One Christmas, my daughter pulled a small pink plastic dog out of her stocking (most likely a gift from an aunt). Shaped like a balloon dog, if you held down its nose and spoke to it, it would repeat back what you said—in a helium voice. My kids loved it. I did not. I could… Continue reading Repeat After Me
“This is the perfect time for us to start doing family devotions!” I announced to my husband while pouring over my laptop. I typed, scrolled, and clicked—adding resource after resource to my Amazon cart. We were a month into the 2020 quarantine, and I had nothing but time and second-trimester energy. I decided this would… Continue reading 4 Things I Learned from Creating a Family Devotions Routine
Because she was too busy remembering— To call the adoption lawyer, the dentist, the friend All the names of her child’s pediatric specialists The extra flesh she feels around her waistband To buy the birthday card for her dad and wrap a present for her daughter The items on her… Continue reading Why she forgot to buy toilet paper
When my daughter turned two, she began crafting stages for herself. Any rectangular surface worked—the fireplace hearth, an overturned toy container, even shelf liner pulled from a kitchen drawer. She would grab a makeshift microphone (a flashlight, a princess wand, or a marker), center herself upon the stage, and take a deep breath before belting… Continue reading My Daughter’s Playlist
At 6:41 a.m., love is patient. He is patient with me as I press “snooze” on my phone alarm once, then twice, finally a third time. He waits as I check my email, scroll social media, and sip my coffee before finally pulling out his Word. He does not hold my tardiness against me but… Continue reading Love Is
On a whim the other day, I asked my three-year-old daughter, “What does mommy say a lot?” I hoped her answer would be something like, “I love you,” or “You are my precious treasure,” or even better, some profound Gospel truth. Her blue-gray eyes gazed at mine while she pondered my odd question, then she… Continue reading Confession in Motherhood
“Grown-ups come back.” “Find a way to play together.” “If you have to go potty, stop and go right away.” If you’re currently a parent of toddlers, you will know the melodies that accompany the lyrics above from our favorite friendly jungle animal. Each day, my daughter jumps out of her bed after naptime—excited for… Continue reading Lessons from Daniel Tiger
My daughter chatters and slurps her yogurt and honey at the breakfast table while I feed rice cereal to my son in his highchair. She narrates her favorite parts of the new Disney movie we watched last weekend, Raya and the Last Dragon, and raises her voice and spoon for dramatic effect. I’m half listening,… Continue reading Tiny Discipleship
One rainy Monday morning, frustrated tears slid down my two-year-old daughter's cheeks before we even made it out of the bedroom. I coaxed her sobbing body into the kitchen, still insisting she wanted Play-Doh not breakfast, but she slumped to the floor seeing the waffles I made. Already exhausted from the morning's conflicts, I conceded… Continue reading The Better Parent
For four years, we hosted weekly dinner parties with friends in our tiny newlywed apartment. What we lacked in space, we made up for in homemade dinners and a large board game collection. Two or three couples would squeeze around our hand-me-down table eating lasagna and playing Settlers of Catan. Some of our sweetest friendships… Continue reading Gray Toy Baskets
Bethany Broderick 