Motherhood Challenges Need a Grit and Grace Life

flat lay of a baby onesie, pregnancy test and other items that indicate you're ready to be a mom

Ready to Be a Mom? 4 Ways to Know

By Gabriela Hejduk / Motherhood, Featured Article

I feel like this can’t start without a full disclaimer: The decision to have kids, become a mother or start a family is a call you should ultimately make yourself with the kind support of your husband and Lord’s guidance. Personally though, I was able to identify several things along the way that I would call my guiding lights. They were signs to me that the time has come; that I am ready to be a mom, and that the Lord’s plan for us is to start growing our family. You know, even as a very blessed woman living in a loving marriage, there were times when I still hadn’t been quite sure if the time was right—and then it clicked and […]

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Take It Easy—On Your Kids

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

So you want to be a great mom. I’m sure there are some days you think the world expects you to be a perfect mom. Well, some people do expect that from you, those silly folks. They will also tell you that your child needs to tow the line with the expectations placed by the powers that be. But I’m telling you, no they do not. While we want to help our children grow up to be productive, loving, kind adults, we don’t want to force them into a one-size-fits-all little person. There are some things that the clamoring masses tell us we should deal with in our children that just aren’t true. The challenges you face with your little person may well be

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14 Ways to Save Time and Money on Family Meal Planning

By Amber Koehn / Motherhood

When I first became a stay-at-home mom, my children were younger and fairly easy to please. At the time, I had an infant, a two-year-old, and two in elementary school. Family meal planning was virtually stress-free because my girls would pretty much eat whatever was in front of them. My kids were great at giving me a false sense of what homemaker life would be like. Eventually, they went and did what every child in the history of children has done: they got older. And with that, my days of making small, simple meals every night went right out the window. I didn’t realize an eight-year-old girl could eat like a teenage boy! Not only was my growing family draining my pantry,

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author Kathy Izard with her pair of Mommy and Me books

Love Mommy and Me Books? Add This Pair to Your Shelf

By Kathy Izard / Motherhood

When looking for Mommy and Me books, typically people are talking about titles that can be shared aloud with children. But as a mom of four daughters and grandmother to two grandsons, award-winning author Kathy Izard had a different idea. “I started thinking about how great it would be if families could be sharing books on the same topic by the same author, written for different age groups,” she said. Her first pairing was her memoir about homelessness, The Hundred Story Home, along with an illustrated book for children, A Good Night for Mr. Coleman. The books were published three years apart, but families, schools and churches have used them to discuss homelessness and how one person can make a difference. Mommy

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5 Ways to Get Your Teenager Off Screens Now

By Meaghan Dawson / Motherhood

My oldest son has the most beautiful head of blonde hair I have ever seen. I know this is an odd statement, but it’s true. I have been stopped by strangers in public who compliment me on his cool hair, even though he is past the cute baby stage and well into the gangly preteen years. It’s the envy of his friends (I’m not lying about this,) and a color many women pay hundreds of dollars to maintain. But for me personally, I’m tired of seeing it. Let me rephrase. I’m tired of seeing just the very top of his hair as he stares down, neck craned in that awkward “I’m staring at my phone” posture. I want to see his eyes.

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This Mom Is Sending out an SOS That Will Make You LOL

By Laila Schell / Motherhood

In the spirit of keeping it real with you, I thought I’d write today on how much of a hot mess I am. Side note, it’s currently 3:53 pm (I like to call this time the witching hour in our house), and I’m hiding in a dark room listening to my 5-year-old “make juice” for supper. If you already have kids then you know how bad this is and if you don’t, then let me tell you, it’s bad. I just don’t have the energy today to stop him. And I’m in over my head. It probably started last night but it’s all kind of a blur right now. I went to visit a friend’s new place after dropping my teenage daughter off

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This Kind of Love Is What Makes a Mother’s Legacy

By Darlene Brock / Faith, Motherhood

It was 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday. Each year the second Sunday of May is appointed as a day of celebration, set aside to honor the ladies in our families who have taken on the task of motherhood. An honor much deserved and earned daily by the mothers who fulfill this vital role. Whether she is a biological, foster, step, or adoptive mom, all mothers have offered a glimpse into the “love chapter” in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13. This portrait of perfect love can be seen through these imperfect ladies in the things they do daily. From their simple acts and unrelenting patience to their profound endurance, mothers exemplify the impact of love. These are the days

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Celebrating All of the Real Mother’s Days

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

I know we’ve all been convinced that Mother’s Day occurs each year on some Sunday in May—the day to be celebrated if you’re a mother…if not, to celebrate the one that you call mom. I sometimes wonder if it’s a restaurant and retail conspiracy. But I’m here to tell you that this day is not the Mother’s Day that I love. Yes, it’s on the calendar, and all children, spouses, and various family members are required to give gifts or send flowers. They feel like they must take you to a restaurant to wait in line for an hour, along with every other mother in the city where you live, and crowd around the table with over-worked servers trying to accommodate the big families

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Why It’s Important to Share the Woman You Used to Be

By Ashby Duval / Motherhood

Over the years, I have been a part of several groups of women: organizations, study groups, gatherings of friends, etc. Recently, I was sitting in the audience of one such group when a mom of two stood up to share a bit about herself and her family. She mentioned she used to be a softball catcher and a trombone player and received her master’s at UF. And here she was, a stay-at-home mom with two small children whom she is currently homeschooling. That, plus her quiet disposition and love of motherhood, had pegged her in my mind as someone who must have grown up thinking that’s what she aspired to be. She was the second woman that week who surprised me with her unlikely

