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A Mother’s Presence: Encouragement to the Stay-At-Home-Mom
Days spent staying at home, running a household and raising small children can often seem wearisome. It can feel like every day starts looking the same and the temptation to complain and despair can be right around every corner. This is a small glimpse from my childhood that I hope can encourage the weary mother out there. Your presence matters to your children. Day to day, yes. But more importantly, they will remember the moments that make up these days. And those moments will shape them as adults. Magical Moments My mom stayed home with us my entire childhood. I can’t recall one memory that doesn’t have my mom somehow…
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Morning Routine: Homeschool Mom of Four Young Kids
There are so many days when I wish I was more structured and organized. I wish my household ran like a lovely, well-oiled machine. I wish I got up before my children every single day and greeted them with a warm smile and genuine excitement when they awoke. Maybe there are moms out there who do all these things, but I fall short of these expectations every single day. So, please hear my heart as I share what our morning routine looks like. It’s messy. It doesn’t look as pretty in real life as it does on a computer screen. But, it is very true that any household, and especially…
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Why We Chose to Homeschool: Second Generation Homeschool Mom Shares Why
I was homeschooled for five of my thirteen grade school years. So, I guess you can say I’m a “second generation” homeschooler. Growing up, we were not your typical homeschool family. My brother and I were happily attending public schools and had never considered anything else. We didn’t know many families who homeschooled and the ones we did know seemed weird (and I can say that in humility because now we are that weird family!) It started when my brother had a rough year in seventh grade and my parents felt like his best option was to be home for a year. My mom had never considered homeschooling and felt…
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Rest: When Days “Off” Look Just like Your Days “On”…
Spring break was finally here. We had looked forward to it for weeks–thinking how restful it was going to be to have a week at home with no agenda. We had planned for lots of napping, catching up on “housey” projects, and just enjoying the nothingness. But on the first morning of spring break, I sat there in tears because it didn’t feel restful or refreshing at all. And I caved. I caved to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad attitude. It’s hard when nothing changes about my “off” days—meals still need to be cooked, little people cared for, dishes done, toys tidied, laundry folded, etc. My home and my…