What I Want You to Know About Becoming a Parent

April 6, 2015.Reading time 11 minutes.

Dear Sis, A few months ago, you asked me what my best parenting advice for you would be as you await the arrival of your first child. And for some reason on THAT night, all I could offer you were comical warnings of what to savor now…like going out to eat without a time […]

Does Your Child Wish You Would Break Up With Your Cell Phone?

March 24, 2015.Reading time 8 minutes.

Geez. Kids these days and their addiction to technology. Their Ipads. Their video games. Their cellphones. Constantly interacting on social media sites like Instagram. Twitter. Snapchat. Tumblr. Vine. As adults, we worry that they’re overly connected. Overly open. Overly in-love with technology. And definitely overly disconnected from the real world in front of them. Then […]

10 Ways to Enjoy Your Child Today

March 18, 2015.Reading time 8 minutes.

It’s messy. It’s chaotic. It’s exhausting. It’s tears mixed with laughing while negotiating about why shoes need to match. It’s beds with too many tenants that leave pee stains on sheets and give kicks to the face. It’s requests to watch Elmo and Frozen everyday. All day. Over and over again. Then again. It’s spilled […]

The Crazy Neighbors

March 4, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

I hate to be judgmental, and I would never want to offend, but in the words of my late Grandma Freda: “It’s the truth, and someone has to say it.” So here’s the hard and honest truth about our formerly lovely, little neighborhood: Some crazies moved in. For one, they have this dog that is […]

To the Parent Screaming on the Sidelines

February 27, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

Dear Parent Screaming on the Sidelines, Hi, I’m the mom across the field from you who can’t help but notice you instead of the actual children playing soccer. Perhaps I’m noticing you over my child because the athletic ability on the field is not as engaging as it would be if this were an actual professional athletic event. But […]

Tender

February 26, 2015.Reading time 1 minute.

Sometimes you just have to stop in the middle of it all. Put down the iPhone or iPad. Turn off the TV. Turn off Pandora. Put down the to-do list. And shut down the 500 things running around in your brain. And look at what God has given you. They are so little. They are […]

The Target Breakup Letter

February 22, 2015.Reading time 16 minutes.

I wrote this letter to Target the other night after the worst trip with my boys yet. Dear Target, I love you. I really do. But sadly our relationship isn’t working out for me anymore. I promise it’s not you. It’s me. But I just can’t do this anymore. Trips to see you suck the living […]

40 Ways to Make Lent Meaningful this Year

February 17, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

Fat Tuesday Read Matthew 5: 1-12 Ash Wednesday Skip a meal and pray for someone who is giving you a hard time Thursday Call your mom, Dad, sister, brother Friday Do something small to make someone’s day Saturday Break an old habit of silence. Love your neighbor with a wave or hello. First Sunday of […]

We Make Parenting Look Hard

February 17, 2015.Reading time 8 minutes.

In life, there will always be those irritating 1% of people that make certain, difficult tasks look super, duper easy. Then there will be the other 98% of the population who make that same task look much more difficult. But they can still do it. And come out looking okay. And finally, there is the remaining 1% of the population…the […]

The Favored Ones

February 10, 2015.Reading time 9 minutes.

…. I’ll never forget the memory of sitting in the backseat of my family’s car as a little girl while we drove through gorgeous neighborhoods in Tulsa looking at beautiful homes. You see, my mom grew up there and lived in a beautiful but modest home near Philbrook, an art museum surrounded by enormous and old mansions. […]