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High-School-Graduation-A-Mom's-Rite-of-Passage

High School Graduation: Things Are Changing, but for the Good

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

My eldest daughter’s high school graduation had befallen. I’m not sure how we got here. Yes, seems like only yesterday… On the other hand, I had the wrinkles to prove it wasn’t! Created not only by the passage of time but also probably gained by potty training failures, elementary school multiplication tables, middle school emotional swings, high school auto accidents, and a revolving door of boyfriends. We had to shop for a little white dress to go under the white graduation robe. We couldn’t have a bright red dress showing through, now could we? This was just one of the activities, plans, and expenses as we prepared for the day we had all worked so very hard for. We had an entire list.

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Is Your Teen Phubbing You? 4 Fixes to Try Now

By Brianna Barrett / Motherhood

When I was growing up, the family joke was that my parents would be able to identify me by my palm (because as a teen I would ask for money with my hand open). Now, we can say we can identify our children by the tops of their heads bent over their phones. Have you ever been talking to someone and noticed they are only half paying attention to you and are staring intently at their phones? If you have a teenager, I’m sure you’ve experienced it. The person is focused on their device while ignoring you—a person in close contact with them. Welcome to the season of phubbing. Phubbing is defined as “the act of ignoring someone you are with and

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The Most Devastating Words You Can Say as Mom

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

I was listening to the radio a while back, and the three grown men who were hosting began a dialogue about punishments they were given as a child. The list was vast. They laughed through their comparisons of infractions they accomplished and the penalties they were awarded: grounding, car keys taken away, dad’s belt was among them. Then one of these gentlemen paused and said, “I’ll tell you the worst—it’s when my mom said, ‘I’m disappointed in you.’ That one was horrible.” The moaning and commiserating began. “That’s the truth; there’s nothing worse. It makes you feel awful,” one said. “Yeah, my mom said that and I remembered it for days. There is nothing worse than disappointing your mom,” replied another. Now, these

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8 Things Moms Should Say to Raise Strong Kids

Say These 8 Phrases to Raise Strong Kids

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood

In their most powerful form, words have the ability to shape one’s character, self-esteem, and relationships. They can impact us for better or worse for the rest of our lives. As moms, our words in particular shape our children, and the longer my motherhood journey continues, the more I discover this to be true. I’ve witnessed the positive impact of my words—evidenced by my girls’ grins, hugs, and outward joy—as well as the pain that my words can illicit, spoken in the moments of impatience or anger. Both can have a lingering effect. If you’re like me and looking to add more life-giving phrases to your everyday vernacular, here are 8 things (outside of “I love you”) you should consider saying to

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A Kid in Last Place Can Make a Mom Proud

By Michelle Hurst / Motherhood

No one would ever mistake me for a dance mom. I can barely tell the difference between a leotard and a swimsuit. My girl has been in dance for over four years and I’d still rather vacuum than help her put wiggle into tights – which is really saying a lot. Her debut was a Junior League Christmas shopping event where they had squeezed a stage in the corner and invited local dance studios to perform while women shopped for all things Santa and rhinestones. My daughter was barely out of pull ups. I realize this is awfully young for organized classes of any kind but after much pressure from anyone who watched her shake and twirl anywhere music was playing, I

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To the Woman Who Cleaned up After My Autistic Son

By Laura Hurd / Motherhood

We never know when a meltdown will happen. We know that certain environments don’t sit well with my five-year-old autistic son. Open spaces cause him extreme anxiety. New places make him want to flee. But we can’t stay cooped up in our home forever—especially for a trip to speech therapy. Yes, we have become quite familiar with the waiting room of our son’s speech therapist. I must say that she has a well-equipped one. There is every type of busy toy you could think of: coloring books, train sets, magnets, a framed metal board, and all kinds of sensory playthings. Even so, my son has bad days. To look at him, you would never assume he has extra special needs. There is

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You Need to Talk to Your Teen Girl About Sex, Here’s How to Do It

By Dr. Zoe / Motherhood

Are you that mom who would rather stick an icepick through your eye than talk to your teen girl about sex (seriously, it doesn’t have to be that bad!)? Or maybe the idea of sex conversations makes you squirm a little. We need to talk, girlfriend! First, let’s talk about why you need to have the conversations. Notice I said conversations. This really should be an ongoing conversation that starts in preschool. But if you are behind the 8 ball, and even if you fear that your daughter may have already had sex, take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. It’s time to talk. The reason why research has demonstrated that abstinence programs have not been successful (teens who participate in

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The Everyday Mom Moments That Will Make You Laugh

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

So you’re on the mom road. The one that is filled with every emotion—fear, joy, frustration, laughter, angst, and frenzy all colliding within the same 30-minute window of your day. You want to teach your child what they need to live; you want to be great at this job, but some days you just shake your head at the places you find yourself. Just to give every mom a pass, I want to share a few of those everyday mom moments that we all live through: 1. Since your first child was a girl, you quickly learn that face first when changing your newborn son is a dangerous place to be. 2. You mumble “good job” in your sleep because it appears to be the only

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