How did you survive, honestly? This was the question that softly fell out of my friend’s mouth as she sat across from me in tears…

The idea of being a “thermostat” rather than a “thermometer” is a metaphor for how we approach our emotions and influence our family and home…

Fall is a transition for everyone, adults and children alike. Those early morning alarms are already a struggle to get up and get everyone ready and out the…

I ask one question every year that gives me so much power as a mom. I wonder what it could do for you…

“Mom, it’s happening again! She’s just doing everything I do,” my middle daughter said with a look of frustration in her eyes. Her younger sister was picking out…

In March 2015, Harvard released a study saying that every child who winds up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive…

Wouldn’t you love to have that same ability to focus…but on the right things?

I have a rowdy boy who is always playing some sport, even if he makes it up. He’s tossing, hitting, or kicking a ball at any given moment, in any place—even the middle of my living room.

I could tell by the way he walked from the bus to my house that the weight of the world was on my son’s shoulders. We had been navigating some pretty heavy things during this season. Just the stride of his walk set off alarms in my head that it was time to talk, really talk.

Every Mother’s Day I think about forgiveness and the $2500 pebble a surgeon removed from my son’s right ear! Here’s why.

Raising two boys has caused me to despise the word “good.” It seems as though any question I ask is often answered with that word. How was school? Good. How was church? Good. How was your sleepover? Good. It drives me bonkers! 

In case you haven’t realized it, parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. No matter how many parenting books there are, there’s not a “one-size-fits-all” parenting manual. If our parents would have been perfect, then maybe that would help us. But there has not been a perfect parent from the beginning of time—except our heavenly parent, God our Father. So the good news is, our “perfect parent” will help. 

I used to be a 7^th grade school teacher. I know middle schoolers well. For those of you moms who house junior high students, you’d agree these hormone raging humans face many challenges.

So how can you help them navigate through this three-year crucial journey? Here are twenty ideas I suggested to my incoming parents. Hope they help.   

l. She has four legs, four arms, and two hearts—equaling double the love.

Have you ever done something and then looking back you thought, how could I have done or said that? Or how could I not have weighed the options and made a better decision? If you’re a mom, you’ve lived long enough to have at least one disturbing regret.  

Recently we hosted Jay Millar, founder of The Virtual Dad, on our Single Momcast. During our discussion, we talked about the following article. We felt like it would be a good addition to our blog content too, so we’re reprinting it below. 

Arguing with my parenting decisions and questioning my methods are favorite hobbies among my children. With four sons ranging from age 5 to 19, there are plenty of opportunities for me to practice training kids to be wise adults.

I’ve never been one of those gals who has a “word” chosen for each new year. But one day several months after a new year had started, a word hit me out of the blue…

One mom in particular asked me to write a blog about basic ‘Children Facts’ that new single moms needed to know. So I thought about my own initial days as a single mother.  And here’s what I wish someone would have told me.

It was 2007, and I had just recently left my home and my marriage due to continued emotional, verbal and physical abuse.  My oldest daughter was about three years old at the time and we had just moved into an apartment.