People say that it takes a village – a village to raise kids. However, what they leave out is how to find the village. It takes work, putting yourself out there, care and consideration to form YOUR village. I emphasize YOUR …
A MOPS Story: One September Morning
I think my baby girl was about 6 weeks old when I first felt the itch to expand our world beyond the hammock in our backyard. While I loved snuggling my sweet newborn, I knew we needed a community. I …
Soul Mates
“Dad, do you believe in soul mates?” I asked. His eyebrows raised behind the paper he was reading. “Well …” he began. His fingers drummed a nervous rhythm on the tabletop. My dad’s hands were always moving, either pushing back …
Does Your Parenting Style Hurt Your Marriage?
When I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter, I had visions of our family sharing Hallmark movie-inspired moments together as we sang happy little children’s songs, enjoyed beautifully cooked meals, and ended each day after the kids …
How Parenting Changed my Marriage
Derek held our baby first. I couldn’t. I was shaking from the labor and the, oh so many drugs that had been pumped into my body. Besides I was leaning over the side of the hospital bed puking into a …
Call for Submissions: Winter 2017 Magazine
Wonder: Wonder is a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar or inexplicable. It requires curiosity – something that often falls from our reality as we get older, and our to-do list and to-be lists …
Messy House Hospitality
“Can I stop over in 10 minutes?” “Sure, you can come over!” I hear myself say with feigned enthusiasm that even impresses me. I didn’t listen to the rest of what she said. I was too busy planning my panic …
Behind Closed Doors: A journey through marriage with pornography & sexual addiction
Jason and Shelley Martinkus bravely shared their story in the Summer 2014 issue of Hello, Darling magazine. The issue of the magazine is called “The Privilege of Femininity.” We discussed a myriad of topics that shape and inform our understanding of …
Date at Eight
My husband and I had a difficult time finding childcare when my girls were little. We did not live near family, and we didn’t always have the extra funds to pay someone to babysit our girls. So what did we …
Believing the Best in Someone Even When (Especially When You Don’t Want To)
I was sitting at my MOPS table when another mom called me out. Though I didn’t like it, I knew she was right. I was headed into a visit where I was assuming the worst was going to go down. …