Category Archives: Parenting

Fruits of the Spirit {patience}

Fruits of the Spirit, Parenting

Ah patience.

This is the Fruit of the Spirit I pray for the most.  I need patience for another lost shoe; for grumbles about the food I just cooked; for pushing back at homework time; for selfishness; for the inability to hear my voice when the television is on.

I NEED PATIENCE.

Proverbs 15:18 – “The hot-tempered stir up dissension, but those who are patient calm a quarrel.”
Ephesians 4:2 – “be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

The Bible says through patience I can calm a quarrel.  I don’t know what your home looks like, but my children … Read the rest

You are Enough

Just My Thoughts, Parenting

I hear so many moms share the struggle of having so much to do, and so little time.  I visited a neighbor who just had her third baby and said she hadn’t figured out yet letting her two- and four-year-old play outside while needing to care for a newborn.  I’ve heard others share about laundry, housework, crafts, creating special moments for their families… and on and on it goes.  There is so much on our list, from what is required in order to keep our Littles alive, to what is on Pinterest that we feel we should (but let’s be … Read the rest

Look At Who They are Right Now

Parenting

I need to give you a bit of back story for this one…

Grace is 10 and has been lying to us about seemingly insignificant things.  This scares the snot out of me.

Eli is 9 and has some anger control issues.  And impulse control issues.  That’s a rough combination…

I have operated under the “every offense gets a consequence” system for far too long because I was always afraid of a behavior becoming a habit.  I now find myself in a bit of a panic wondering if this system of mine has caused some of these aforementioned behaviors.

I’m … Read the rest

Sticks and Stones

Faith, Just My Thoughts, Parenting

You know how it goes.  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.  The reality is that words do hurt, and their effect can last much longer than a physical injury.

There are a lot of words that swirl around in my head.  Some are true and some are not.  Some are kind and some are not.  Some are mine and some are not.  Some are godly and some are not.  I am going through some counseling right now (oh yes, I will wave that banner high), and one thing we are working on is … Read the rest

Summer Vacation Pregnancy

Parenting

I’ve recently compared summer vacation to pregnancy: at first it’s all fun and exciting and hopeful and not so bad.  Then you reach the end and you’re thinking, “Drug me up, cut me open, do what you gotta do, just get it out.”

I was hopeful in June.  A long weekend at a family wedding was great fun, and a week at the beach put us to the halfway mark of the month.  We were on our way to a fun, successful summer.

July was pretty much over in a flash.  The kids were at my parents’ house for … Read the rest

Am I the Only One?

Parenting

Seriously…am I the only one

  • whose children fight all the time?
  • whose son rolls his eyes at any simple request, like “Pick up your shoes from in front of the fridge”?
  • whose preteen rides her bike just past her boundary so she can sit in someone else’s yard and cry because you’re the worst mom in the world? (because I made her wear her bike helmet that she decided she no longer likes)
  • whose children wrestle anywhere and everywhere, including in the street if that’s where it takes them?
  • who has been counting down to the first day of school?
… Read the rest

First Day of School Anxiety

Anxiety, Parenting, School

As parents I think we sometimes get so busy down in the trenches of where we are currently that we forget to stand up and take a look around.  Right now Grace is in a rough patch, and if I stay down in this trench parenting her it can feel like we don’t make any progress.

Last night I was thinking back to last summer when she was filled with first day of school anxiety: starting a new year with a new teacher, new classroom, and potentially all new kids.  I had to take her in to meet her teacher … Read the rest

The Whisper Yell

Parenting

I trucked my circus to the pediatrician Monday because the Boy came home from camp with swimmer’s ear, but with his newly added sinus congestion I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a full-blown ear infection.

The tables in the exam rooms have the top that you sit on, then a bottom shelf that books are on, but where my non-ill children lay to read.  On this visit to the pediatrician’s office, the girls were on the bottom shelf reading and Eli was sitting on top.  And he was getting bored, which is immediately threat level orange.

Potty language was … Read the rest

My Efforts to Raise Girls with a Healthy Self-Image

Parenting

I have two daughters, finishing 4th and 1st grade.  I want to have girls with a healthy self-image.  Unfortunately, this won’t happen magically, or accidentally, or overnight.  I’ve been reading a lot about this lately, through the years really.  I’ve agreed with much, disagreed with some, and been offended by a few.  When it comes to subjects like this you just have to take the pieces you believe to be accurate and aligned with the heart of God (which can be tricky!) and create your family’s puzzle.

Here is what ours looks like so far.

I’ve heard that we shouldn’t … Read the rest

Don’t Eat Your Children

Parenting

Last night was one of THOSE nights.  One of those nights where Chad needed to take over bedtime because I was thinking ugly thoughts about my children.  The sad thing is, it was a good evening until about the last thirty minutes…

The kids did their homework right away so they could play outside without interruption until supper.  Supper was going well, then Grace said she wasn’t feeling well – which I later decided was just a desire to not eat her vegetables because she recovered as soon as supper was over.  After supper we went for a family walk.  … Read the rest