Momming
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When Life Punches You In the Face
“Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face”. Muhammad Ali Hello Everybody! How are you doing? Me? I had plans this week: plans to get my carpets done and my bathroom wallpapered and to finally get my schoolroom in good order, amongst other things….so many plans. To be honest, I actually managed to get a lot accomplished this week. I cleaned my carpets (my, they needed it!) and began my wallpapering project (something I have never done before) — but life just started happening (as it tends to do) and somewhere in the middle of my week, it all kind of went sideways. Does that ever happen…
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The Hardest Part of NFP
Hey everybody, it is Natural Family Planning awareness week! I figured an honest look at the challenges of living out NFP is in order, but first a little background on my own NFP journey. Before I was married, I studied Christian Marriage and Family and the basics of NFP. I fell in love with the concept of it all — diving deep into the philosophy and theology — it made complete sense to me. If I’m being absolutely honest, though, I was probably a bit too idealistic about how NFP was going to look in my own life. And that was before Instagram, people, so imagine how bad I would…
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Thinking Outside of the Box & Growing in Trust
Hello everybody! This post is going to be a short one because we are coming off a busy week and are preparing for a little Garden Tea Party Fundraiser! I figured I’d share something that we are slowly discovering as we try to provide the very best education for our kids — with limited funds to make it happen. What we have discovered, is that, for most parents of big families, you need to learn to think outside of the box when it comes to helping your kids get to college. Most of us don’t have endless funds at our disposal, am I right? But just because you can’t personally…
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May, You Haven’t Killed Me Yet, So You Can Stop Trying.
May hasn’t killed me yet, how about you? True, there were a few minutes when I thought I was done for, but this isn’t my first May rodeo, and I’ve learned a few things about surviving May — more often than not, the hard way. According to the internet, that basically makes me an expert and a certified life coach, so I figured I’d share a few things I’ve learned along the way. Hopefully, it will help somebody out there to not only survive a month like May, but possibly even find yourself thriving in the busiest times of your life. Yes, it is possible, and here are three easy…
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The Commencement Speech
Well, it’s that time of year — young men and women, across the nation, donning cap and gown, processing down an aisle, listening to speech or two and then they are off to begin their new lives. So this week’s post is a commencement speech of sorts — one that I dedicate to my own daughter and the class of 2019. Without further ado, here we go… Let us begin at the beginning — your beginning. From the beginning, you were greatly loved. Despite any of the challenges that may have faced your parents, you were loved by them, and without a doubt, you were perfectly loved by God. You…
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Does the Modesty Culture Cause Shame in Women?
A series of events this week — which included a friend sharing her concern about imposing modestly guidelines in our home — led to a deep dive into a very important question, “Does the modesty culture cause shame in women?”. Honestly, I’ve had a very positive experience with modesty culture, but I know that is not the case for everybody, and I took her concern very seriously. One of the most difficult things about being a parent is that you can never really go on “autopilot” — the moment you start getting overly confident about parenting, is usually the moment you find yourself hitting a wall. I guess what I’m…
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Let’s Talk About: Getting Ready for Christmas
I am not trying to freak anybody out, but Christmas is less than two weeks away. Now how did that happen?! It is coming fast! On Sunday, we will finally get our tree up and decorated — because Gaudete Sunday, people. Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice” and it is the perfect time to raise the tree and decorate the house and to be reminded why we have been trying to sacrifice in the first place. Advent is a gift to people like you and me — people who live in a world that is always trying to frantically push the next thing we MUST.BE.DOING and NOW! It’s a way to…
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The Art of Influencing Your Kids
After watching some parents who seem particularly good at it, it seems to me that there is most definitely an art to parenting well. I am not one of those “artful” parents — but I have learned a lot from observing them and asking lots of questions. I still don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is wisdom that has been shared with me along the way, and I am going to share that wisdom with you today. You’re welcome. 🙂 Right up front, we should address the objection, “Why did God give us free will in the first place, knowing the royal mess we can make…
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Staying Peaceful in the Midst of Chaos
Let’s be honest. Having kids can push us to the very edge of our physical, spiritual and emotional limits. I guess what I’m trying to say is that parenting ain’t for sissies — let’s take a moment to let that sink in. If we don’t take the time to face that reality, we just might not make it out alive. This is serious stuff, people, and we need to have each other’s backs when the days get long. We need to share the things we’ve learned along the way. So this is my attempt at sharing a few good coping mechanisms for keeping our stuff together when we’d rather just…
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Happy Easter and Home Improvements Reveal a Lot
Happy Easter! It was a beautiful Triduum, followed by lovely gatherings with family and friends. I am so grateful for the beautiful people we are privileged to call family and friends! I hope your celebrations have been equally lovely. I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted! Besides all the Easter celebrating, I have been working my fingers to the bone trying to finish my crazy mudroom/laundry room project — but the end is in sight! My project has left me with some profound questions, like, “why do I like to punish myself?” and “have I bitten off more than I can chew?” and even shallow things like, “will…
