The Needing Spot
Sometimes we think we couldn’t possibly be good parents because we make mistakes. Or because so much of the time, it’s just so hard.
Sometimes I yell. I feel like I’m losing my mind-and my temper.
I have no idea what to do for Sam.
I never say the right thing.
Family night blew up.
I’m not cut out for this. My house is a wreck.
We fight. The kids fight. Quarantine has been one big ginormous fight.
I’m not sure where or how I fit as my kids become adults.
Clark won’t eat anything besides macaroni and Gushers.
I try every day. And I mess up. Every day.
From the mouths of moms, these are things I have heard-and quite recently at that.
You’ve heard them too.
Your girlfriends have said these things and you’ve jumped right in with something like this, “Did you see how you handled that name-calling episode? Top notch. Or how you calmed that scraped up toddler or angsty teenager with your touch and that big mama heart of yours? Well, I saw it. I see you. Take note, sister. You are remarkable.”
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Grandma Ada’s Sugar Cookies & Frosting
WARNING: I need to be totally upfront with you from the beginning. This cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for several hours (ideally overnight) before you bake. For cookie dough fanatics like me, that can be delicious…problematic. That’s it. Consider yourself warned. I never knew Grandma Ada. I’ve been told she was tall. I did…
A Cookie Party
It was November of my 9th grade year. I was walking through the halls with my best friend Kim when she turned to me and said, “So, who are you inviting this year?” Confused I asked, “What are you talking about?” And in some exasperated tone she replied, “Who are you inviting to the cookie…
Crockpot Texas Bean Dip
It’s that time of year when the world falls in love and potlucks abound. The festivities can add a lot of crazy to your already full schedule, so it’s important to have a dish that’s 1) ridiculously easy and 2) ridiculously yummy.
How to Make Your Christmas Tree Tell A Story
Let me kick this one off by saying something totally generic. I love this time of year. L. O. V. E. I love the silent nights and the jingle bells. I love sitting in a dark room with the Christmas lights on, when everything feels still and magical all at once. I love that “family-ness”…
Tips and Tricks: Organizing Group Service
It was definitely a case of the more, the merrier this holiday season, when 25+ families joined efforts to fill more than 370 stockings for Utah Juvenile Justice Services. These bulging Christmas socks are likely the only gift most youth in the care of JJS will receive this holiday season. This project began with a…
Family Tales
I’m a new mom. Well, technically, I’m a six-month-old mom. And something about being a new mom has made me think differently about, oh I don’t know, let’s say, almost everything. About a month ago, I was flipping through my calendar and saw that Veterans Day was coming up. My husband and I come from…
Christmas Service Star
Many of my most vivid holiday memories have very little to do with the “prettiness” of Christmas. Pictures of these moments-if we even had them-would surely not be very Pin-able. I was probably wearing my over-sized basketball shorts, the lighting would have been awful, and there were definitely no burlap banners with matching drinks in…
Christmas Storybook Countdown – A Christmas Tradition
I have a sister (she won’t be named, but there are only 2 so you might be able to figure it out) that may or may not have believed in Santa until she was 12. One reason for her dedicated and long time belief being this tradition…or more specifically the book mentioned in the book…