Dear mama, Thinking back, I remember the days each of my children joined our family like it was yesterday. The excitement. The fear. The love. The anxiousness. The unknown. I’m sure you do as well. For our biological children, I remember the hospital. I remember...
In the past, we have shared about some shifts we have made to our evening routine to feel better connected in our marriage. We thought it’s about time we talk about better connecting in the morning as well! The mornings are such an important part of the day for...
We mamas are all about nest-building. Once the stick turned blue or the adoption papers were filed, most of us started getting ready for our new family member. We assemble the nursery, fill dresser drawers, start scrapbooking, and adjust nearly every aspect of our...
There comes a time when every child steps into adulthood and starts to make their own choices. Some of those choices are ones we agree with, while others are not. How can we reconcile our relationship with our adult children, even in the face of our own heartache? How...
I was recently reading an article stating that 45% of people in the United States would prefer to skip out on the holidays rather than deal with the stress of it all. Seems crazy, right? But if we think about it, it’s not all that surprising. From family...
Parenting can be tough, plain and simple. Your kids go through unique challenges. The hard days can add up into exhaustion. Juggling everything can be overwhelming. Whew! At the same time, if you are a parent in any capacity, it’s such a special role to be in....
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to London, England. While there, I used the Underground (subway) for all my transportation. Every time I would get on or off the Underground, a voice would come on and say, “Mind the gap. Mind the gap.” I soon...
It is possible to live a healthy lifestyle, and I want to share my journey with you today. In 2013, a breast cancer diagnosis turned my world upside down. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation did a number on my body. So when I got to the other side of my treatment, I...
What do you talk to yourself about the most? Do you feel like you’re internally comparing your kids with others in their class? Do you reflect on frustrations with your spouse? Do you just try to mentally “check out” after days that feel too busy?...
Adjusting to having adult children, and eventually adjusting to a fully-empty nest, was a journey for me. It is for most of us. I’ve now had the opportunity to launch children into adulthood five times. Watching each of our little birds fly out of the nest has been a...
Life is better lived together in community with others. In fact, that’s a principle that we are taught in the Bible: Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s...
Are you an empty nester, or are you preparing to be soon? One of the hardest parts of transitioning well into the empty nest season is intentionally releasing expectations of our children. Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my Empty Nest, Full Life book. I want...
A few weeks ago, Mark and I awoke to a 6am text from our daughter-in-love. “When you guys wake up, can you give me a call?” She and our son Austin were scheduled to leave for Mexico within 24 hours and her mom was to keep the kids for their seven-day trip....
When my dad passed away almost three years ago, there was a steep learning curve for handling “the business of dying.” I’ve started a blog post to share lessons learned several times, but never finished it. I finally decided to sit down at the...
In the Bible, there’s a story I love in Joshua 3-4. I encourage you to read those chapters if you’re not familiar with the story, but to make it easy, here’s a short version: For many years, God had been leading the nation of Israel to the Promised...
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