As I noted last month, I’m going through some of my old posts and making updates to them. One of my favorite posts from about four years ago is about developmentally appropriate play for babies. Everything in that post is still relevant, but I’ve never been particularly fond of the appearance of the printable guide I shared there. When I … [Read more...] about Play Guide for Baby’s First Year
babies
Worship Music Playlist for Labor and Delivery
This is a post that I intended to share after I gave birth to my third child back in September. I didn’t get around to it right away, and then I hesitated to share it because the delivery didn’t go as planned. Of course, it’s not the playlist’s fault that I ended up needing an emergency C-section, so I decided to go ahead and share it … [Read more...] about Worship Music Playlist for Labor and Delivery
10 Alternatives to Parties for Celebrating Kids’ Birthdays
When my oldest child was about to have her first birthday, my husband and I decided that we were going to take a simple approach to celebrating birthdays. Now that a few years have passed and we have three kids, we’re so glad we’ve taken this approach! Though we believe that forgoing extravagant parties is right for our family, it’s … [Read more...] about 10 Alternatives to Parties for Celebrating Kids’ Birthdays
5 Reasons I No Longer Apologize for My Messy House
A couple of weeks ago one of my neighbors stopped by and asked if she could come in and visit for a few minutes. Though I have no desire to pretend like I have it all together, I do have a bit of pride and I was incredibly embarrassed regarding the state of my house. If I let her in, my neighbor would walk through a dining room that I … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons I No Longer Apologize for My Messy House
“Just In Case” Cesarean Preferences for Your Birth Plan
Late last summer, as I was preparing to give birth to my third child, I made plans to write a post about how to prepare for a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). As you can see, that’s not what I’m writing about today. This is because sometimes unexpected things happen during the delivery of your baby. Of course, I could … [Read more...] about “Just In Case” Cesarean Preferences for Your Birth Plan
Storage Solutions for Kids’ Puzzles
We have about 20 kids’ puzzles stacked on a bookshelf in our living room. They all fit there, but they’re a bit of an eyesore and it is difficult to access the one our kids ask for because inevitably that particular one is at the bottom of the stack! As you can see, we need to find a better way to store these puzzles. This is … [Read more...] about Storage Solutions for Kids’ Puzzles
Names Are Gifts We Give to Our Children
Are names merely indiscriminate titles that help us know when someone is speaking to us or is there more to it? I believe the latter, specifically that names have the power to shape our lives in significant ways. We see examples of this in Scripture. Though names sometimes recorded an aspect of a child’s birth (see Esau and Jacob in … [Read more...] about Names Are Gifts We Give to Our Children
Christian Parenting Affirmations
This last summer, as I was preparing to give birth to my third child, I wrote out some labor affirmations on note cards. Affirmations—statements meant to encourage, inspire, and energize—are helpful during labor because delivering a baby (vaginally or via C-section) is strenuous, requiring a lot of mental and physical energy. As I was caring … [Read more...] about Christian Parenting Affirmations
