We were outside, sitting in the filtered summer sun, under a group of large trees. At our community library event I was sitting at the back of a large group of mothers with their children. The woman right in front of me had one 3 or 4 year old son. At one point, he walked up to…
Category: Grow as Mom
“What Good is That with This Huge Crowd?”
In John 6, Jesus is teaching a massive crowd, and meal time arrives. But it looks hopeless. It was too late, and would be too expensive, to run to the town/store to feed such a large group. This happens in our home from time to time. I always think of Sally Clarkson, who said something like…
VIDEO: Mothering is like FOOD, Not Alcohol
SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE: https://youtu.be/J4_MT8P1ZJc When we work hard at mothering, we often come face-to-face with ourselves. We see our fears and our desire to control everything. We see our own anger. Our selfishness, anxieties, and our weakness and frailty all come to the forefront. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Too often,…
VIDEO: Things I DIDN’T EXPECT (as a Large Family Mom)
Like many Americans in the 80s and 90s, (maybe like you?) I grew up with one sibling. So I didn’t really know what to expect as a mom of many children (we have 9 now). Some things we can anticipate: (laundry, food, and stacks of clothes bins!), but what I wanted to talk about in…
Q&A: “Obeying” With a Rotten Attitude?
Q: my son Caleb, who will be 6 next month. He is an extremely outgoing, active, almost hyperactive, little boy who talks non-stop and (perhaps because he’s the oldest; perhaps because that’s how he’s wired), is obsessed with the idea of being “the boss.” Overall, he’s actually a relatively compliant child, but lately I’ve noticed…
37 Things Our Kids Did (Without Screens) in Our Device-Free Summer
We did not do any devices/video games last summer. For the most part, we kept the TV off too. But when I napped with the preschooler, and when we had sick days, we did freely enjoy I Love Lucy. So we didn’t outright ban TV, but we did purposefully and sharply limited screen time. We’re following the same basic approach this…
Discipline & Respect, with Teens & Preteens
Q: I am totally struggling with my oldest… One thing that I’m having trouble with is knowing how to discuss things with him. He still struggles with basic obedience, so that is an issue. Also, he tends to argue with me while we are talking. For example, this morning I told him that something he…
5 Ways to Prepare Your Kids for an Emergency
We typically don’t know when emergencies are going to happen. This means we’re often in high-adrenaline, reactionary mode, when those emergencies come. One way we can make those times *less* stressful is by being prepared in advance, in the ways that ARE possible. Here are 5 ways we can prepare our families for emergency situations: Basic…
25 Kid-Friendly Conversation Starters
We LOVE to use questions (“would you rather…” “what if…” “which of these…”) to start discussions with our kids over meals, during hikes, and in car rides. We’ve used books, and card sets, but they often contain foul or off-color questions or prompts. So I thought I’d share some of the questions we use, to help…
VIDEO: My Baby Fusses During Tummy Time
The experts recommend “tummy time,” but babies don’t seem to enjoy it. Here are some ways moms can help their babies push through the difficulty and develop those important neck and tummy muscles and head toward crawling.