Our Stepfamily Life
Should Stepmoms/Bonus Moms be celebrated on Mother’s Day?
When a stepmom is told she is not the “real” mom, it can hurt, especially on Mother’s Day. But aren’t a stepmom’s experiences real?
Our Stepfamily Life
When We Get Lost in the Heaviness of Parenting
Sometimes the day feels so hard; it seems like they’ll never grow up. Will they always resent us, say no to us, be disrespectful, not care? The future feels so far off when we are in the trenches of training, teaching, molding, mentoring… And we get lost in the today. Read more…
For All Moms
The Undone-Done Household
I got up well before the sun rose. I washed dishes, emptied the dishwasher, wiped the table from last night’s crumbs, the ones left over from dinner before we raced out the door. As the sun was rising, I picked up stray items, tidied surfaces, did a load of laundry. Read more…
For All Moms
When We Feel Like Our Story Isn’t Valuable Enough To Share
Have you ever been deeply touched by someone’s story? Touched to the point that it changes your outlook on life or causes you see your situation differently? Maybe you even see God differently afterward? When I started writing about my stepmom journey, I often felt anxious when I realized that Read more…
Our Stepfamily Life
When Stepfamily Life and Being a Stepmom is Hard
We sat around a circle of chairs and couches in our living room. I bounced a wiggly baby on my lap as tears threatened to sting my eyes and my heartbeat grew more intense. I got the courage to speak up, but almost as soon as the words began Read more…
For All Moms
A Season For Everything
There were so many nights that I stayed up late cleaning well after everyone was in bed, just so we didn’t have to start out each new day in a house full of dirty dishes, crumbs and toys strewn across the floor. “There is a season for everything…” As stepmoms Read more…
Our Stepfamily Life
4 Ways to Love Unlovable People in a Stepfamily
Sometimes being the “bigger person” seems impossible in a complicated blended family situation. What if you’re continually being put in last position? What if your marriage seems to be heading south because the kids or the ex seem to always be demanding something, and needing more of just about everything? Read more…
For All Moms
Love Is In the Little Things
I made my husband late for work today. As I handed him his egg sandwich on his way to get his shoes on, he told me there was a huge spider that ran behind the oven that I might want to kill. “You have to kill it before you go,” Read more…
Our Stepfamily Life
Is Life Easier Without The Stepkids Around?
“So, is life easier without me at home anymore?” These were the words my stepson asked my husband this weekend, his first weekend back home to visit from his freshman year in college. If you’ve read anything I’ve written about my stepson, you’ll know that things weren’t easy with him. Read more…
For All Moms
The Missing Candy: An Alzheimer’s Journey
He reached into the candy bowl and pulled out an attractive-looking item. Once it was in his hand, however, he realized it was just an empty wrapper. The guilty culprit was a frail, elderly woman holding a bowl on her lap while biting into a chocolate bar, letting empty wrappers Read more…