How I have finally experienced inner peace. Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash It's taken me a few tries to write this post. I will be vulnerable, which is always a bit scary. But I have been thinking other women may have similar struggles and so I thought I'd share my own journey in case it helps a friend or two. ...
Happy New Year! I can't believe it's been exactly one year since I last blogged. Life must have been crazy. It's definitely been an emotionally challenging year, the reasons which I hope to share one day, once the dust has settled (does it ever settle in family life?). It has also been a year filled with changes, the major one being that I'm no longer homeschooling. Yup, you heard that right. After 14 years, we have made the difficult but hopefully right decision to send all the kids to school. ...
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash Hello world! Boy oh boy has it been a terribly long time since I've been here. I've missed you, dear blog. So what have I been up to in the last three years? Let's see, for starters, I had a baby! Sweet baby #5 was born right smack in the middle of lockdown, and she's turned out to be the greatest joy during a challenging time. She's now a crazy toddler who gets into all kinds of trouble, including fishing out used Covid tests out of the garbage and drinking their contents (yup, that happened). I always said that I would love to have a baby while having teenagers in the house, and God being so good has made all my dreams come true. ...
Greetings! March has been a great month, not only because spring has finally arrived (only in name, perhaps, but I live in hope!), but also because many of our winter classes have come to a glorious end. This means that we have freed up some of our evenings and weekends to spend together as a family, playing board games and going on hikes. Ok, so we've only done one hike so far - that's a picture of my hubby and daughter enjoying precious bonding time at Pefferlaw Creek Farms. But now that the weather is warming up (it WILL happen), we look forward to many more family hikes. Here's what I've been loving this past month: ...
Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash This post contains affiliate links. Have you heard about the Love Languages? Dr. Gary Chapman crystallized the concept in his iconic book The Five Love Languages. Seriously, every couple should own this book. It holds very important truths about how to love our spouses. My only regret is that it took us 10 years of marriage to find out about it! ...
Spring is in the air. Spring is in the air. Spring is in the air. If I say it enough times it shall be true. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash This post contains affiliate links. One thing that I love about living in Canada is how crazy the weather gets. You can truly experience all 4 seasons in one month. I kid you not, this past February we have experienced antarctic temperatures, ice storms, snow storms, freezing rain, thunderstorms, and a few days of balmy spring weather. While in many places talking about the weather constitutes inane small talk, here it is the one topic which joins us crazy Canadians in solidarity. We shall survive! While we anxiously await the arrival of spring, I invite you to go through my fave stuff of the month. ...
I love marriage. I love it on a personal level and as a societal institution. I wholeheartedly believe that happy, strong marriages are the foundation for a happy, strong society. It is through marriage that most of us are meant to find love, fulfillment and personal growth. I also know that a great marriage, the one you really really want to have, takes hard work and dedication. A great marriage doesn't just happen because a nice girl falls in love with a nice boy and they decide to embark on the ultimate journey together. It's a great start, but it's only the beginning. Then life happens, with all of its exciting and boring and in-between ups and downs. There are new jobs. Jobs lost. Money problems. New baby. Sleepless nights. Sickness. Relocations. Irrational toddlers. In-laws (or outlaws). Hormonal teenagers. New wrinkles and love handles. And that's just the normal stuff. ...
Can this precious little one really be 12 today? Today is a very special day - my firstborn son turns 12. The cliche is so true - time goes by fast. On this special occasion I find myself reminiscing back to that moment when I found out I was pregnant. We had struggled with infertility for 3.5 years, which is not a long time but long enough. I remember bursting into tears as soon as I saw that blue line appear. Then I fell to my knees, thanking God for giving me the miracle of new life. ...
Ok, maybe "hate" is too strong a verb. It's more like "10 things I struggle with and would like to get better at", but it's not quite as catchy. The simple truth is, for all the amazing things that homeschooling brings to the table, it's super hard. I have wanted to quit so many times that it's become a bit of a (tiresome) joke for my husband. Some seasons I feel like it's nothing but struggles. Struggling to get the kids going in the morning. To get them to start their school work. To focus on their schoolwork. To stop picking fights. To get their feet off the table and their fingers out of their noses. All the while, the dirty dishes are piling up, the fridge is empty and I don't remember the last time I exercised. ...
It's been so cold that Niagara Falls has frozen over. How cool is that. This post contains affiliate links. January in the northern hemisphere, especially if it gets arctic-level cold like it did last week, is the perfect month to hibernate - reading books, listening to podcasts, and bingeing on shows. In other words, January can be an introvert's paradise. Count me in. In no particular order, these have been my fave things this month: ...