Upcoming Events
I’m excited to have a few upcoming book signing events for my Growth Spurts book! Simpson County folks, I hope to see you at the Simpson County, MS Bicentennial 2024 Art Show & Book Signing! Columbus folks, I hope to…
Sow the Seeds and Watch for Weeds: How Tending to Marriage Is Much Like Tending to a Garden
My husband Kevin is the primary gardener in our family. He researches, designs, plants, tends, and harvests the garden in our backyard. It isn’t huge, but almost everything in it is living and growing. Now, his gardening efforts haven’t always…
Spring Is in the Air! Is It Also in Your Marriage?
Spring is my favorite season. Although winter is somewhat short and relatively mild where I live in Mississippi, I still struggle with it. I find myself searching the trees every day for glimpses of the “buds of hope,” as I…
Facing a New ChalleNGe
Sometimes we have to do really hard things in parenting. Sometimes we have to give up control. Sometimes we have to recognize that we don’t have all the tools we need to help our children in certain situations, and we…
It’s a Big World After All (And Our Kids Need to See It)
As parents, we often want to shield our children from being exposed to certain influences. However, there are times when we should actually choose to intentionally expose them. And one of the ways this is done is through travel. Exposing…
Goal-Setting: Make It a Family Experience
It’s that time of year again! Without fail, millions of people around the world (myself included) choose the month of January–the beginning of a new year–to set goals for ourselves. We vow to lose weight, manage our time better, watch…
Gratitude When Others Are “Winning”…and We Aren’t
As adults, we know how bad it can feel when it seems like everyone else is winning or thriving, and we just…aren’t. This is hard for our kids, too. They might see other kids get awards and recognition, when they…
Gratitude When We Are Faced with Tragedy
On Wednesdays this month, I’m making a point of addressing having gratitude even when it is difficult to do so. Weeks ago I planned out what I was going to post every day in November, and today I had planned…
Gratitude for Seasons
Spring is my favorite season. Winter is my least favorite. But I have appreciation for all of the seasons, because each contains something good and something necessary. New life, growth, change, death, new life, growth… The cycle is as it…
Summertime Challenges and Rewards
Last year my husband Kevin came up with a great strategy for encouraging our kids to make good use of their free time in the summer. He posted a list of various challenges and offered a monetary award to anyone…