“Just wait until they’re teenagers.” This is the phrase older parents throw out to younger ones when our kids are little. As if it’s not enough trying to figure out how to sleep through the night, let alone do the dishes or laundry, now you have this forecast of impending doom. Fabulous. It’s like when you start a new exercise …
The Challenge to Rejoice and Weep With Others
After Hurricane Irma last fall, as I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I saw people rejoicing that their power had returned after the storm. Some never lost it in the first place. I wanted to be happy for them, but it was hard when we were staring down day 3 without it. Days after that, we still had friends without …
5 Things to Do When Life Is Good
Recently, my husband and I tried to arrange a night out with some good friends. He suggested staying in, and I replied, “Oh, you know how he is-he’ll want to go out instead.” And it hit me: I love that I know this person. He’s someone I did not know prior to life in Orlando. I love that God has …
The Power of a Mother’s Words
I saw the attitude creep in. At first, it was a proclivity to preferring me over dad. That’s normal for a 13 year old, right? But soon it was, “I don’t want dad” and “he can’t do it right” and shrugging off hugs and kisses. It was eye rolling and snarky come backs and at times, downright sass. My husband, …
We Are All Glorious Messes
I just read a post written by a woman who called herself “that mom.” The mom who seems to be failing on all fronts. She says she’s in a rough patch. I get it. We’ve all been there. I see a lot of posts like this lately, posts that lift the veil on the highly censored, cleaned up versions we …
What Parents Really Need to Hear
Erik and I were in a baffling parenting moment recently. We struggle to find activities that all four family members enjoy together. It’s not surprising to us – for the 13 years we lived overseas, we lived in such a tight community with an abundance of like minded people that we were almost never alone as a family. Vacations, meals, you …
A Great Day
Can I just declare that today was nutty? Not bad nutty. Just non-stop nutty. The kids had a homeschool day today (I’m sure many of you are thoroughly confused by our kids’ schooling. Do they go to school? Are they homeschooled? Yes is the answer). Wednesdays are usually long because they had no extra time like the weekend when they …