Inspiration and encouragement for your journey
Mom Moments
Recent Posts
Find the latest encouragement and inspiration for the journey.
I had dreams for my family life, for the kids education, for my own recreation time (which currently clocked in at daily total of zero minutes, zero seconds). I longed to do things like knit, read books with real pages, write for the joy of it. Instead, I was living life of reacting—not to God’s direction—but to people’s momentary expectations, urgent tasks all shoving and bickering to be FIRST on my list. I was desperate to get back to the most important focus of every day...
I created these school planning pages out of desperation. I SO needed to get back on track! Did they help? Some more than others. But I can say for certain that they are 100% cute. In this download you’ll find a weekly lesson plan, semester schedule, grade report sheets, and book/media record sheets. All can be sized for any planner, including the Happy Planner.
If you’re like I was, your kids use more digital media than you’d like. Maybe they’re into video games, binging episodes of Bluey, mindless scrolling through YouTube. If you’ve ever had the thought, “I sure wish he’d do something that doesn’t involve a screen,” then you a. Have a problem b. Are in the perfect position to solve it!
Joy of Advent is a virtual daily devotional reading for children and adults. Each email also has curated music videos and classical (usually) works of art that are truly breathtaking. The Joy of Advent daily readings are structured around the Jesse Tree, in part because the Jesse Tree is a beautiful, ancient tradition, and because it gives us the opportunity to pull a scarlet thread from the tapestry of Scripture.
I couldn’t pay my kids to go outside. They’d drag out of bed, take bowls of cereal to the family room where they’d watch TV followed by hours of begging for “screen time” while I battled our way through the morning’s schoolwork. Months of this, years of it. We fought this battle day after day until we made a dramatic decision and drastic change.
Encouragement
& Inspiration
Needing a word of encouragement? Find it here!
I had dreams for my family life, for the kids education, for my own recreation time (which currently clocked in at daily total of zero minutes, zero seconds). I longed to do things like knit, read books with real pages, write for the joy of it. Instead, I was living life of reacting—not to God’s direction—but to people’s momentary expectations, urgent tasks all shoving and bickering to be FIRST on my list. I was desperate to get back to the most important focus of every day...
If you’re like I was, your kids use more digital media than you’d like. Maybe they’re into video games, binging episodes of Bluey, mindless scrolling through YouTube. If you’ve ever had the thought, “I sure wish he’d do something that doesn’t involve a screen,” then you a. Have a problem b. Are in the perfect position to solve it!
I couldn’t pay my kids to go outside. They’d drag out of bed, take bowls of cereal to the family room where they’d watch TV followed by hours of begging for “screen time” while I battled our way through the morning’s schoolwork. Months of this, years of it. We fought this battle day after day until we made a dramatic decision and drastic change.
How do children learn creativity? Creativity requires courage, and courage requires risk. This lesson is especially vital for children of Apraxia of Speech and their families. Plus discover the inspiration behind the hit retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Violet and the Woof!
"Anybody can come up with one right answer." The key is to look for the next right answer ...
Helps for Home
Keep home running smoothly with these resources.
I had dreams for my family life, for the kids education, for my own recreation time (which currently clocked in at daily total of zero minutes, zero seconds). I longed to do things like knit, read books with real pages, write for the joy of it. Instead, I was living life of reacting—not to God’s direction—but to people’s momentary expectations, urgent tasks all shoving and bickering to be FIRST on my list. I was desperate to get back to the most important focus of every day...
I created these school planning pages out of desperation. I SO needed to get back on track! Did they help? Some more than others. But I can say for certain that they are 100% cute. In this download you’ll find a weekly lesson plan, semester schedule, grade report sheets, and book/media record sheets. All can be sized for any planner, including the Happy Planner.
I created free printable goal planning pages that can easily be sized and printed to fit any planner including Happy Planner. Everything from monthly planning to year-end-review, and even project planning for those multi-faceted projects.
