Joy in the Journey

In the first month after my son was born my biggest baby questions were about sleep! He had a growth spurt and I had no idea it was just a phase , he slept okay and then horribly, and I didn't know what was happening or what to do. So I googled how to get my baby to sleep... Everything I read made me feel like I was doing something wrong. "Put your baby down sleepy but awake," might be great advice but not in the first month! Worst than that though, I saw a ton, a ton, a TON of "Cry It Out" advice and sleep training methods. It ended up really harming my view of what my baby needed and what was normal as for babies sleeping. So I wanted to share with you 5 Baby Sleep Tips you've probably never heard of before: 1. Hold your baby. This sounds counter-productive and opposite to everything you might read or hear, but hold them, especially in the first three months ! They need to know you are there and they are not designed to be far from you. You are th...

About two years ago I decided to give away my baby clothes. I was dealing with health problems and knew that I wouldn’t be able to have another baby for a while, if ever, and felt like I was being selfish by just keeping the clothing in storage when there was someone who could use them at that time. It was a hard thing to do. I had baby fever so badly, but I wasn’t brave enough to try to have a baby when I was dealing with the pain I was in. I decided I would keep one tote worth of clothing “just in case”. Trying to decide which of the precious little outfits to keep was tough. I remember holding the sleep sacks for a long time. There was one in particular, it was white and said “baby” on it, that all my babies had slept in. With a heavy sigh, and a few tears, I put it in the giveaway pile.  It wasn’t the clothing in itself that was hard to get rid of, it was all the memories attached the to the clothing. And the thought that I may never cuddle up close to nurse a sweet ...

I wanted to talk to you about a hard topic today... I don't find this an easy thing to do, or to talk about. And that topic is the forgiveness of deep hurts. I feel like this is SO important because as parents we need to walk in grace and forgiveness for our children's mistakes, our mistakes, and we also want to live free of the hurts in our past. Did you know that forgiveness is a skill? It takes work! It takes effort and it takes knowledge. Forgiveness of big things is a labor of love and it doesn't come easy. My first experience with healing from a deep wound was when I was 21 years old! A serious, long-term relationship had ended, and years later I still felt the ache of it. I still felt the hurt. I didn't know how to let go. I thought that "Things heal with time" but boy, that was not true for me! It was two years since the relationship had ended and I had no healing, no freedom from the heartache. I didn't know how to heal! I didn't kno...

Good morning fellow Mamas, I just wanted to sit down and have a little chat with you guys. I started this blog because I was going through a Mommy-Life Crisis . I was going a little nuts. I was trapped at home with a newborn baby, little connection, and no good outlet. I wanted to encourage other moms as I knew I needed encouragement.  So, one morning, I started this blog! With my very first post I felt excited and driven, purposeful. I had something to look forward to in the days of little sleep and long days. I had a goal in mind: ENCOURAGING YOU. Then came the struggle to get the blog out to you moms.  I wasn't on social media, so I would text the blog to every mom I had in my phone contacts. I texted out blogs more than once, but still the numbers sunk back down to minuscule. It was discouraging, it was challenging, but I pressed forward. I texted every mom in my phone contacts... and s omething really special started to happen. I started to connect! I got in...

I’m tired. I’m 33 weeks pregnant and this baby is getting bigger and taking a lot of energy to grow. My pain level has been higher the last couple weeks, too, which is exhausting by itself. I’m teaching a crochet class twice a week, which has been very fun and enjoyable, but is another thing that fills my schedule.  And then there are the many trips to ballet class. The girls are preparing for a show, and the studio is an hour drive from our home, so I’m spending a lot of time on the road and away from home right now… I am tired, but I am so thankful!  I get to have another baby! I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen again because of my health struggles, but it is! And I know that this little one will be worth all the pain and exhaustion. I cannot wait to look into his precious face! I’m thankful that my condition is not something that threatens my life or the life of my baby in any way. It could be so much worse! The pain is hard to bear, but ...

I'm coming off of a high of a day and I figured I better sit down and rejoice with you NOW before "Monday" hits and it all fades away. Haha. So today we made it to the beach. The beach is my FAVORITE! I grew up in walking distance of the ocean. I have wonderful memories of having adventures on the beach with my siblings. Memories of walking along the beach singing out my prayers to God. Times I remember talking to the seals that popped their heads up to look at me. I love the ocean! Not only do I love the ocean, but my husband loves the ocean, and my kids love the ocean.  Today was our babies first time to the beach, not because it's so far away but because he's been a terrible traveler thus far and we haven't dared. First off, TOTAL YAY, he slept the whole way there! We planned to leave exactly at his nap time and all of us intentionally cut off drinking any liquids ninety minutes before the departure time (yeah, we're a little hardcore abou...

Have you ever read the Mary Poppins books? We are about halfway through the second one, and I think they are OK, but not my favorite. However, I encountered one of my very favorite all-time book quotes during the first chapter of the first book. It stuck in my mind and has stayed there since I first read it, several months ago.  “If you are looking for Number Seventeen…to begin with, it is the smallest house in the Lane. And besides that, it is the only one that is rather dilapidated and needs a coat of paint. But Mr. Banks, who owns it, said to Mrs. Banks that she could have either a nice, clean, comfortable house or four children. But not both, for he couldn’t afford it. And after Mrs. Banks had given the matter some consideration she came to the conclusion that she would rather have Jane, who was the eldest, and Michael, who came next, and John and Barbara, who were Twins and came last of all. So it was settled…” Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, p. 1-2 This passage made ...