You know that time when you repainted the living room with a paint sprayer and then had to repaint a bunch of other things because paint sprayers don’t obey the best laid plans of tape and plastic? Kind of like Winter didn’t get the memo about Spring being here? And then you were hosting 20...
Podcast | #26 Blythe Royaards with Lost Sparrows
My guest this week is Blythe Royaards. She and her husband, Eric, are on the board for an organization called the Lost Sparrows whose goal is to stop the flow of orphans into institutions in Bulgaria through education and support of birth families and the recruitment of foster families. She’s a super mom who is...
The problem with using essential oils for challenging kids
When I first heard of using essential oils for mood and emotions management for kids from hard places, I set out to try as many oils on my kids as possible. I was looking for that magic fix. Quite frankly, I didn’t care if they were on board. When you’re desperate, you’ll beg, negotiate, plead, and...
Podcast | #25 Patrick Corkum on Organic Church
This week I invited my husband, Patrick, to share the mic with me. We sat down to chat about our church journeys, misnomers about the Catholic faith, and why we’re pursuing a smaller, organic church community. Thanks for those of you who asked questions via FB before we recorded. Also, he gets the prize for...
Podcast | #24 Lisa Qualls, One Thankful Mom, a Birth Mom, and an Adoptive Mom
Lisa Qualls is the founder of the One Thankful Mom blog. She is a writer and speaker with the unusual chance to have experienced all 3 parts of the adoption triad–birth mom, adoptive mom, and foster child. We’ve connected over so many similarities over the years but she’s far more gracious, wise, and compassionate than me....
{Favorite Things} Save money on gas
Despite the NBC Sports app, I didn’t watch nearly enough Olympics. However, I did catch some mass start speed skating. It was complicated yet edgy. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. This weekend we’re in for an entire 3 days of sustained winds in the 30-50 mph range with crazier gusts. Schools are closed. Bridges are closed. Trees...
Podcast | #23 Tricia and Aunt Tess on Poverty Solutions
This week I’m welcome my BFF Tricia back to the show and this time she brought her fairy godmother Aunt Tess. we talk about some really important issues like whether or not Santa’s workshop is underground or above ground in the North Pole. But seriously, we had a passionate, yet civil conversation about poverty solutions...
How to have a conversation after a school shooting
The day after the Parkland, FL school shooting, I started a blog post. I’ve spent hours poring over articles with the facts and with opinions about everything from gun control to mental health to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). I got curious what the statistics actually were on mental health and violence and the effectiveness of...