It’s any random evening and I’m doling out the usual pre-bedtime chores. Pick up, put away, no, really put it away properly, not under the chair, all the pieces, oh whatever, just go brush your teeth. So. Many. Toys. Find the Ultimate Guide to creating your own Toy Rotation System. Reclaim your house and make all those old toys seem new again!
Bullet journaling is a name for something developed to track the past, present, and future. Once you get started, you can tap into a whole community online for even more ideas. You can start with ideas and sections that include months in advance and also a daily log. Ready to get started on your bullet journaling journey? These graphics offer some creative ideas to use.
When it comes to homeschool technique I've tried everything. Work boxes? Tried it. Digital planners with printed-out schedules? Been there. Pre-planned curriculum packages that cover all subjects? Done it. Totally online learning like Easy Peasy? Yup. The non-homeschool option: Public/Charter school? Yes, even that.
And no matter what I did, every day was a whirlwind of...
Once upon a time I was trying to find a recipe I knew my grandmother had sent me in an email. I thought I'd saved it in a Pages doc somewhere, or maybe it was still in Gmail, or on an archive disk. Or maybe ...
Once upon a time I was trying to find a recipe I *knew* my grandmother had sent me in an email, and I *thought* I'd saved it in a Pages doc somewhere, or maybe it was still in Gmail, or on an archive disk. Or maybe ...
If Mamma’s Not Happy…
Taking care of the caretaker is often last on the list, except here!
I had dreams for my family life, for the kids education, for my own recreation time (which currently clocked in at daily total of zero minutes, zero seconds). I longed to do things like knit, read books with real pages, write for the joy of it. Instead, I was living life of reacting—not to God’s direction—but to people’s momentary expectations, urgent tasks all shoving and bickering to be FIRST on my list. I was desperate to get back to the most important focus of every day...
How do children learn creativity? Creativity requires courage, and courage requires risk. This lesson is especially vital for children of Apraxia of Speech and their families. Plus discover the inspiration behind the hit retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Violet and the Woof!
When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis last year I made some fairly drastic life changes. Eliminated gluten and dairy, cut back on caffeine (though that’s crept back up since I’m So D@mn Tired from thyroid meds being too low, lack of sleep, five kids), and I worked to eliminate as many entry points for toxins as possible. One I’d never considered: shampoo.
A Writer’s Life
A glimpse inside the everyday life of a flawed mamma trying to balance writing, homeschooling, and living God’s purpose.
I felt betrayed … and foolish. I was ready to be done with social media once and for all. And yet I still faced an expectation that I would be engaging, posting, sharing my life with the hope that all this cyber-standing-in-the-road-waving-myself would sell more books. If I just engaged more, posted more, changed my strategy and platforms and spent more time …
I stopped posting to Instagram in November of 2020. And in so doing (or, not doing, I suppose), I noticed some things… First, there’s very little “Social” about Social Media.
An ever-growing collection of interviews. Going forward all will be linked here for your (and my) convenience! Because I’m not much better at keeping track of links than anyone else. This list could easily serve as an FAQ, with some questions appearing in interviews more or less frequently than others. I hope you’ll enjoy pursuing the links and sharing broadly and widely with all your wonderful people!
For just under an hour I sat in the Calvin College Seminary chapel, captivated by quite possibly the most interesting (and energetic) person ever to be in Calvin College’s Seminary chapel. I took more notes at that session than all the others I attended combined. Good blog headlines? Blogging and social media? Blog-killing mistakes? I scribbled it all down. Like…
My next release, Violet and the Woof, coming soon, has an official cover! And here it is:
My final two events are passed: Books & Mortar and Hopscotch Children's Store Halloween Party. Halloween is officially over!
I felt betrayed … and foolish. I was ready to be done with social media once and for all. And yet I still faced an expectation that I would be engaging, posting, sharing my life with the hope that all this cyber-standing-in-the-road-waving-myself would sell more books. If I just engaged more, posted more, changed my strategy and platforms and spent more time …