A couple of months ago I shared some ideas I’d come across online for organizing kids’ puzzles. I was trying to find a storage solution for the puzzles we keep on a couple of shelves in our living room. There are several great ideas in that post, but we’ve ended up using kitchenware organizers to store our puzzles. We ordered 2 sets of … [Read more...] about Use Bakeware Organizers to Store Kids’ Puzzles
school-age children
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
5 Ways a Tub of Ready-to-Eat Snacks Benefits My Family
Snack time used to be one of my least favorite times of day. Sometimes my kids would sit down at the table and make requests (this was often for snacks I didn’t have on hand and, of course, each child would want something different). Other times I would offer one item (or let them choose between two items) and they would grumble because they … [Read more...] about 5 Ways a Tub of Ready-to-Eat Snacks Benefits My Family
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
Snow Activities for Families Living in Warm Climates
My two older kids are fascinated with snow. They frequently ask me when it will snow and if they can do things like build a snowman. They aren’t quite old enough to understand that we live in a location (the Texas Gulf Coast) where snow is rare. Because they desire to play in snow so much, I’ve been on the lookout for “snow” activities that … [Read more...] about Snow Activities for Families Living in Warm Climates
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
