When I return from the grocery store, the kids love to help me unpack the truck, carry the groceries inside, and put the groceries away. Sometimes they play in the paper bags. This week Naomi brought me her scissors and asked me to show her how to cut holes for arms and heads. I showed […]
Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
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20 Ways to Drive Mom Crazy Before Noon
August 21st, 2013 
Jessica Last Saturday was “one of those days.” I laugh when I say this because when you have little ones, it often seems like EVERY day is “one of those days.” Anyhow, the kids were driving me crazy all morning, so I was inspired to create the following list. Feel free to add your own suggestions […]
How I Survive Short Stints as a Single Mom
August 16th, 2013 Jessica My husband does youth-ministry full-time, so part of my job as Mom is holding down the fort while he travels for retreats, training, fundraisers, service projects, and camps. By the time we close 2013, he will have been away from our family for about 50 days this year. Of course, he also works from home […]
Pancake Names
August 12th, 2013 Jessica This morning Naomi and Oliver requested pancakes for breakfast. As I was getting myself ready for the day, they raided the pantry and piled all the ingredients for pancakes on our kitchen counter. I thought pancakes sounded like a good idea, so we got cooking. We talked about the various measuring cups and spoons and […]
Coloring with my Kids
August 10th, 2013 Jessica My kids have noticed that I like to color. I actually avoid art projects around the house at times, because I know that once I start I will be completely absorbed until I’m done. And I hate to leave an art project half-finished once I’ve begun! Attentiveness to art can also mean inattentiveness to my […]
Toddler Tuesday: Homemade Play-doh
August 6th, 2013 Jessica Recently my sister Kristy mailed us a fun care package full of goodies, and included some homemade play-doh for the kids! The kids had fun playing with the 3 colors of play-doh, and the containers they arrived in. I provided them with forks, knives, and spoons in addition to the play-doh, and they loved pretending […]
Organizing with Ice Cream Tubs
July 30th, 2013 Jessica I’ve been working on a lot of small home and car maintenance improvements lately, and one of those projects was to organize the kids’ art supplies. I had put them out of reach on top of the refrigerator because they were making so many messes with them. Keeping them out of reach allowed me to […]
7 Love Letters in 7 Days
July 23rd, 2013 Jessica When Brad proposed to me on July 6, 2005, we’d only been dating for 6 weeks. Of those 6 weeks, Brad spent 4 weeks on Summer Staff at a camp in Virginia. I was in Maryland, attending grad school. I wrote and mailed him a love letter for every day of those 4 weeks. Love […]
July 16, 2013: Dear Oliver
July 16th, 2013 Jessica Dear Oliver, Today you, my handsome little man, are 31 months old. It is so fun to see your personality coming out with each passing month. You are sweet and affectionate, shy and sensitive, helpful and mischievous. For a long time, we wondered when you would ever talk. Unlike Naomi, who chattered from Day #1, […]
Folding Clothes
July 13th, 2013 Jessica My kids are a little weird. (They come by it naturally of course, since Brad and I are pretty weird too!) Oliver likes to wash the dishes, and set the table. Naomi likes to vacuum, fold clothes, and even asked for a broom for her birthday. They love to help make the beds, put groceries […]
