Carey Melton | The Grit and Grace Project

How to Pray for All Those in Education Right Now

There is a popular tagline among teachers these days that reads, “Teaching is my superpower. What’s yours?” We get it printed on coffee cups and t-shirts and display the thought proudly. I suppose, now, everyone in the country deserves a t-shirt, but I’ve always thought it to be a privilege to be able to do something that so many people claim they could never do. I hear all the time, “I could never be a teacher because I would—”(I’ll let you fill in the blank). We’ve all seen the hilarious memes and videos of parents leaving messages for their teachers begging for forgiveness and demanding school to go back. I believe those sentiments are real and I feel their pain! The last […]

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10 Ways to Make Memories With Your Kids When You Work Full-Time

How to Make Memories With Your Kids When You Work Full-Time

By Carey Melton / Motherhood

What do you remember about your childhood? I don’t cherish the toys I was given or the lavish gifts. I remember and hold on to the late nights when my mom would still be awake when I got home from a date and wanted to hear all about it. I remember looking over and seeing my dad walk up to an afternoon tennis match after he worked all day. When trying to create special moments with your fast-growing children, especially while trying to juggle work, don’t worry about the things you can replace with money. Worry about the things money can’t buy. 10 practical ways to make memories with your kids when you work full-time: 1. Read to your kids each night.

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God Wink Moments With My Kids

By Carey Melton / Faith

Ever wonder if your kids are listening to what you’re trying to teach them? Or if what you’re doing is paying off and if you will ever see the fruit of your labor? My kids are only ages 7, 4, and 10 months old, but the Lord gives me what I like to call little “God winks” from time to time. Sometimes those God winks are reality checks and I think to myself, “Jesus take the wheel,” or “Praise the Lord, they are listening!” Talkin’ about Heaven The other morning, my kids, Audrey and Drew, and I had a conversation about Heaven from our devotion we did at breakfast. The devotion was powerful yet simple, and I was so excited to answer

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10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Maternity Leave

By Carey Melton / Motherhood

I just completed my third maternity leave, and I wish I could tell you that I’ve got it all figured out. I feel like I should be able to create some Pin on Pinterest that charts the course for the best maternity leave, but all three maternity leave experiences were very different. I believe maternity leave can be one of those transitions in life where we look back and say, “I wish,” or, “I miss,” or, “If I only could’ve.” Parenting, in general, is full of those “if” moments (and even regrets), and maternity leave often falls under the same umbrella. Most of the time you’re just surviving, and that’s okay. For several weeks you walk around in a fog and then

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9 Ways to Give the Gift of Experiences to Your Kids

By Carey Melton / Motherhood

On Christmas morning, everyone has their own traditions. It’s funny because when my husband and I talk about our Christmases as kids, it’s not the gifts we remember. We remember the traditions. We remember having Christmas morning breakfast with the people we love. We remember Christmas dinners with family. We remember being all together. So this year our family has talked about giving experiences rather than toys. I know it’s fun for young kids to see the bottom of the tree overflowing with presents, but there really is so much more to Christmas. If you still buy and wrap gifts to give, I’m not disagreeing with you at all! I love to buy, I love to wrap, and I love to see their faces while they

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How to Be a #Girlmom

By Carey Melton / Motherhood

Being a #girlmom isn’t easy. Being a #boymom obviously has its challenges and surprises, and you have to be super tough to be a boy mom. After all, you are raising boys who turn into men and lead the world, lead their families, and you have to somehow teach them to do it faster than at the pace of a snail. But to be a girl mom, you have to know every possible emotion for all possible scenarios. You have to be prepared for them all. It’s fun, challenging, dramatic (in every sense of the word), terrifying, amusing, and invaluable. You might not be a girl mom, but you may one day be the girl mom-in-law. Nothing can take the place of a

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