Ultimate Blog Party Day 2 Giveaway

If you’re here for the first time from the Ultimate Blog Party, welcome!  I blog regularly about faith, family, parenting, marriage, and more!  Stay around for a little while and find all the goodies on my blog.  Don’t miss the free downloads I have, too,...

Fresh Look, Fresh Words, Fresh Vision GIVEAWAY

Last Friday, I told you about Hearts at Home’s new logo and tagline. Today I want to introduce you to our brand new website! We’ve completed Phase I of our new website with a completely new look and easier navigation to find what you’re looking for....

Marriage Monday: The Value of "Download" Time

Mark and I have been reading a book together called Your Spouse Isn’t The Person You Married: Keeping Your Love Strong Through Life’s Changes by Paul and Teri Reisser.  Today’s Marriage Monday is focused on staying connected to your spouse...

Savage Family Recipe: Banana Cake

Looking for something good to do with those bananas that are about to go bad?  This Banana Cake recipe was my grandmother’s recipe and it is soooooo good.  My kids love it and ask for it anytime the bananas on the counter are getting dark!Savage Family...

Public Ready

Last Thursday I had the privilege of hearing professional organizer Stephanie Calahan speak.  She shared about how she and her husband have very different organizational styles.  Then she explained how they have found a middle ground of organization they can agree...

What’s your favorite apple recipes?

Monday night I made cooked apples for dinner like my Mammaw used to make. It took me back to my childhood.  My family seemed to enjoy them as much as I did.  (I just cooked the apples with a little cinnamon, sugar, and water…it’s like lumpy...

Keep Moving!

So I started running last week.  That would be walking/running right now.  But I’m working toward no walking in the future. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with exercise.  I hate making the time for it.  I love how I feel...

What I’ve Been Reading

A friend loaned me a book that I’ve been soaking in for the past month. I’ve never read a book that so accurately described the emotional realities of motherhood as Katrina Kenison’s book, The Gift of An Ordinary Day. You won’t find this on the...

Marriage Monday: Reflective Listening

When Mark and I teach our marriage seminars we talk about “McDonald’s Drive-Thru” listening.  Today’s Marriage Monday is all about reflective listening.Mark says…When Jill and I were in our difficult season of marriage–between...

Living With Less: Disorganization costs money

Mark and I spent much of this past weekend cleaning out our attic. At one point Mark exclaimed…”Hey, where did you find my soldering iron?” I pointed to where I’d found it. He continued with, “I’ve looked and looked for that and I...

Lower the Expectations

On Saturday I had the privilege of watching a friend’s 3-month-old for about 7 hours.  It took me back to the good ‘ole days of burp rags, diaper changes, and very little time for myself. I agreed to babysit with two days notice…enough time...

Marriage Monday: Little Choices Make A Big Difference

In marriage, it’s the little things that make a big difference.  Today’s Marriage Monday explores the little choices we make everyday that can impact our marriage relationship.Mark says…Last night Jill went walking with a friend.  When she...

Happy Birthday, Austin!

 At 6am this morning we awoke to get our birthday celebration of cake and ice cream for breakfast started! Funny…6am is just about the same time I was awakened by labor pains 14 years ago. In fact, today I was thinking about how birth is an appropriate...

My Baby Is Going To High School

I’m finding myself quite contemplative this week.  Ok, so truth be told, late at night when everyone else in the house is asleep I’ve cried myself some big crocodile tears more than once this week. Why?Because my baby is going to high school next...