In May of 2010 my world was perfect. I was pregnant with the my 3rd child, living only a few miles from the beach with a double jogger and a trail close to my house. We had a pool, 2 healthy baby boys and a GREAT support system. Nobody thought we were crazy yet for having “so” many children. My marriage seemed a dream. People still often came to visit. Nobody was overwhelmed by our life choices yet. Looking back, it was a good year. There was much I didn’t know about my future, but I will save…

  Alright, the truth is I’m a Charlotte Mason mama through and through! I adore her philosophy. I strive for being a complete purist when it comes to her, breath of fresh air, philosophy. I believe in: Nature studies Short lessons Narrations Living Books History rotations Scripture memory Poetry Hymns Composer Studies Artist Studies Handicrafts Now all that being said, I have to tell you that sometimes my children like busy work. It drives me nuts, but they do!  Occasionally they even need a little extra math practice! There are times when worksheets come in handy and I use them! …

    There was a time in my marriage when I hated being a wife. Honestly, I hated my life! With the most compassionate parts of me I understood how people ended up divorced. I asked myself the same questions I hear women ask all the time: “Doesn’t God want me to be happy?” “Don’t I deserve to be happy?” “Will I really have to live in misery the rest of my life?” and even worse some days. The answer to all of them is “nope” by the way!! 🙂 Thankfully I’ve been under good, strong biblical teaching for YEARS,…

The lights on the Christmas tree are already plugged in when I wake up in the morning. I have a four year old who asks every day before dawn where the Christmas presents are so he can open them. We have sat down each day as a family (well, not the hubby yet) to draw on the Christmas cards we will send out to family and friends. Peppermint bark and candy canes are in the pantry. (Well, in full disclosure the peppermint bark is sitting in a bag on the desk next to me right now.) I’ve been watching Christmas…

I know you all love a good giveaway!!   I love my new found interest in bullet journaling for my prayer and bible time!! If you love sharpies, paper and the Bible you are going to adore this giveaway!! Want a little help getting started? Join my Challenge Group starting 7/17/17

I don’t know if I could ever have imagined the enormous response and outpouring of support over last week’s Breaking Up with Beachbody post!! Thank you all so much!! Knowing you all not only related to where I was coming from, but caught my humor was awesome!!! A dear friend and reader shared a perspective with me in a personal message (apparently many of my readers were hesitant to share their thoughts on the post publicly due to friends who are beachbody coaches) that I thought really needed to be out there. I hadn’t even thought about much of what…

      Dear Beachbody, Let me start by saying, it’s not you, it’s me.  O.K. well, actually it’s not me, it’s you, but there is someone else out there for you, tons of people actually, it’s just that I’m not one of them. We had fun while it lasted, but I need someone with more substance, you know….just a little less superficial.  I want more than chasing my 20 year old body and, honestly, that is all you make me want to do. As much as I have loved the way our late night infomercials created a longing to…

    Every now and then when several of my 7 children and I are piled on the floor crying over the frustrations of the moment, I wonder, is this normal? I’ve never felt it necessary to fit into a mold or look to others for acceptance, but in this role of motherhood and even sometimes as a wife I have wondered if other women have the same struggles. I’ve asked the question. You’ve asked the question. Is this normal? You are having a conversation with a friend over coffee and you are just catching up on life and as…