All posts by Janna

Being a Substitute Teacher

More About Me

Last fall I wrote that I was leaving my job, and didn’t know what was next.  If you don’t know, allow me to fill you in.

For almost a year now I have been a substitute teacher in our school district.  There are 50 schools in the district, but I only sub at the two my kids go to so that I can get to know the teachers and administrators there better, and quite honestly I believe it would be too lonely for this relational extrovert to hop all over the place never forming relationships.

When this all started last … Read the rest

Anger Management

Anger, Kids

Having a blog has been so helpful for me.  I can look back through past posts and sort of get a read on where our family is now and where we’ve been.  Creating a new category called “Anger” tells me something about our current state of being…

I love my boy.  Eli is sweet and intellectual and honest.  He has a great moral compass (as long as his sisters aren’t involved).  But he has always had an anger issue.  I remember very clearly when he was about five, he was mad at me about something.  He glared at me and … Read the rest

Fruits of the Spirit {self-control}

Fruits of the Spirit, Parenting

Here I am, at the last of the Fruits of the Spirit.  I must admit, I’m kind of sad.  This has been a good exercise for me to be regularly searching and learning more about the Bible – learning about a topic well enough to explain it to others.  It is good.

Self-control.  This one might be the hardest to exercise on a daily basis.

Proverbs 25:28 says a person who lacks self-control is “like a city whose walls are broken through.”  Without self-control we are defenseless and open to attack.  When my walls are broken through, I am short.  … Read the rest

Our Home Systems

More About Me, Parenting

I really love systems.  Stop laughing, Chad. I like to know that there is a plan, if you are not on board I will tie you to the boat.  Enjoy the ride.

I may have reached the systems limit in our home.

Me: We’re going to have a new system for screen time.
Ada: AH!  No more systems!  It’s too much!  We have a chore system.  A point system.  We have to earn money.  We have to do homework.  I can’t handle anymore!
Me: Would you like to hear my system BEFORE you have a freak out?

Morning System
I … Read the rest

On Purpose

Hearts at Home, Parenting

This month with Hearts at Home, I’m blogging about “Loving Your Purpose”.  This has always been a challenge for me – usually because I didn’t know WHAT my purpose was, and sometimes because I just didn’t want to love what I was doing.

Wiping other people’s body parts, washing dishes, switching laundry, begging for a nap…where is my purpose in this?  I’ve had these thoughts too often to count.  The problem, I think, is that having these thoughts affect my mood and behavior.  If there isn’t a purpose in what I’m doing then I won’t be pleasant while I’m doing … Read the rest

My Daughter’s Gifts

Kids, Parenting, School

My email signature is, “Lord, show me how You see them, show me how You’ve gifted them, shoe me how to guide them. Amen.”  This fall as Grace has started middle school and the new opportunities it brings, God has shown me some of her gifts.  And that I’ve been wrong about them.

My girl can sing.  She could sing on key before she could speak.  I’m not even a little bit exaggerating right now.  And the kicker is, she refused to be in choir.  In choir you have to sing the same songs over and over.  In choir you … Read the rest

My Husband, My Teammate

Marriage, Parenting

My husband is my teammate in this crazy life we lead, and he’s the only one I would want by my side.  Especially when the wheels come off.

When my dear son is angry and hurling hurtful words at me, I can count on Chad to be my protector.  In those moments he is more my husband than Eli’s father.  I know it, Eli knows it.  When he crosses a line, I inform him that our discussion is over and he will be continuing it with my husband (I use those words), he is not happy.  He’s not afraid of … Read the rest

Is This the Last?

More About Me, Parenting

A friend posed the question on Facebook, How did you know you were done having babies, and then how do you cope with all of the lasts that come with being done?  This is one of those questions where I can only share my experience, and wouldn’t dare assume that it’s the same for everyone, but here it is nonetheless :)

Here’s the scene.  Grace was 3, Eli was 2, Ada was 6 months old.  I found myself buying a pregnancy test and my entire body shook until I got the results.  Negative.  That was the very, very clear moment when … Read the rest

Gaining Momentum

Hearts at Home, Parenting

My oldest daughter was nervous about starting middle school, so we had spent the last few weeks of summer preparing her for this new adventure.  When she got in the car with me at the end of her first day, she was happy and proud and confident.  She did it!  She successfully made it through her first day of middle school.

That evening as I thought back the stories of her day, I realized that I needed to tuck this success away for the next fear.  Someday I will need to remind her that she “made it” before, and … Read the rest

The Defiance of a Rule-Follower

Kids

Ada is, by nature, a rule-follower.  She knows the rules, expects everyone to follow them, but also knows how to find the loopholes.  She isn’t often defiant because she knows when she’s lost an argument.  She is rational, which really makes her an easy 8-year-old.

However, she is still an 8-year-old.

When Ada has had enough and chooses to no longer be rational, her defiance shows up by choosing to do nothing.  She doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, literally does nothing – as evidenced by this photo:

onetiredmommaShe was mad about something, who can remember, and didn’t want to walk home.  … Read the rest