Hey, Kids! Let’s Plan a Picnic!

My best summer memories include the tangy taste of lemonade, a red-and-white-checkeredtablecloth laden with picnic treats, and my boys playing a round of Wiffle Ball© on the freshlymown lawn. I used to laugh when moms with older children told me to enjoy the fleeting summers with my children. Now, here I am with my last
Read more
No Comments

How to Plan a Successful Summer Club

Summer, with its bright sunny mornings and long lazy afternoons, is right around the corner. So are the exclamations of “I’m bored!” and “There’s no one to play with!” Why not fight the summer blues by getting your kids involved in planning a summer backyard club? Not only will a backyard club give them something
Read more
No Comments

5 Lessons from the Orchard

orchard
  Going to the apple orchard is a yearly pilgrimage in our household. It just doesn’t feel like fall without that first bite of golden sweetness. But going to the orchard can become a drudgery if plans are loosely made. Before you know it, you’ve spent the entire week’s grocery budget on apples and another
Read more
No Comments

Diabetes Detour

diabetes
The reflection in the dirty, lead-stained mirror is a me I’m glad only strangers will see tonight. Leaning my forehead against the mirror, I let the steaming water wash over my hands. We’ve been here for hours. Tears roll down my face. Choking back a sob, I turn and look at my twelve-year-old son in
Read more
No Comments

Raising Influencers for Christ

influencers
  Why do we homeschool? What is the ultimate goal for our children? We hope they are happy, safe, healthy, and successful. But, there’s a deeper desire that drives us forward? Christian homeschoolers have an enormous opportunity to provide a spiritual foundation for their children. In fact, many Christian homeschoolers would say that the spiritual
Read more
No Comments

3 Lifelong Habits – The Habit of Obedience

obedience
  “Mom! Joleen stole something from the store,” yelled my older brother. My heart thundered in my five-year-old chest. I knew I was in trouble and would have to make it right. The funny thing is that despite a few isolated incidents, I was an obedient child. So why did I steal a pink bouncy
Read more
1 Comment

3 Lifelong Habits – The Habit of Respect

respect
  There’s just something delightful about a young child who responds to others with a bright and happy countenance. So, it was with horror, one Sunday morning, I observed my five-year-old refusing to shake our senior pastor’s hand. My son’s grumpy face and folded arms spoke volumes about his mood that day, but also his
Read more
No Comments

3 Lifelong Habits: The Habit of Attention

attention
  “Pay attention, Joleen!” My mother gently tapped my wiggly five-year-old, stocking-clad, leg. I sat in church, hoping my father would preach a short sermon. Nope. So, I counted the ceiling beams and looked for hidden designs in the stained glass windows. Eventually, I fell asleep against my mother’s warm shoulder. Paying attention seemed difficult
Read more
2 Comments