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Quarantine Survival: Three Small Tips That Make a Big Difference
In a matter of days, our entire world has turned upside down. We are all trying to figure out how to cope with living our lives apart from one another. It’s overwhelming, scary, sad, and just plain weird. In our house, we just completed week 1 of home school. Some things went well, and others didn’t. Overall, we survived, we learned a few things, and we are ready to tackle week 2 of quarantine survival. Heading into this week, I am doing three small things that made a big difference during our quarantine. Quarantine Survival Tip 1 Create a Simple Weekly Plan I never realized how much I relied upon…
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Turn Your Reading Into Action in 4 Easy Steps
Every year I make a New Year’s reading list filled with life-changing books about all kinds of topics. Each time I finish a book, I close it filled with inspiration to try everything the author suggested, and motivated to make big changes. I can see the vision of where I want to be, but I quickly realize that I’m not entirely sure how to get there, and I feel overwhelmed by where to start. I want to take big gulps out of the fire hose, but in reality I need a sprinkler. Last year, everything changed. I developed a simple process that helped me turn the things I read into…
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Simple Advent Celebrations for Families
Every year on December 1st I have these grand plans of how our family is going to celebrate Advent during the Christmas season. I have printed out advent devotionals, created an interactive Jesse tree, bought supplies to make ornaments, planned ways for our family to serve in the community – you name it, I’ve probably tried it. But by December 7th, life has gotten in the way and most of my ideas have fallen by the wayside. I mean, it’s a struggle to even remember the darn elf every night! This year as December 1st approached, I sat down and thought about what we could realistically handle as a family.…
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Dear Birth Mother, What You Need to Know On Mother’s Day
Dear Birth Mother, Today is Mother’s Day. A day when we celebrate women who love, nurture, care for, and pour into others. Today my husband and children will take care of me, shower me with love, and give me gifts. But you have given me the greatest gift of all, and for that I honor you. I will never know your name. I will never know your story. But every day I stare into the face of a piece of you. If I could tell you anything, it would be thank you. Thank you for deciding to give life to a child. Thank you for the sacrifices you made to…
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Take Your Kids Camping… Even if You Hate It!
When my husband first mentioned a family camping trip I looked at him like he was insane. Sure, we had been camping many times. But that was before we had kids and when we lived in the milder climates of Georgia and North Carolina. Now we had a baby and a toddler and we lived in Florida’s relentless heat. What sounds fun about getting a baby to sleep in a tent and sweating half the night? In a moment of weakness I finally gave in to his idea, and I am so glad I did. Here is why you need to take your kids camping, even if you hate the…
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5 Reasons I Refuse to Buy My Kids Smart Phones
My kids are in elementary school and they are already asking for smart phones. A few years ago I would have thought they were crazy – no one gives their school-aged kids smart phones! Boy was I wrong. Apparently it is quite common for kids to have their own phone, as evidenced by the amount of students on their school bus with one! Every family is different, and has to decide what works best for them. Many families have great reasons for giving their kids smart phones. For our family, my husband and I have decided not to allow our kids to have smart phones until they are at least…
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How to Create the Perfect Family Mission Statement
It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten lost while driving. Probably since before the days of smart phones when I would print out faulty directions from MapQuest or accidentally leave them at home. Now I have step-by-step directions with map views at my fingertips to help me get anywhere and everywhere. Even if I know how to get somewhere, sometimes I’ll still get directions on my phone to see which way is fastest. If we rely on maps to go even to familiar places in our lives, then why on earth do we not use the same resource in parenting? We are hit with hundreds of questions that require…
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How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and Unfulfilled
You Can Do Anything, But You Can’t Do Everything One morning at the bus stop I found myself nearly in tears as I described to a friend all that I needed to do that day. I was burned out, exhausted, falling short, overwhelmed and unfulfilled, and feeling like a failure. My wise friend looked at me and said “Erika, you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” In that moment it became clear to me that in my attempt to do it all, I was not actually doing anything well. I spent the next few weeks taking an inventory of my responsibilities, reflecting on my priorities, asking myself some…
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Convince Your Kids They Don’t Need a Smart Phone
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to go back home because you forgot your smart phone and you can’t make it through the day without it? What about if you’ve ever scrolled through Facebook or Instagram and looked up to discover 30 minutes (or more!) had gone by? And how about if the first thing you do in the morning (maybe even before your coffee!) is grab your phone? I have three hands in the air over here! Our lives as adults are completely and totally intertwined with our smart phones. We talk, text, keep track of our appointments, take pictures, and even pay with our phones. On top…
