Encouragement

Let's face it, our days as moms are FULL and often downright exhausting. Squeezing in time to workout can too often become our last priority. Over the past many months I've made it my goal to be more consistent with my exercise routine. Let me be honest, my commitment to physical activity had become nearly non-existent. I had come up with and exhausted just about every excuse in the book to get out of exercising. My body, my weight and overall energy were definitely suffering. Things had to change! I had to make my well-being a priority because when I feel good and get regular exercise I'm a more well-balanced person for my family. While I'm not at the gym...

Our pastor introduced a concept to me long before I was even thinking about having kids. But to this day I constantly have it running in the back of my mind. Living a life with margin. It's a problem we encounter in today's world of over-scheduling, multi-tasking, and not being able to say "no." We have no margin. There is no wiggle room, spontaneity, or just good old downtime. And as a parent, it can be an even bigger problem as our kids enter the school system, play sports, or have play dates. But it is something that I constantly fight for. Part of me enjoys being busy. Sometimes it makes me feel like I am providing a fun life for...

Thursday evening at 10pm. Date with my husband. Candle light glows, lavender fills the room, muscles relax in the warm water concealed by bubbles, the silky voice of 80s hunk Richard Marx in the background as I securely slip into the arms of my other half. After thirteen years, these few romantic minutes are the perfect prelude to a restful night’s sleep full of pleasant dreams. “Momma.” “Momma.” Wait what happened to my Richard Marx dream? “Huh,” I answered half asleep. “Momma, I just threw up all over my bed,” says a soft voice. “Yeah, he did!” Echoed from the end of my bed. I hear crying. “Don’t cry honey … It’s Ok.” “No, that’s the baby.” Oh yeah, my husband and I’s current roommate. Now she is...

  As Halloween rapidly approaches ghouls and goblins will soon be out in search of treats. As a mom I know the true meaning of "the witching hour"... a phenomena even spookier than haunted houses, frightening costumes and the stomachache that results from all the candy your kids will regret eating on Halloween night. In our home, the time period between 4:30 and 7:30pm is the time I "lovingly" refer to as the witching hour. For me, the spookiness of Halloween isn't an annual celebration but an almost nightly event occurring in my home making us all feel like we are teetering on the verge of insanity. All joy brought by the events of the day can go out the...

I am one in four women who has lost a pregnancy. I have unfortunately gone through this five times. Five. My first pregnancy in 2009 I was expecting twins and my water broke at 20 weeks. I gave birth to my stillborn babies two weeks later. I was fortunate to have my son a little over a year later. Fast forward to 2015. After getting remarried, my husband and I immediately wanted to start a family. In the course of ten months, I had three first-trimester losses. All of these ordeals were heartbreaking and traumatic to say the least. Going through these losses was extremely challenging. Physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally challenging. It’s so unbelievably isolating in ways I never thought...