For those long-time readers or people who know us in real life, this autobiographical background may be review, but it’ll help explain what follows: 12 years or so ago, for many reasons, we moved abroad. Doug managed a coffee roasting business, and I stayed home with our ever-expanding family. We each learned languages and made local…

Q: what happens when I honestly want to learn how to make my 2- and 4-year-olds obey? How do I know what’s realistic…when every book and every parents gives opposite, yet “biblical” advice on the subject? What happens when I’m at the end of my rope over tantrums from the younger one like I never faced […]

Yay, it’s August! Nearly time for a new school year to begin!! We’re actually going into our tenth year of homeschooling… which is crazy! In January of 2007, we began curling up together, Ethan and I, with Sonlight books. We discovered the world together through books like Twenty and Ten (WWII– Nazis, rations, resistance), Understood Betsy (farm life, lifelong learning), A Grain of… […]

On a list of my favorite quotes about homeschooling, one reader took an issue with this: “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” ~Dr. Voddie Baucham She commented: I do not agree with #11. I homeschool my children, but I was public-schooled….

We did not do any devices/video games last summer. For the most part, we kept the TV off too. But when I napped with the preschooler, and when we had sick days, we did freely enjoy I Love Lucy. So we didn’t outright ban TV, but we did purposefully and sharply limited screen time. We’re following the same basic approach this… […]

  This past spring, I knew something had to change. I’m 36 (and– gulp!– I can only say that for another month or so). And I had started noticing my age. It was little things: groaning, with an additional “oof” or “oh!” when I got off the couch hearing clicks in my knees and ankles… […]

Ever experienced the outplay of a two-year-old’s punch to the face? As a mom of 7, I’ve experienced some version of it, several times over. One little boy, many moons ago, slapped me in the middle of a Hobby Lobby trip. Several have yelled “no” at me. And this happened almost a year ago: It… […]

Five-month-old Luke is crawling now… or at least scooting very purposefully. And with every scoot, we get inches closer to a collision with two-year-old Theo’s self-orientation. Theo, our funny, introverted, snuggly, more-than-a-little-bit-opinionated boy has had two and a half years’ “reign” on the throne. By that I mean, more often than not, things go his way. Or he… […]

To the young lady, looking at a young man, as a potential husband: When you consider what you’d like in a young man, be honest… what ranks up there? Good looks? Nice eyes? Enjoyable sense of humor? Taller than you? Fun to talk to? Heck, I remember looking for those things (and getting them 🙂 I…

Almost 6 years ago, we decided to stay in America, after (almost) 6 years of living abroad. I flew to Istanbul, Turkey (our former home) to sort, sell, and pack our belongings there. While there, I stayed a week in our friends’ home, observing her normal household routines. Mother of four kids (then, ranging from 8 to 20…

Sometimes we cry over personal pain or frustration. Sometimes over relational distress. Sometimes over an unexpectedly hard day. Sometimes my tears are understandable and justified.  Sometimes I’ve cried selfish tears, or over dumb stuff. But there is some of my crying that my kids have seen that (I’m convinced) does good for their souls… It rises up…

  Over the last year, I didn’t realize what was happening, but looking back, I was fighting a combination of fatigue and laziness. Though I still cared immensely about how our kids turn out, getting off the couch very often felt like too great a burden to ask. Being mentally engaged and physically active throughout each day with… […]

Feeling exhausted? ME TOO! At this point of motherhood, it seems I should walk around with caution tape. That would give everyone around me a warning before they talked to or interacted with me. Maybe I could wear a sign: WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!!! DO NOT GO INTO THIS CONVERSATION WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS. In fact, DIAL THOSE EXPECTATIONS […]

#1– WHAT TO DO WITH THE PRESCHOOLER WHILE HOMESCHOOLING? Q: I feel at a loss with what to do with my 2-1/2-year-old daughter while we’re homeschooling, or even just throughout the day as I’m trying to get things done. What do you do with your 2-1/2-year-old? A: Well, Theo’s my current 2-year-old, and he’s a…