by Jess Connell · December 11, 2015 Here’s a video my almost-3-year-old Theo & I made to share our favorite snuggly and silly things. These are eight of the fun and easy ways that I practically show affection to my 1-5 year old kiddos, and enter into their little preschool hearts and have fun with them: VIDEO […]

by Jess Connell · August 12, 2015 There have been seven times in my life I’ve personally heard the words, “it’s a boy!” 1. In July 2002, following a painful, long delivery, after fearful words were spoken about meconium and the baby didn’t breathe for a long while, I heard, “it’s a boy!” as an afterthought […]

Words can build up; words can tear down… this is true in the words we use regarding our children. Unfortunately, moms can often be heard openly griping about their children. I believe that we have to be intentional and thoughtful in the words we speak TO or ABOUT our children. And I believe those words ought to be kind, […]

by Jess Connell · June 15, 2015 We all start out with high hopes for our children. But over time, as moms, we get worn down. The years… the fussing… the hormones… the reality of daily life with sinners– it all swirls together and we find ourselves in a mental “place” we could not have […]

You know, I had plans for January. I’d pre-written enough blogposts to get me through January (and then some)… and (in my plan) that was going to give me the ability to use all my normal bits-and-pieces of writing time, plus the 10 days off school at the front of January, to write some novellas […]

by Jess Connell · December 20, 2013 Sometimes when people long for the good old days, they’re remembering something that didn’t exist, fabricating entirely, or even just wistfully only recalling the good (but forgetting the accompanying bad). But when it comes to the way children behave toward their parents and toward adults nowadays, there really is a […]

by Jess Connell · January 6, 2014 Oh, y’all, I am SO excited to share with you something I’ve been working on for a long time. My new book, ONE THING: Top Tip From a Mom of 6, is the most important piece of motherhood advice I’ve got. It’s just as relevant for the seasoned […]

Due to the Josh Duggar sex abuse revelation, there is a lot of talk. Everyone has their opinions, but we don’t know all the facts, and even if we did, there’s nothing we can do… I enjoy talking about and reading and learning about sexual intimacy for several reasons: Being naked and not ashamed together is part […]

by Jess Connell · November 24, 2014 The holidays are upon us. I made it all the way to Thursday when *BAM* someone says, “yeah, just one week until Thanksgiving.” EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Admittedly, this year I don’t have much to do for Thanksgiving. Several families are getting together, and so I have a turkey, and two […]

I guess I’m a slow learner. It took me lots of babies and births to finally start figuring it out. Our baby #1 (born in a hospital in Virginia) was in the NICU for a week, I had mastitis for a month, and then we packed up our apartment and moved across the country. WHAAAAT??! After baby #2 […]

by Jess Connell · November 20, 2015 It seems universally true that humans are prone to wait too long to do things we should be proactive about. For me right now, I’m realizing I need to work harder to help my nearly-3-year-old be self-controlled when things don’t go his way. I’m apt to let him go too far […]

This mom: steps up to “do it all,” taking on more than she can cheerfully do, then feels bitterness and frustration doesn’t ask (but still expects) others to help may keep an internal “list” of all the things she does that no one else appreciates magnifies her own responsibilities, contributions, and burdens, and thus expects that others would […]

Burnout can come to any of us. Sometimes it comes because we’re in a high-stress season, and sometimes it comes because we’ve over-committed. There are times, though, when burnout comes because we have not treated ourselves as human beings worthy of care. Whether because we’ve been a “mommy martyr” or because in the busyness of life, […]

by Jess Connell · June 5, 2015 Yesterday our family drove to Mount St. Helens, the famous volcano in Washington state that erupted in 1980. The eruption enacted complete devastation in the blast area. It “blew down so many trees that the toll was calculated at 4 billion board feet, the amount of lumber to […]