with extracurricular activities.  Even though I was about to release my first …

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The Truth about Moms and Schedules

Have you ever wondered how some women just seem to do it all?  She’s the boss lady who owns her own scripture shop, homeschools her kids, and is writing a book. She’s the executive at the office who serves as chair to multiple non-profit organizations, and she’s always at her sons’ (many) baseball games. She’s the mom who goes to the gym, runs the trail, and plays tennis all before ten in the morning. She’s the one who takes food to the Food Pantry and makes her kids’ after-school activities her first priority. We all know women like this in …

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The Year of Last Firsts

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”  I did not expect the rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me as I entered the football stadium last Friday. We had arrived early to grab dinner at the concession stand and speak with friends whom we hadn’t seen most of the summer. When the cadence of the drums announced the marching band making their way to the field, we quickly found our seats. This was a scene we have repeated each year for twelve years since my eldest son first donned his …

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Bite Your Tongue

  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, James 1:19 NIV Sometimes it is better for everyone involved if you just bite your tongue. Oh, I know, it’s not easy to do and believe me, this is something that I struggle with as a mom, wife…and well, as a person, but hear me on this- there is strength in not saying everything that comes to your mind. There is strength in not saying everything that comes to your mind. Bite Your Tongue. Click To …

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Tools for Seeking God

Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” Motherhood is not for the faint of heart! When young and inexperienced it is natural to have glorious dreams and plans of holding a precious baby to your breast, breathing in the sweet smell of soft skin, and teaching and raising your little cherub to be a good citizen and follower of God. It isn’t until you are in the midst of the experience that feelings of inadequacy start to slip into your dreams. So …

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Mama, Don’t Rush Your Babies Growing Up

Do you remember the old song by Willie Nelson called “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys?” In it the song says over and over why they shouldn’t let their babies grow up to be a cowboy. It gives lots of reasons why the cowboy life isn’t a good one and tells mamas to let them be “doctors and lawyers and such”. What I’ve always wanted to scream is mama, don’t let your babies grow up…and then reality hit me, and I realized that no matter what you do they are gonna grow up. So, instead of …

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Honey, the Kids Shrunk Me!

“Mom, I think you’re shrinking.” My firstborn stands beside me, the tip of his blonde head occupying the space above mine. He casts me one of his infectious grins as he puffs out his chest and holds his shoulders tall to prove the truth of his declaration. I stretch myself up on tiptoe so I can look my sixteen-year-old in the eye. Then, I return his goading with a playful punch and remind him that “sometimes the best things come in small packages…” But what I really want to say to that growing boy of mine is that it’s his fault. …

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Hold On Loosely, Don’t Give Up Hope

Moms of teenagers and adult children, oh how I would love to pull up a chair beside you, pour a cup of coffee and commiserate over this new season of parenting you’re in. It’s not an easy transition by any means but I’m hoping that as we sit and visit that you and I both will learn a little bit about how to hold on loosely in this season when you feel like giving up hope. Chances are if you are a child of the 80’s, you’ll remember a song from the band 38 special called, “Hold On Loosely.” In …

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