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  • welcome
  • about
  • parenting
    • general parenting
    • christian parenting
    • breastfeeding
    • pregnancy and birth
    • nighttime parenting
    • homeschool
    • poetry
    • seasonal
  • homeschool
    • homeschool
    • FREE Homeschool Preschool Reflection Sheet
    • homeschool preschool – suggested supplies
    • recommended reading and podcasts
    • curriculum and communities
  • resources
    • parenting books
    • attachment theory
    • breastfeeding resources
    • co-sleeping and bed-sharing
    • fertility awareness
    • Vaccine Hesitancy Resource
    • Advent Reflections
  • book lists
    • Book Talk Tuesdays
    • Living Books for Young Ones
  • featured
general parenting

Being Outside in January: How Braving the Cold has Benefited our Family

  Each year, I dread winter. Especially January. I know what January holds: cold days, long nights, and little to be desired. Anxiety, which, for me, stems out of fear…

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general parenting

A Beautiful Mess

The first major conflict between Kevin and I happened about a week before our wedding. For months, we had been collecting furniture and decor and packing up our belongings, and…

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general parenting

5 Daily “Educational” Activities to do with Your Child This Summer

The first gift you can give your child this summer is the time and space for unstructured play. The second gift you can give your child this summer is yourself.

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christian parenting, general parenting

On Greeting our Children and Becoming a Better Parent

  Confession: There are times when I parent poorly. There are times when I put my needs ahead of my children’s needs. There are times when I’m more interested in…

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general parenting

Making Memories

The grasses were all around, towering above me like trees. They waved gently in the breeze, greeting me as their friend. The autumnal sun had rendered them golden, had made…

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  • christian parenting

    God loved Noah. Period.

    July 21, 2018 / No Comments

    “Are you kidding me?” My two year old turned and looked at me, wondering why I had stopped my usual story-telling cadence. “Read, Mommy,” he said. I couldn’t. The colors were bright. The illustrations cute. The story, an ancient one, and entirely familiar. I still am not sure why so many Christians are devoted to telling young ones the record of the annihilation of the earth as a happy story about animals, though I’d come to accept it, for better or for worse. But this, I could not accept. At the bottom of the page in a book about Noah read these words: “God loved Noah because he was good.” Maybe…

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    Kristin

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    Holy Week Reading Plan: The Gospel of John and Selections of Scripture to Prepare Your Heart for Resurrection Day

    April 4, 2020

    Why I Don’t Do Devotions

    July 7, 2020

    Is Spanking Biblical? An Extensive Exegesis by a Skeptical Mama – Part 3

    August 16, 2018
  • general parenting

    A Beautiful Mess

    July 19, 2018 / No Comments

    The first major conflict between Kevin and I happened about a week before our wedding. For months, we had been collecting furniture and decor and packing up our belongings, and the time had finally come to bring it all together in our tiny new apartment. I had anticipated the day with giddiness. Long had I envisioned where every chair, picture frame, and lamp would go to make the 300 square foot space a home. I longed, too, for the romantic harmony of almost-lovers making their first home together. Here’s what happened: My vision didn’t come together. Furniture was larger than I had prepared for, walls to small, outlets in inconvenient…

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    Kristin

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    An Open Love Letter to Our Village

    February 14, 2019

    10 Positive Discipline Tips I Learned from my Counselor

    June 7, 2019

    Being Outside in January: How Braving the Cold has Benefited our Family

    February 1, 2019
  • poetry

    the best thing – a poem

    July 15, 2018 / No Comments

    Perhaps the best thing I can do today is to hold my baby close — to smile at him, to delight in him — to show him that today, he is safe and loved. The world is not safe, of course, but if, perhaps, he believes it is during these young years, if he eases into reality with a guiding, trustworthy hand, if he discovers it in pieces and not all at once, perhaps he won’t fear it as I do. 5/23/16

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    Kristin

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    On Mother’s Day

    May 12, 2019

    the little children

    January 10, 2019
  • poetry

    naked and unashamed – a poem

    July 12, 2018 / No Comments

    This afternoon, As my toddler buzzed around the room happily after his bath, He caught a glimpse of himself in the full-length mirror. Upon seeing his reflection, All naked and plump and perfect, He let out a squeal of pure delight. May we all relearn to see ourselves with Such warmth, Such affection.   8/11/16  

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    Kristin

    You May Also Like

    the little children

    January 10, 2019

    the best thing – a poem

    July 15, 2018

    On Mother’s Day

    May 12, 2019
  • general parenting

    “let’s write a blog.”

    July 11, 2018 / No Comments

    I’ve heard it said recently that the inciting incident for every story is either the beginning of a journey or a stranger coming to town. In the case of parenting, I think it’s both. Our journey began about four years ago when my husband said to me, completely nonchalant and out of the blue, “Let’s have a baby.” My heart started pounding, and a list of excuses as to why we weren’t ready began pouring out of my mouth. He insisted that the time was right, and that if I always submitted to my fears, we would never have children. A huge argument and many tears ensued. Long story short,…

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    Kristin

    You May Also Like

    Being Outside in January: How Braving the Cold has Benefited our Family

    February 1, 2019

    Attachment Theory: An Introduction

    April 13, 2019

    An Open Love Letter to Our Village

    February 14, 2019
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Meet Kristin

Hey! I'm a wife and mama of two beautiful kiddos. I believe in the power of words, beauty, faith, grace, and love. While I love to theorize about and strive for parenting ideals, I value the art of keeping it real. Thanks for reading.

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