Do you ever come across a phrase you've never heard before and then start to hear it over and over? Is it that you never heard it or that you never listened for it? I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that I have had a phrase shared with me in different settings three times in the last three weeks, and I know without a doubt that God is speaking to me. He is speaking directly to my heart. I can't say that I've ever heard him quite this clearly before, so it's taken me a little off guard. Root of Bitterness That phrase has shown up two weeks in a row during our Wednesday morning Bible study lesson. I think those were the first two times that I had heard it used. The third was during my prayer last night from Thirty-One Prayers for My Husband, the book set that The Husband and I have been doing together. just.  whoa. whoa. Ok, God. I'm listening. And, it's gotten me thinking. Often it seems that God gets our attention before o...

Oliver is 10 months old today! He still has the sweetest disposition. He gives open-mouth kisses willingly and often.  He says “mama,” “dada,” and “buhbuh” but doesn’t really direct them at anyone in particular.  He scoots but doesn’t crawl yet. He’s so close though. He tries to pull up on us but not on anything else. Thankfully!   He has two teeth.  His eyes are still brilliantly blue.  His grin is infectious.  He squeals and chuckles and babbles and keeps us all entertained.  He takes two long naps a day and often a cat nap in the late afternoons.  He sleeps around 11 hours every night without waking.  He nurses 5 or 6 times a day and has tried a few finger foods but doesn’t eat solids on a regular basis. He likes shredded cheese, bites of potato off my spoon, Cheerios, and a few tiny pieces of apple. He did not like the baked carrots and vomited them right up. It was gross.  He’s a dream doll-baby, an...

This is a day late. Because I'm having to type this on my phone, and yesterday was a rough day here with 3/5 of us being sick.  Anywho, onto this handsome fella  Oliver Flynn, you are 9 months and one day old today.  You are a rolling machine, and we find you under chairs all of the time.  You sit up like a champ, and you're trying to crawl.  You say "buh," shake your head "no," and still charm us with your squeals and chuckles and spit-throwing raspberries.  You have an infectious grin that has us all grinning with you.  You nuzzle and give "kisses," the wet, open-mouth slobbery-kind. You have zero teeth still, but there are some definite bumps happening in your bottom gums.  You tried a few Cheerios the other day, and you didn't hate them. No solids so far (other than the few spoonfuls of applesauce I let you try about a month ago). Your pincer grasp isn't quite there yet. I'll let you try a few mor...

This is not a shaming post. I feel like I have to say that. It seems that we mommies get offended or offend others so easily, and that's not my intention. It's not a "We do this parenting thing better than you" post. This is simply how we've chosen to do life around here. We have three kids.  A 4-year-old son, a 3-year-old daughter, and an 8-month-old baby boy. And, not one of them has had access to either of our phones. And by access , I mean that they have never been allowed to hold our phones and play games or look at videos either with us sitting near them or in a separate room or at the store to keep them occupied or sitting in the pew at church to keep them quiet. Ever. They have watched Netflix on the iPad propped on the table a handful of times when our TV wasn't working, and they have sat next to us when we've taken silly pictures or watched an occasional youtube video on our phones together, but their little hands do not have our permis...

Olli is 8 months old today, and I cannot BELIEVE he will be a year old in 4 months. I just don't know where these months with him have gone! He is snuggle and sweet as all get-out. He's curious with his hands, but he has no initiative when it comes to getting anywhere on his own.  He's a great napper, and he typically sleeps at least 2 1/2 hours in the morning, another 1 1/2 to 2 hours after lunch, and then a 45-minute catnap in the late afternoon. He usually sleeps between 11 and 12 hours at night with me waking him once to nurse before I go to bed.  He could probably give up the dreamfeed, but why mess with a good thing. And I love those late night snuggles 💙 He nurses around 6 times in a day unless there's a growth spurt happening. He is quiet and loves to bounce in his jumper in the doorway now. He has zero teeth. He squeals the entire time I read books to them.  The. Entire. Time.  Jack will often say, "shhhh, Oliver. You can't hear the sto...

I've seen a few FB posts recently regarding grandparents and their lack of engaging in playtime with their grandkids. Here are my thoughts on the subject as it pertains to my children:  I won't ever expect you to "play" with my kids. Even if you are their grandparent, their uncle, their aunt, their neighbor. If you found freedom in what you just read, good! Please don't ever feel obligated to plop down on the floor and build cities out of legos with them or make a pretend cake in their kitchen. Don't feel like you must go on a bear hunt in the backyard or that you need to imagine that their jungle gym is a zoo and they are the monkeys and you are the zookeeper. Some adults love to pretend with kids. Most don't. And, that's okay! Feel free to say, "no thank you. But I sure do enjoy watching you!" I don't like to pretend.  The Husband doesn't like to.  We do imagine with them occasionally, but it's usually to get...

I said I would write every weekend, and I haven't followed through.  I was supposed to be using my social-media free time (hahahahahahahaha, I have three kids, so free time is a fun phrase that I don't use often) to write. And I haven't been doing that. Instead, I've been taking care of kids and The Husband and this house.  We finally finished their room upstairs (except for odds and ends that need finishing touches), and they've been sleeping up there.  It's been awesome! They LOVE it, and I love that they love it. ~~~~~~ A local little girl who's Jack's age lost her battle with leukemia this weekend. The news of her death was all over Facebook, and it was so, so sad.  My kids were being crazy and whiny and acting like, well like little children, and I was lamenting having to deal with all of that.  And then I read of her death, and I regretted every harsh thing I had said to them that day. I vowed to spend last night and today praying over th...