Except, you know, harder. Everything is dirty all the time. Everything. All the time. 2. You’re involved in lots of physical challenges Excuse me, how do people get a 25-pound toddler into shoes he doesn’t want to wear?! 3. There are days you definitely want to vote people off the island If you tell me the dinner that I … More 10 Ways Being a Parent is like Being on Survivor
Today I’m excited to welcome guest blogger Dana Herndon, writer at An Ordinary View, middle school teacher, and mother of three. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) This is one of my favorite verses. A simple, yet complex explanation of faith. Because that is how faith … More Faith, Parenting, and Faithful Parenting
There’s a hilarious and right-up-to-the-line of inappropriate viral video about moms and swimsuits out there this week. It’s hilarious because it is true. Most swimsuits out there just aren’t designed for a normal mom who wants to have a normal day at the beach (i.e., swimming, chasing kids, fixing lunches, changing diapers, moving around and not … More 5 Reasons to Make Peace With the Mommy Swimsuit
We went camping as a family for the first time last week. Two kids. Two nights. Three adults (all the praise hands, a dear friend visited from Chicago and braved the wilds with our brood). I’ll admit, I was a little terrified. Part of my fear was borne from a childhood of camping trips. We made … More 10 Tips for Camping with Kids
The knock at the door was followed immediately by a yell. “I have a smoothie for you!” My friend Katie was at my seminary apartment uninvited. Again. Katie always seemed to forget that I’m an introvert. (Pretty sure that “introvert” is just Latin for “call before you come over.”) She handed me a blueberry-yogurt-pineapple concoction … More Essential Friendship * 10 Minute Devotional
I’m a pretty frugal person. It probably started when I was born in Wisconsin, a state where thou-shalt-live-humbly. Everyone drives Toyotas and Fords and Subarus. Millionaires live in log cabins. As an elementary schooler I literally didn’t know people could buy clothes from the front of the store. I thought those were just for show, since everyone I knew always headed straight … More Faith, Frugality, and Feasting * 10 Minute Devotional
Nothing is sacred That boy you like? That sweater you saved up for over a month to buy? The verbal tic you can’t seem to get over? That boy will be told of your feelings. That sweater will be borrowed (without asking) and stained. That verbal tic will be mocked incessantly. Welcome to having siblings. 2. … More 10 Lessons Siblings Teach You
How can a person be so grown-up and yet so frustratingly not all at the same time? Raise your hand if you’ve said things like these and gotten similar reactions from your 2-5 year old… 🙋🙋🙋 1. “You have to put on a jacket.” 2. “No dessert unless you take one bite of everything.” 3. “Be nice to Aunt Mabel. … More 10 Gifs That Sum Up Parenting a Preschooler
I just got back from ten days in northern Wisconsin (folks from northern Wisconsin always specify the northern because southern Wisconsin is cities and farmland, while the north is woods and lakes and white-tailed deer and air so fresh your lungs practically say “thank you” with each exhale). I grew up there, and my parents still live … More Top 10 Signs You’re at Your Childhood Home
1. Eat Less Sugar Yeah. I have a sweet tooth. Or maybe I have only sweet teeth. Since Diabetes runs in my family, it’s high time I got a bit of a handle on my Icees-and-Swedish-Fish obsession. (I have the palate of an eight-year-old. Don’t judge.) But here’s the thing: choosing to restrict something usually just makes me … More 5 New Years’ Resolutions I’m Not Making (and What I’m Doing Instead)
Courtney Ellis 