Mothers Day is a wonderful pause, the perfect time to think about the big questions: Is anyone learning anything ?; These kids won’t be home forever, what lessons will they take with them?; DOES ANY OF THIS REALLY MATTER? Truthfully, the answer to these questions usually feels a little dismal. The kids don’t seem to...Continue Reading
May might be the busiest month of the year. That used to be December, but everyone seems to know December is insane and doesn’t schedule anything superfluous. May has sneaky busy-ness. It’s the end of spring sports, the start of summer sports, end-of-the-year competitions, final recitals, and SO MANY school projects. Jen Hatmaker describes the...Continue Reading
At the college I went to, Concordia-Nebraska, every student had to take a class called Human Relations. The course was all about learning how to care for other people. The professor was Herman, a quintessential wise older man, who had written the literal textbook about how to encourage others in your life. Herman taught us...Continue Reading
If you need us, we’ll be at the pool. The kids (minus Nate) have decided to do swim team. Actually, decided is probably too strong of a word. Catie loves swim team so she was eager for another year. Since we had already signed up for the insane schedule of everyday practices, I thought, “Why...Continue Reading
**Disclaimer: By this list of what our family considered family helpers, you’ll see that most of our struggles are hair-centric. And we like to eat. We also really love water bottles, but this doesn’t make our family unique. Have you seen the water bottle aisle at Target? Excuse me, water bottle aisles at Target? We...Continue Reading
Cole Haan Air Tali Wedge I’m surely not the only mom who’s been doing the Mom Walk of Shame, which means I walk everywhere wearing clunky, ugly tennis shoes. What else are moms supposed to wear to carry a 30-pound toddler across a crowded parking lot? To run up and down the steps fifteen times...Continue Reading
Easter Sunday was yesterday. This year, Easter was a huge relief. Yes because we got to celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. But not only that. This year Easter also marked the end of a really hard Lent. Lent wasn’t hard in the penitential, sacrificial sense. Lent was hard because the last six weeks have...Continue Reading
Our Frozen acting troupe is available for all your birthday parties, all your plays, all your Ren Fests, all your street performances, and all your family gatherings. Actually, family gatherings are their absolute specialty. This group of ENTHUSIASTIC SINGERS is fantastic at crooning out every word of the Disney songs at the top of their...Continue Reading
Can I get an AMEN on how hard it is to get the family to church on Sunday morning? For real, y’all. It’s no picnic on school mornings either, but the difference there is that the grown-ups aren’t sticking around at school. As soon as the kids are settled, we’re free to get breakfast or...Continue Reading
No, of course the best advice is not that you should sleep when your baby sleeps. This is actually terrible advice. If you do this, you will be spending every single one of your waking hours with a moody, grouchy roommate who is prone to violent temper tantrums and insists you fulfill every one of...Continue Reading
