Wednesday, February 28, 2018

When Someone Calls Your Child a Hurtful Name

Have you ever had someone say something mean to you? What about to your child? I used to think I would give that person a piece of my mind but my thoughts have changed on this – I approach it a little more gently and try to see both sides. I am not saying verbal attacks are okay, because they are not, and if an adult ever said something harmful to a child I would be all over it with that power imbalance. Harsh words need to be recognized and dealt with, however, there are several reasons why it occurs and knowing them could help us when we approach that situation. Here are four examples that I am familiar with...


Monday, February 26, 2018

How Parenting a Child From Hard Places Looks Different

I hardly feel like I'm qualified to speak about this but as a foster parent who has cared for five different children from hard places I have some insight to pass along. I also have a minor in psychology if that increases my credibility in your eyes at all (insert winky face emoji).  How will this information on attachment help you? Well, knowing what some people go through allows you to understand the world a little better and develop more empathy. Also, who knows what your future will look like – maybe you will have a connection with someone who had a difficult childhood.


What might it look like to help support and nurture a child who has suffered neglect and trauma?

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Three Simple Meals Using One Rotisserie Chicken

Several weeks ago I was overwhelmed with the number of kids we had and the schedule we currently juggle. I knew I had to meal plan better and push aside the notion that everything had to be from scratch. We had purchased 1/4 of a cow this fall and were a little beefed out – we needed some variety of the chicken nature. Here are three super simple meals which are healthy-ish, made in under twenty minutes and nice on the wallet too. How do I do it? It all starts with one rottiserie chicken that can be used to make two to three meals depending on the number of people in the family. Great savings, right?!

Three simple and affordable chicken recipes

Thankful Thursday

The key to experiencing joy is practicing gratitude. In Brene Brown's book Braving the Wilderness she says, "When you are grateful for what you have, I know you understand the magnitude of what I have lost". You appreciate your mom? That makes me feel good because I don't have that. I am thankful for a great childhood because I know so many don't get to experience that. Eugene Cho says in Overrated that contentment comes from generosity and gratitude. What are you thankful for today?


Thursday, February 15, 2018

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Everyone goes through busy/tough stages and right now we are in the last two weeks of a wilder time. Gary is finishing up coaching basketball and then I will have my other driver back home. As much as basketball season is hard for us, it is important to him and so we make it work and I want to support him in that. Just because something is hard doesn't mean we need to hear "Maybe he shouldn't do it" – I wrote about that here. So without further ado...

This week I am thankful for:

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

What We Need to Hear When Life Is Hard

When life gets tough we hope that our family and friends will be there for us. I know when I lost my mom I appreciated all the support through meals and kind words; it is often easier to know how to support a grieving friend than someone whose life has been made difficult through an intentional choice. Let me explain.

What we need to hear when life is hard

Thursday, February 08, 2018

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

We attended the funeral of Gary's grandma and I learned there that her motto was "In everything give thanks" and I think that really is behind what I am doing here, too. I'm not saying that life is one big party and I need to be thankful for every junky thing that happens BUT learning to look for the little items of gratefulness in each day does help my mental health. So, as per usual, here I am practicing my gratitude. Today I am thankful for:

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

How I Tripled My Pageviews in Two Months

{To those of you who come here normally for parenting, adventure or marriage posts, this piece is different and is aimed at those who have websites and are looking to increase their views}

Are you stuck at the same number of unique monthly views no matter how many times you post new content or what time of day you share it to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? I have been blogging purposefully and faithfully over the last four years usually two to three times a week. I realized that I had a lot of content that was just being posted on my Facebook page and then lost forever in the world wide web.

 How could I get more people to see the hard work that I put into writing and photography?

How can you increase your blog's monthly pageviews without having to writing new content? Using Pinterest wisely is the best way and here are eight simple tips.


Sunday, February 04, 2018

I Just Want to Be a Grandma

When asked what goals I hope to achieve in life, career and travel are not at the top of the list – and I love my travelling. What do I want more than anything when I look to the future? To be a grandma. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am in any rush and I don't even love the baby stage and all that comes with it. I want to be a grandma because that means that I will be alive whenever (if ever) my kids have children of their own. I will make it to my 50's and hopefully through to my 80's but I'll take 70's if I "have to".

Photo of mom with three kids

Thursday, February 01, 2018

Thankful Thursday


Oh boy. I sort of feel like venting about how unfun our lives are right now. Can I do that first before I get to the good stuff? I live for adventure and time alone and those two are just not happening right now. Life is extremely busy when Gary is coaching (just means I get to do all the driving) and throw in a couple of babies (we have a foster baby plus daycare 1-year-old three days a week) plus all the appointments and visits and I'm a diaper-changing taxi driver. So so boring. This usually happens every December to March and once I hit Spring Break life is good! Last year we went on the most amazing Caribbean cruise and this year we are going to Arizona so I am very excited about that. Just writing that made me feel better. All right, thank you for letting me vent, on to the good stuff.

This week I am thankful for: