Category: Life

  • Understanding Young Life’s Impact on Teens

    Understanding Young Life’s Impact on Teens

    At 6 pm, they started rolling in. “Thanks for having us!” “Can we help you in any way?” They had smiles, conversations filled the room, and laughter rang out as they joined their friends and surrounded our bar. They wear loose jeans, loose tees, gazelle Adidas, clogged Birkenstocks, Lulu Lemons,…

  • Summer 2024

    Summer 2024

    If I were to describe summer 2024 in three words they would be: We started our summer at my parent’s house for my sister-in-law’s baby shower. Quinn got to dissect a Lingcod and was very intrigued. This was a quick trip as we had to get home to meet our…

  • The Entryway – That 70s House

    The Entryway – That 70s House

    This post will be short and sweet. We converted our entry way in one weekend to a more simple, streamlined system. What We Started With Our double-door entry doesn’t provide much space when you get inside. For the longest time, I had a hand-me-down sofa table from my parents that…

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead Road Trip

    Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead Road Trip

    Our epic family road trip started because Quinn wanted to go to Mount Rushmore. I started reading out loud to her the Little House book set because we had started dipping our toes into the 1970s TV show. Little did I know we would all find comfort, rest, and intentional…

  • Our Epic Summer Road Trip to Mount Rushmore and the Ingalls’s Homestead

    Our Epic Summer Road Trip to Mount Rushmore and the Ingalls’s Homestead

    Quinn asked if we could go to Mount Rushmore after her kindergarten year. We said that would be so much fun but require planning, so we planned a road trip the following summer. First Day Our epic summer road trip started with an eight-hour drive to Billings, Montana. On the…

  • They Weren’t Living, They Were Surviving – A Little House on the Prairie Reflection

    They Weren’t Living, They Were Surviving – A Little House on the Prairie Reflection

    We spent the last year working through reading The Little House on the Prairie out loud with Quinn. We had intentional quality time as a family, usually around the fire, drinking tea or hot chocolate, and learning about an essential historical time. By reading aloud, we helped Quinn understand the…

  • 5 Books I Read In April and May 2024: Mysteries, Parenting, and Spiritual Growth

    5 Books I Read In April and May 2024: Mysteries, Parenting, and Spiritual Growth

    Here we go! This is the first of hopefully many blog posts about the books I’ve read or recently read. I have always loved reading. Curling up with a good book, especially if hot tea is involved is a favorite activity of mine. I believe that everyone can love reading.…

  • Why I Ask my Child for Forgiveness

    Why I Ask my Child for Forgiveness

    As a mom, I mess up. The best parenting advice I have ever received is, “You will mess up; you are not perfect, but making sure to repair is the most important part.” I like things to be controlled. With kids, I’ve learned that rarely are things in control. I…

  • The Kitchen Remodel – That 70s House

    The Kitchen Remodel – That 70s House

    In 2020, we refinanced our mortgage to lower the monthly payment. Thankfully, our monthly mortgage payment is well within our budget, but we thought it would be nice to have lower interest rates. We discovered we could take out money and keep the monthly mortgage rate the same. To check…

  • To the Hopeful Mama on Mother’s Day

    To the Hopeful Mama on Mother’s Day

    To the hopeful mama: You are loved. Through your heartbreak. Through your confusion. Through your anger. Despite those feelings, you are loved. To the hopeful mama: Your identity is not in how many kids you don’t have. It’s in Jesus. It’s in your integrity. It’s in your love for others.…