In 2013 I wrote a book called Raising Digital Families For Dummies, and for a few months I spent countless hours telling reporters, radio DJ’s, and television talk show hosts that parents need to set strict digital limits for their children, creating digital family contracts that legislate everything from screen time allowances to cell phone charging…

Over the last year I have devoted most of my hours to the job of worship director at my family’s church home, working on everything from special services to managing the tech crew. One of my roles has been creating set pieces for the chancel area of the sanctuary. I’ve turned the “stage” into a…

When I started blogging, my children were two and four years old. My oldest went to part-time preschool from September through May. My youngest was in diapers. My family lived a state away, and my husband was gone eleven hours a day. My entire existence looked something like this. Pictures taken by children three and…

Last month my daughter and I flew to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, on her 11th birthday to learn more about what it means to be a tween visiting Disney Parks (more to come!). I first took my princess to Walt Disney World when she was four years old, the focus on a schedule…

One of my primary goals as a mom is to transfer the treasures of my own upbringing to my children while protecting them from the traumas. My childhood was a mixed bag of wonderful reckless abandon and stormy turbulence. I admired and respected my hard-working mother, yet often missed her presence. I fought without fear,…

As I sit here at my computer, there is a couch slipcover in my washing machine. I noticed after performing the delicate surgery of removing it that the tag says, “Machine wash. No tumble dry.” It is currently 24 degrees outside and my neighborhood HOA has a rule against hanging laundry outside, so I really…

This post was originally published May 10, 2012, during my time in Tanzania with Compassion International. Currently Compassion is in the Dominican Republic with a group of bloggers, sharing the story of how Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Please follow their journey in the #compassionbloggers hashtag and through the Compassion site….

This post was originally published May 9, 2012, during my time in Tanzania with Compassion International. Currently Compassion is in the Dominican Republic with a group of bloggers, sharing the story of how Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Please follow their journey in the #compassionbloggers hashtag and through the Compassion site…

This post was originally published May 8, 2012, during my time in Tanzania with Compassion International. Currently Compassion is in the Dominican Republic with a group of bloggers, sharing the story of how Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Please follow their journey in the #compassionbloggers hashtag and through the Compassion site…

This post was originally published May 7, 2012, during my time in Tanzania with Compassion International. Currently Compassion is in the Dominican Republic with a group of bloggers, sharing the story of how Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Please follow their journey in the #compassionbloggers hashtag and through the Compassion site then join us…

This post was originally published May 6, 2012, during my time in Tanzania with Compassion International. Currently Compassion is in the Dominican Republic with a group of bloggers, sharing the story of how Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Please follow their journey in the #compassionbloggers hashtag and through the Compassion site then…

This content is part of a sponsored campaign. All opinions are my own. I spent my first few years of motherhood as a stay-at-home mom, nearly all of my time devoted entirely to my family. I was certain that my kids knew how much they meant to me because I was able to show them…

About two weeks ago, something strange happened. I got home from an evening out and headed to the master bedroom to change into something more comfortable before spending time with my husband. I was wearing a sweater over a tank top and after taking off the sweater, I literally said “screw it” and kept the…

My Polynesian Resort story began in 1981. I was a Minnie Mouse loving three year old the first time I stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Resort with my best buddy Bun Bun in tow. I still remember two of my favorite treasures from that visit – a shell necklace and a floral lei – as well…

IKEA, I know we’ve had an on-again/off-again relationship. Don’t take it personally. There was that sliver of time when I couldn’t afford your European design, flat-packed goodness. The budget of the early-20’s living together in sin demographic allows for one thing: free hand-me-downs. Then we began to make some cold hard cash and suddenly a…

The holidays are just days away and many of us are scrambling to get just the right gift for everyone on our list! How do you make the holidays personal? Join us as we chat with Clever Girls and Motorola to share our best gift-giving advice and talk about how we put a personal touch…

I have all but stopped writing product reviews after years of thoroughly enjoying that aspect of blogging mostly because sincerely reviewing products takes more time than I have at the moment. I also am simply far less interested in “stuff” than I used to be, and that includes talking about, thinking about, and writing about…

This post is part of a sponsored post campaign. Compensation has been provided. Last week, we shared some staggering statistics with you about the knowledge of tweens when it comes to OTC medications. This week, we wanted to share a little more information with you about the resources available from to help you improve the…

This post is part of a sponsored post campaign. Compensation has been provided. Just how much do your children know about the dangers of over-the-counter medications? As parents, we do our best to educate our children about the dangers of drinking, street drugs, and even prescription medication but have you talked to your children about…

– All Sons & Daughters, “Brokenness Aside“ I once had a close friend who shared with me the many inappropriate advances of what I’m going to call The Women of the Internet. If his point was to open my eyes to the sad condition of the human heart, he succeeded. That alone would have been incredibly…

My grandmother was in love with Kenny Rogers. I’m assuming she was also in love with my grandfather, but she certainly talked more about Kenny Rogers. The woman who would rather drown newborn puppies than take a dog to the vet would actually blush when she talked about Kenny Rogers. This was serious business. As…