Inspired by Familia

I just spent close to an hour helping my kids figure out their allowance into their Save. Spend. Give. Jars. Our conversation went something like this. Well, it was mostly me asking questions. “How much did you deposit? Is it withdrawing money when you are putting money in? What do I owe you if I’ve […]

I’m one of those people who dream about living on acres and acres of farmland filled with crops, gardens, cows, horses and chickens but then I wake up to reality. I can’t grow simple herbs in a pot and my stomach feels nauseous when we drive past farm animals. Well, regardless a girl can dream. This […]

  My husband is my best friend but his friendship could never take the place of any of my good girlfriends nor vice versa. Both are amazingly beautiful but they couldn’t be any more different. Living overseas makes cultivating friendships a challenge but at the same time the shared experiences deepen our bond in ways we can’t […]

I remember our first summer vacation we took as missionaries. By the way, going back to your home country on furlough is never a vacation, just in case you consider those vacations. They are definitely not. Just thought I’d clarify that minor point.  We enjoy our furlough time, seeing old friends and family but it […]

My son was 4 yrs old and he was invited to a birthday party. We got out of the car and walked into the lovely home of the hostess. I was immediately greeted by 10 little energetic 4 year olds running around. It didn’t take my son long to join them. When You’re the Only […]

These are the four things my kids do every day, well mostly every day in the summer. One of the things I loved about homeschooling our children is they learned to appreciate routine. They now (for the most part) want it and know it doesn’t stifle them but helps them. The weekend after they got […]

  Our kids may already know we love them but I assure you that they also need to hear it. We all need to hear that we are loved.  Even our teens who act like they could careless what you think, the truth is they do care. Our kids need to know that even though […]

This phrase, “Beggars shouldn’t be choosers.” is a common one that I’ve heard all my life. For that matter, I’ve not only believed it but I’ve also quoted it throughout my adult years.  I recently looked up the definition to see what kind of explanation I would get and this is what The American Heritage […]

In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to talk to our preschooler about pornography or wonder if they’ve ever been exposed to it. Unfortunately, in this day in age where we have access to all sorts of images on the internet, standing in the grocery store line, out on billboards, in commercials…  We’ve been on […]

I think we would all agree that our lives are busy. Then you add in to the mix, children, who have soccer practice, music lessons and play dates and next thing you know you’re ready to pull out your hair trying to juggle everyone’s schedule.  So what happens when between after school and bedtime is […]

  This week in our sort-of-kind-of book club we are in Chapter 2 and we are discussing boys whom the authors call “The Lover”  which are boys in between the ages of 5-8.  Join our FB group All Things Boys: The Art of Mothering our Little Men. Here are some of the characteristics the authors […]

Only until recently have I discovered how boys, not just toddlers, get caught up in the storylines of the epic struggle between good and evil. Seriously, it’s interwoven in pretty much all of my boys pretend play and the adventures they come up with. When I started to listen in their little world pretend play, […]

We simply don’t have the luxury of playing nice with prayer. Not if we want things to change. Not if we want to be free–from whatever’s keeping us held down and held back. Not if we want our hearts whole and thriving and deep and grounded…different. Not if we want to reach our destinies and […]

A Letter to My Son on His Birthday–this is a letter I’ve handwritten for my first born in honor of him becoming a young man. He turned 12 this morning! I hope the words in this letter will give him courage when he’s afraid, guide him when he’s forgotten who he belongs to and serve […]

My good friend Beth and I are so excited to bring you our newest project called–Expat Sisterhood: Flourish!  Beth and I have partnered on LOTS of different projects over the past 8 years of friendship, but this one by far has me over-the-moon excited. Our project was met with some hurdles right off the bat, […]

As a family we’ve always found ways to weave into our Easter celebrations silliness and fun things like the Easter bunny or Easter Egg hunts. But I definitely like to use those things not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end–Christ. One of the most cherished memories I have is for […]

I grew up shopping at yard sales and thrift stores and I loved it how cheap I can find gently used nothing.  I even had a yard sale monthly run where I highlighted all the yard sales in my area and I spent my Saturday morning shopping. Find a good bargain can be addicting and […]

Yesterday my restless heart was awakened not because I heard a wee small voice calling me from the other room. Nor because I was feeling sick. Nor because something catastrophic happened. Plain and simple it was because the Lord called upon it.  He awakened me from my slumber and I hesitantly arose. Little did I […]