Pet loss is a deeply personal kind of grief. And it's easily overlooked or dismissed by anyone that isn't in the immediate family. But for that family, the reminders of the cherished life of your pet are all over the house and yard. It's hard. It might be one of the harder parts of parenthood--to ...
parenting
An Hour of YES Everyday
"Mommy, will you play superheroes with us?" my boys ask. "Yes!" I say over my shoulder as I load the last of the breakfast dishes, "but let me put the clothes in the dryer first!" But before I do that, I need to find an empty basket to put the current dry clothes in. There are no empty ...
A Break-Up Letter for my Smartphone
I am so thankful for my dear friend, Brooke Dobberstein, who is guest posting today on a topic that just about all parents struggle with in 2017: our smartphone addictions. Here is her takeaway after 48 hours away from her phone. Dear Smartphone, I'm sorry but we need to stop seeing each ...
The Day I Realized that Kindness Mattered more than Accomplishment in my Kid
We had practiced all week. And I was realizing how fantastic my three-year-old was at memorization. It made me want to stretch and challenge him to memorize more. So we did, two verses instead of the usual one. We showed up for his Wednesday evening "Knight School" at church where I stay with him ...
7 Ways to Beat the Worst Hour of your Family’s Day
The Witching Hour. You know what it looks like for your family. For us, it starts around 5pm, the last full hour before Daddy gets home. Our last hour of just the three of us. The last hour of them outnumbering me. When the baby is starting to get extra fussy and bedtime can't come soon enough for ...
Stop Taking the Fun Hostage, Mom
"Bike ride at the bayou this Sunday?" My husband texted me from work on Friday. "YES," I replied. Our family loves bike rides, and this is the time of year for it in Texas. Soon, it'll be miserably hot and we would rather be swimming than biking. But, while I always love the idea of biking, ...
Everything you need to know about air travel with babies and toddlers
Let's face it, we parents need all the help we can get when it comes to air travel. So that's what I'm sharing with you today: tips, tricks, little known facts, hacks--everything that three years of frequent infant (and now toddler PLUS infant) air travel has taught me. This is a sponsored ...
To my husband about those two small hours he spends with the kids each day
Dear Husband, You work hard away from home, and I work hard right here at home. You provide for them and I nurture them. You protect; I nourish. We share them and we shape them. Your gifts, my gifts blend together to grow our gifts. No one in the world was designed to raise these little lives ...
How I’ve Devalued the Life of my Little One
I had my first baby two weeks after I finished college. And in the months that followed, the questions just came rolling in from my fellow graduates, child-free friends, older career moms, and former professors: “Do you feel like you’re being challenged in your daily life?” “Are you getting to do ...
I love your birth photo, but I don’t love mine
I love birth photos. The ones with the exhausted new mom clutching her naked new baby in sheer joy. Love to see them, and love to hear the stories behind them. But, I don't have one of those. Or at least I didn't with my first baby. I have this kind of awkward picture that I’ve only let a ...