Real Stories

Traditions are great...but sometimes they can create unforeseen expectations among siblings. For example, I've made it a habit to build certain "milestone" celebrations into my parenting with my [...]

I have a secret plan for back to school this year. My secret plan is to avoid comparing myself and my summer to other moms this school year. If you struggle at all like I do with comparing [...]

Mom, where do babies come from? No question puts fear into the hearts of parents quite like this one. Except maybe... ...Mom, what is cancer? ...Dad, are you going to die? ...Why is Aunt Sarah [...]

Note: in honor of Mother's Day, we're celebrating the many different women in our lives who have left a legacy. We're calling them our "many mothers," and thanking them for their love. Read more [...]

A few years ago, Marie Kondo captivated me with The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Filled with adventure, decluttering, and searches for what “sparks joy,” her message of simplifying [...]

This year my family is cutting back on Christmas gifts. Though my husband and I usually like to get as much as we can for our two sons, we now find ourselves in a place where it just doesn’t make [...]

Three weeks ago I had to break the news to my kids that their great-grandpa had passed away. Though my grandpa had been sick for a while, and we’d had the chance to visit him several times before [...]

In his ministry, Jesus talked a lot about helping others and teaching that he came to serve. Growing up in a missionary home with two parents who were passionate about reaching those in need, I [...]

The evening I told my two sons that we were going to move, they seemed to take it pretty well. They asked questions, voiced a few concerns, but moved on from the subject relatively quickly. A bit [...]

This summer my family and I moved from Loveland, Colorado to Berlin, Germany. Going into it, we knew there would be some pretty major changes and that we’d be challenged in new ways. One of the [...]