I’d been a homeschooling mom for twenty years when I was forced to have kids in the public school system. I say “forced” because we had kids in foster care and DHS would not let me homeschool them. So for the first time ever I filled out paperwork and had to figure out the schedules… [Continue Reading]
Family
How to stop your child’s angry cycle
The flash of anger in my tween daughter’s eyes surprised me. We’d been camping, and Maddie’s 6-year-old sister, Aly, had just burned her finger on hot ash. As I treat the wound, Maddie strode up. “I hurt myself, too,” she said, with attitude. “Last night when we were making S’mores.” “Hold on,” I said. As… [Continue Reading]
10 Ways to Make Your Home a Place of Healing For Kids From Foster Care
John and I opened our home to foster care and adoption with a lot of hope and little knowledge of what the reality would look like. As a mom trying to help these kids heal, I learned a lot about children, trauma, myself, our mutual needs, and healing. Out of everything I’ve learned, the… [Continue Reading]
3 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Your Kids by Jennifer Deibel {+ giveaway}
Have you ever stopped to think about why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Did you know that Patrick was a real man, who brought the gospel to Ireland? Or did you think Paddy’s Day was just an excuse to wear green, pinch people and talk like a leprechaun? It might surprise you to learn that… [Continue Reading]
3 Ways Children Teach Us To Pray – Kari Patterson
As I type these words, my daughter is snuggled up next to me with her head resting on my stomach. She’s been mostly quiet, but throughout the past few minutes she’s softly spoken a thought: “I loved seeing the ducks today.” A question: “When am I going to Madison’s house?” A praise: “I love you,… [Continue Reading]
50 Read Alouds to enjoy with your child for Read Across America
One of my favorite times of the day is when I get the kids settled in a night and it’s time to read. Bedtime reading has been a tradition that we’ve done for the last 20+ years. We make sure all electronics are turned off, the kids get ready for bed, and we sit down as… [Continue Reading]
You Can’t Parent Alone | Marty Machowski
Scroll below for a chance to win a copy of Parenting First Aid! You Can’t Parent Alone Before conceiving our twins, Lois and I were as prepared for parenting as any couple could be. We both babysat extensively and lived with Christian families. So we sat in the front row, watching others’ strengths and weaknesses… [Continue Reading]
Real Life Food
One thing about real life is that people have to eat. Yes, it’s true—my family “expects” food in the fridge and dinner on the table. Can you believe that?! One thing I’m always on the hunt for is easy and yummy meals that don’t take a lot of time. (Which means more time to write… [Continue Reading]
Magic Springs Giveaway!
One of our family’s favorite things to during an Arkansas summer is to visit Magic Springs Theme & Water Park. Our whole family (and a guest!) went recently. We were there to celebrate Magic Spring’s 40th year AND to have fun. There are many great things about Magic Springs, (I’ll get to them …) but… [Continue Reading]
How to Make Cleaning Fun For Kids | Carol Bell
I read an article about getting kids involved in the cleaning of the house and it said it would not only teach the kids responsibility, but it would also mean less work for me. It seemed appealing, but let’s face it, kids will be kids and if it is not fun, they are going to… [Continue Reading]
How Parents Can Handle Teen Emotions
You can read the first blog post of the series here ~ What You Really Need To Know About Emotional Teens. On the top of my to-do list, today was writing this blog on how to handle emotional teens. It’s easy to make that a goal and spout all types of wonderful advice on a… [Continue Reading]