Do you feel overwhelmed and frustrated? Do you sit down at the end of your week and feel like a failure as a spouse, parent, employee and friend? Is your time hijacked by mundane tasks which prevent you from accomplishing what is truly important to you? I understand. As a Christian homeschooling mom of four and a small business owner, I want to live my life in a way that is honoring to God and which enables me to fulfill my purpose. For the past couple of years I have been very intentional with the way that I spend my time and one of the most helpful tools I have discovered is creating a weekly plan. When I ...Read More
7 Things Your Kids Need to Hear You Say {A New Years Resolution}
I've never been big on New Year's resolutions. Mostly because I make them too lofty, which means they get squashed as quickly as they came and leave me feeling frustrated and discouraged. The past few years I have set a few goals I wanted to accomplish throughout the new year, but most of them included this "one word" craze. This year, however, is a little different. While I'm going with one overall theme word - purposeful - I am also looking for ways that I can tangibly live it out in my daily life. As I began to break down how the word purposeful would look in each area of my life, parenting kept coming to ...Read More
Simplify Life, Save Time: 5 Amazing Benefits of Going Green
There is something you should know about me. I am really lazy. Like really lazy. Two weeks ago I vacuumed my apartment for the first time since I got married...6 months ago. I straight up won’t hand wash things. I use my Laundry Pod and the dishes sit around until my husband washes them. Many things just don’t get done because it seems like a lot of work. Coming up with Christmas gifts? Going to the bank? Please. Another thing about me is that I hate spending money. I’ll spend what I need to on books and organic animal products, but I don’t like spending money if I can avoid it. Why am I telling you this? ...Read More
Simplify Your Mornings: 3 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Spiritually Grounded
He’s been dubbed America’s Unluckiest Olympian. During the Olympics of 2004, Matt Emmons held a three point lead in rifle shooting and was guaranteed the gold. With one bullet left to shoot, all he needed was a 7.2 to gain his second gold medal. He aimed…fired…bull's eye! Except he hit the wrong target. He had cross-fired, mistakenly aimed at a competitor’s target. He was awarded a score of zero. Instead of the gold, he finished last. Matt learned the hard way that you can nail a target but miss the gold. Thing is, we can do the same thing. Each morning when you wake up, you are like a sharp shooter. ...Read More
7 Shortcuts for Preparing a Full Month of Meals for Your Freezer
Do you feel like you just can't keep up? I do. Between homeschooling my kids, running kids to basketball and piano practice, being involved in church, picking up the house, staying on top of this site...where is the time to prepare delicious healthy meals? Do you find yourself too tired to make healthy food? Too busy? Unprepared? Getting a full month of meals in your freezer will take care of all of those problems—and you can do it all in one weekend. Special thanks to Once a Month Meals for sponsoring this post. Sure, it takes planning and energy. If you're like me though, you might do better with spending a ...Read More
How to Take Charge When Toys Are Overrunning Your House
Do your kids have too many toys? Be honest. I know mine sure do, and the only thing that saved my sanity was implementing a toy rotation. It was literally a night and day change in our house dynamics. I used to feel like toys were literally taking over my house. Okay maybe not "literally," I mean they didn't stage a military coup, set boobie traps with jump ropes, and Legos or anything. And there was never a list of demands left duct taped on my children's door asking for fresh batteries with a picture of a "hostage toy" roped to a chair. And I'm pretty sure, despite Pixar's artful story telling, they don't come ...Read More
5 Proven Ways to Utterly Fail at Keeping Your Resolutions
Let's talk about the traditional New Year goal-making and why you might utterly fail at keeping your resolutions. Let me be the bringer of bad news today. If you're reading this article, you likely have made or are planning to make some New Year's Resolutions, but sadly 88% of you will utterly fail (at least, if the stats are correct). Happy New Year! 5 Proven Ways to Utterly Fail at Keeping Your Resolutions Perhaps your goals are spiritual (reading through the Bible in a year) or relational (spending more time with your kids) or nutritional (losing weight) or practical (getting organized). Whatever it is, nearly ...Read More
Kid-Friendly Ways to Use Herbs
Let's face it, kids can be picky. (Well, if I am going to be perfectly honest, I know a lot of adults that are just as picky. ;) ) Part of the pickyness seems to really kick in when it comes to something that is "good for you." I've seen it happen over and over again, a parent says the dreaded words, "Here, take this, it's good for you," and the kid is in meltdown mode. That is one of the many reasons I love to use herbs for my kids. It is very easy to make something fun and tasty that your kids will enjoy with herbs. They most likely will not even realize it is good for them. It takes a bit of creativity but it ...Read More