Q: how differently should boys be parented vs how girls are? Examples would be, I know that boys don’t like to sit still. They need to be physical, to run and climb and use up all of their excess energy. What tips could you give a new boy mom as to how to deal with […]

This was written sometime ago, TO a friend, after her incredibly stressful day, FROM me, in the middle of an incredibly stressful day of my own. I don’t know if this will be encouraging to you… but I’m in the midst of our own 36 hours of seriously high levels of stress right now (the last 18 months have […]

Last time, we talked about the importance of naps. But at some point (which, as I mentioned, with our own children typically happens around four years of age), your child will pass the stage for daily naps. Occasional naps may still be needed, but this child has mastered her own attitudes and isn’t crying out […]

Does your husband have to do a jig… …written according to *your* dance steps… …in order to “get” sex? Does he have to follow a particular formula in order? Does he have to (effectively) win the lottery? Is there an unwritten set of rules that he needs to do *something*– do the dishes, get the […]

Cranford‘s delightfully absurd Miss Pole (an unmarried elderly woman who had hardly ever talked to a man) said, “My father was a man. I think I understand the sex.” Well, as a mom of 7 boys, 15 years in, I think I actually *do* understand more about raising boys (at least *little* boys) than the average […]

Let me something painful but honest. The truth is:  there are many days when I just don’t desire to read God’s Word. In fact, over the past few years, there have been weeks at a time where I have had almost no desire to read or study my Bible.  It’s embarrassing. But maybe you can […]

{NOTE: For those readers who don’t know our family, we’re the Connells. Doug’s my husband and I’m Jess. At the time of this trip, we had 7 kids (Ethan-14, Baxter-12, MeiMei-10, Silas-8, Moses-6, Theo-3.5, Luke-18 months), and I was 6 months pregnant with our 8th child. Over the next 3 weeks, I’m publishing journal entries, pictures, […]

For my part, and I haven’t done it perfect, I’ve tried to do what felt most wise and honoring to God, honoring to others, and gave me freedom to care for myself, in each stage of online “life.” Here are three questions/principles I’ve used to think through these things: #1- HOW CAN I PUBLICLY SHARE IN A […]

We’ve all heard of (and experienced) the Mommy Wars. But what is God’s view of it all? As mothers, we can feel completely removed– even from other believers– if we make a parenting choice that is contrary to what they are choosing or what they chose. No matter where you live, if you’re reading this and […]

Q:  How do I keep busy at home? I find myself so terribly bored and restless at times. Being a stay at home mom is so boring! What am I supposed to do with my down time? Once chores and homeschooling are done for the day, I literally have no idea how to fill the couple of hours before I need […]

One of the first things we realized, when we decided to take on the family adventure of hiking the 93-mile Wonderland Trail, was that we would need to be super-organized, both in advance of, and while on, the trail. Here’s the specifics of how we stayed organized during our family backpacking trip. ORGANIZE THE TRAIL INFORMATION One of the […]

Some time last year, I did a week-long purposeful fast from everything online (except for e-mail), and as I went through the week, I wrote down the things I was noticing. Recently I found that list and thought I’d share it with you. Here’s what I noticed: Almost instantaneously: I’m alone with my thoughts again. I’m able […]

As a mom, there is a limited amount of time I have for people outside of our four walls, but Facebook is sneaky. It makes me FEEL like I can commit fully to people both inside, and outside, of our walls. The problem is, after devouring hours of social media each week, I feel “peopled […]

{NOTE: For those readers who don’t know our family, we’re the Connells. Doug’s my husband and I’m Jess. At the time of this trip, we had 7 kids (Ethan-14, Baxter-12, MeiMei-10, Silas-8, Moses-6, Theo-3.5, Luke-18 months), and I was 6 months pregnant with our 8th child. I’m publishing journal entries, pictures, & memories from our 12-day […]