Perspectives in Parenting

We are back this month with another Heart & Home! I know you will love it!   Today we have the privilege of being welcomed into the home of Madeline Ellis, mother of two and jewelry designer of mimosa by m.e. Madeline is the kind of person who is your instant best friend.  She will graciously invite you in for a cup of coffee, and you'll chat about all things "mom" as you adore her vintage treasures, clean style, and attention to detail.  Her home is more than just kid-freindly: each toy and piece of art seems carefully chosen to create a beautiful, ready-to-play space. As a mom, she is warm, down-to-earth, and dedicated to her passions.  Please enjoy this look...

When did having a "guilty pleasure" become a negative thing? Everyone has a guilty pleasure. Some people enjoy food, coffee, magazines, and/or music. My Guilty Pleasure is the BRAVO channel. Yes, pretty much the whole channel. Drinking game alert…every time you read the word “Bravo,” take a sip of Pinot until you get Ramona Eyes. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t watch every show on BRAVO. That would just be crazy and more of an addiction.  Thanks to my trusty DVR, I can enjoy my guilty pleasure whenever I have an opportunity for me time. Nowadays, my me time frequently includes folding clothes and cleaning the house in conjunction with catching up on my shows.  BRAVO is wonderful about replaying shows incessantly and regularly having marathons,...

You're a busy mom with kids, and you've read it all: use the crockpot, eat frozen pizza, cook in bulk. But, today, I'm sharing some tips and tricks that you may have never thought of that will save you HOURS of kitchen work and get you cooking healthy, at-home meals! Whether you stay home, work, have one child or five, you will LOVE these unique, time-saving ideas that will get healthy meals on the table and keep you sane in the process! 1. Get dinner ready at breakfast (or lunch) This tip is a game-changer once you get into the habit of it! The trick is to prep dinner while your children are eating breakfast and are semi-entertained.  For some of...

I don’t know what it is about becoming a mom that suddenly makes you feel like every.thing.you.do. is being judged by every other mom that you ever come in contact with, from mother-in-laws to close friends to strangers on the street. You just know they are watching your every move and asking judge-y questions about you in their heads: “Isn’t she too young to be a mom?” “Are ALL those kids hers?” “She feeds her kids fast food and red dye?!” “Doesn’t she know breast is best?” You begin to feel defensive against a random elderly lady who wiped your toddler’s nose in the dairy section at Wal-Mart. (Yes, that happened to me. I was going to wipe it in a minute, I swear!...

As a single mom to eleven and thirteen year old daughters, one thing I have found to be true is there are always two sides to every story. With that in mind, I enlisted the help of my thirteen year old daughter, Angel, to help me tell our adoption story. Jess: After watching a single mom in our church take in three little boys and walk through healing and restoration with the family, in January of 2008, my then husband and I started praying about being foster parents. We had been married for four years, just built a house, had no kids of our own and knew the Lord was stirring something in us to do more than create a life...