Over the past 6 years of homeschooling I've narrowed down what I really need to plan, keep records, and adequately schedule our homeschool year. And I finally had an extra minute to put it all into a little digital download that I can share with you!
The Diaries
Featured
Resisting Rest {the discipline of inactivity}
I can't be the only one that is still reeling from this surreal turn of events. March is cancelled. April is most likely cancelled. The rest of the school year is potentially cancelled. Summer is on probation, and nobody is able to see far enough into the future to make accurate predictions about the fall. It's absolutely nuts! But what is crazier is how I've been dealing with it.
When In The Desert {thoughts on perseverance}
There is a time in every journey when the shackles of crisis fall away, leaving you free to pursue the Promise Land, but yet you still have more road to travel. Not still waiting to move, but unable to find a resting place - you're not in Egypt, not yet in Canaan - it's the desert.
5 Reasons to Love Grove Co.
Subscription boxes have recently become a thing, and as much as I'm always super excited to try one, there's always that risk that they'll send you something you don't want or can't use. I'd just find myself wishing that I could custom pick my personalized box with products that I needed and that it didn't always have to be the same amount of money every month, that it could be flexible. THAT is the biggest thing that I love about Grove Co.
Spilled Milk {teaching your kids how to deal with failure}
"No use crying over spilled milk", the saying always goes. Which is true... unless you're the one who spilled it OR you're the one that has to clean it up. That was how my morning started today, and I'm beginning to wonder who ever thought that was a good thing to say in the first place. Whoever they were, they obviously didn't have kids! However, they might have known a thing or two about grace.
Intentional Parenting: Training Your Kids for Success
We didn't want to have endless fights with our kids and we especially didn't want to be reactive parents. We wanted to be purposeful, proactive, intentional. And then we stumbled upon the one truth that changed the way we raised our kids.
Finishing Deployment Strong
I was tired. Not lonely, hysterical or even sad tonight. Just tired. One of the many unexpected side-effects to a long deployment is an emotional numbness that creeps in toward the halfway mark. I missed my husband. I hated living alone. I couldn't wait for it to be over. But there was nothing I could do about that, so I climbed back into bed and went to sleep. Welcome to the second half of the deployment. The unexpected truth? It's harder than the first.
My Baby You’ll Be {the journey through miscarriage and recovery}
“There is no heartbeat.”
Those words have echoed in my ears over and over again. I’ll never forget that terrible day; how I waited for an ultrasound to confirm my doctor’s fears… how I then drove to my husband’s office and we cried together in the parking lot.
Loss never looked this real before to me. Death never hit me so hard.
How To Survive Postpartum
"It'll be fun," they said. "Have a baby!" they said. So you did. Now you find yourself, not unlike the vast majority of new mamas, just weeks or months after the most excruciatingly difficult physical experience you've ever encountered, LITERALLY going insane. No, it's not just you... but yes, you are insane. Welcome to postpartum!
The Secret Weapon: Our Number One Baby Sleep Hack
If you would have told me 10 years ago that today I would have 4 kids, I would have laughed at you. What would have amused me, even more, would be to hear how we have struggled to sleep train every. single. one of them. I thought with number one I had it all figured out when I stumbled upon a way to get her to sleep on demand at 3 months. Nope. Thing 2 came around and blew that theory right out of the water. Then what worked on 2 didn't work on 3, and so on. I don't have schedules for you, a great revelation of how many months your baby should co-sleep, the best sleep sack (although I could recommend my favorite if you asked!), or how long is too long to 'cry it out'. They may still be sleeping in your bed by the time they're 4. BUT! I do have one little simple trick that may just get that baby to SLEEP, regardless of where they are. The answer? Music. Too easy? Maybe, but it might just change your life.
JOY FOR MOM 