Category: From my Journal
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Advice for chaos and ‘those’ mom moments
Last week I was in a grump slump and Wendy, a MomsToolbox reader, sent some advice and a perspective on parenting little ones. I thought you might benefit from it, too.. All moms have our stories that we laugh about now, even though they didn’t seem quite so funny at the time. My advice for…
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Let’s encourage moms together!
Earlier this week I was in a major grump slump and I cannot thank each of you enough who left an encouraging comment for your support. I made my way back to the sunshine, and my experience reminded me of why I wanted to launch MomsToolbox nearly 10 years ago when I bought the domain…
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My number one, can’t-do-without-it routine…
10 years ago I became a mom and I am still trying to get the hang of it. It seems that once I begin to understand one stage, it is time to move onto the next and I have to start learning again from scratch. And every time I try to come up with a…
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A peppery smile
After my grump slump post, I hung out with the family a bit and then hopped on Facebook where I spotted this photo on one of my friend’s pages: This pepper was from his garden! This sweet simple thing sure made me smile right back. :) Thanks, Marshall for allowing me to share it. :)…
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Seeking grump slump advice from the more experienced moms…
This afternoon and evening have not been the most joyful. I do love my family and have a lot to be thankful for, but, ugh, today still held more frustrations than I would have preferred. Since I know that there are a lot of MomsToolbox and Bible in 90 Days readers out there who have…
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How will the school year impact your study time? Or will it?
Can you believe that summer is almost coming to an end? It seems I say this every year, and every year summer flies by faster and faster. Our summer weeks have been consumed with a lot of travel. And a lot of juggling. In June the kids and I explored Boston together for a few…
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Please pray for the Berry children… and my friend Jen
It’s not often that I use MomsToolbox to ask others to support something. But this I feel compelled to do. A few weeks ago I texted a dear friend of mine a short, playful message. She responded that so much was going on in her life. Fortunately, I couldn’t even imagine the pain she had…
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Can extended family impact a child’s faith? My Mamu sure did!
As I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to know my great-grandmother, my mom’s, mom’s mom. Mamu, as she was called, was a kind, loving woman who I remember as being calming and joyful. Whether it is true or not, my memories of her always bring pictures of a small woman who was always…
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A special dessert for a lady party… and my family
While I was cutting angel food cake, whipping cream and washing berries to make a trifle yesterday, my son came up to me. “Is this for dessert?” he said, expectantly. “Oh, honey,” I said, “This is for my lady party. I’m going to have dinner with some friends tonight.” And then the gravity of my…
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Building Children’s Faith Through Traditions
Growing up, we didn’t have much spiritual tradition in my family. We went to church here and there and I was reminded to pray here and there, and we said a blessing before dinner here and there, but that was really it. I remember one babysitter, I think his name was Darren, who prayed with…
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What do you do with YOUR 168 hours?
I have struggled with time management for as long as I can remember. I’ve always wanted to do much more than I could and I’ve always been a super-duper procrastinator on the things I don’t want to do. And my husband isn’t shy at reminding me that I’m terrible at judging how long it takes…
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I want my kids to want to eat… and I have a plan
All too often my husband and I are coaxing our kids to eat. Our kids, on average, are pretty good eaters, but all too often we have the “Just three more bites,” conversation, or try to encourage our daughter to eat rather than play with whatever item might be around and could be turned into…
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Thanking our Troops
This morning I kept our three kids out of school for a very important lesson: That of saying thank you to those who fight for and defend freedom. Three hundred wounded warriors flew into Houston this morning to embark on a Warriors Weekend, an all-expenses-paid fishing weekend of R&R in Port O’Connor, Texas. Other service…
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Using Social Media for the Lord
Sitting behind the ‘safe’ spot of my keyboard I have helped more than one thousand people read the entire Bible, many cover to cover in 90 days or less. And this is just since January of 2010. Before that I encouraged others online with my daily devotions for a year and a half (and jumped…
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Readers Recommend: The ‘Surviving a Layoff’ Edition
Welcome to MomsToolbox Readers Recommend, where MomsToolbox readers share one favorite post from the blogosphere. A few weeks ago my friend Connie’s husband lost his job. Connie is a homeschooling mom of 8 who loves the Lord and blogs her family’s stories with southern charm (and wit) and a whole lot of truth, too, on…