Happy Homes do exist!

You know how sometimes you have a perfect vision of how something is going to work out? And then it doesn't end up looking exactly what you pictured? If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about.  Dieter Uchtdorf referenced this in a talk  in 2018- he said, "There is a word in German, Weltschmerz. Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be."  Ever since I heard it, I've been obsessed with this concept- and how to stop it in my own life!  Before I go on, let me clarify- I am all for holding high expectations for yourself, your kids, your family and your life! I believe that the more we expect, the more we (and our kids) can rise to the occasion. When I talk about "expectations" here, I am referring more to our picture of what we thought things might be. You know- that picture of perfect children with clean matching clothes, perfect hair and a clean house- before you had ...

I'm writing a book.  This is one draft of one portion of one chapter.  I want your feedback.  Anybody who comments and tells me what they think can have a free, signed copy of the book once it's published. ;) ... .. . Years ago, when I was a new mom, I attended a class during a women’s night. The presenter talked about the importance of putting your shoes and socks on first thing when you wake up in the morning; and putting on make up and doing your hair. As I listened I remember taking note that I’d have to try better at that (all the while my subconscious was thinking, “Are you freaking kidding me? That’s never going to happen! I can barely drag myself out of bed to kiss my husband goodbye before he leaves for work, praying that the baby will keep sleeping!”) I will forever be grateful for my friend who sat next to me. She was a seasoned mother of six children, whom I admired and looked up to. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I never do that. It just matter...

I still remember the moment when we decided it was time to have a baby.  We hadn't been married very long. And believe it or not, I wanted to wait. I knew that once a baby came it would be harder to finish college.  But when that answer came, I knew.  And things worked out.  Things have a way of doing that. Working out.  By the time I graduated from college, Christopher was one year old, and Caleb was a tiny vomit-inducing peanut.  But I did it. I finished.  It was never an option not to finish. I always wanted to. And we even promised my parents when we got engaged that I would graduate.  Now what?  I was offered a long term sub job at the school where I student taught.  I turned it down.  It was time to be Mom. I learned a lot those first few years as a stay at home Mom.  I learned that sleeping in past 7:00  am is purely heavenly. And that the days can get pretty long when you only have two or three little b...