Wisdom of Tolkien

****Disclaimer before reading this post. Of course I have the greatest family and Beth. The world wasn’t completely lonely. My world has always been amazing. I thank God daily for that, and don’t know what I did to deserve it. I love my family and I love Beth. I’ve been so blessed. But that didn’t

The Ten Virgins and Parenting

Ivy was recently watching a child’s video before church on Sunday. In the video, ten children were standing outside waiting for a bus to take them on a field trip. The children were going to a zoo and the ten children each listed what animal they were excited to see. In the animated video, 5

Defense of Love You Forever

Love You Forever written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Sheila McGraw. Beth made a big mistake and I’m calling her out here. She has criticized Love You Forever. For those unfamiliar with this fabulous children’s book, you can watch a 5-minute video HERE to have it read out loud to you. Or you can

Ivy Thoughts Part 2

There’s this book Ivy loves called “Icarus.” We learned there are a series of these books that take Greek legends and makes them into children’s stories with a lesson. Icarus, for example, flies his kite too high until it hits trees, similar to the Greek legend of Icarus flying too close to the sun. Anyways,

The Lesser Talked about Sacrifice of the Atonement

One of the tragedies the trinitarian belief (that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one being) has taken away is appreciation and understanding of God’s part of the sacrifice in the Atonement. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.” Doesn’t mean much if there isn’t actually a

Ivy Thoughts Part 1

As a parent, you can’t remember a fraction of the funny things your toddler says. Here’s a list of things I’ve remembered from the past few months. Any parent will love and relate to this. And I imagine non-parents will find at least one of these things pretty funny. List of fun things Ivy has

Float

If you’re a parent and ever get frustrated with your kids (every parent), especially if they are younger kids, you need to check out the Disney short called “Float.” It’s only 6 minutes long and can be watched on Disney+ or HERE. I have to remind myself often that Ivy is constantly experimenting. Everything she

Lost

I wrote this our first Sunday at church with Sage. I don’t know what I wanted out of life as a teenager. I wasn’t someone who pictured certain things. I don’t remember picturing what my ideal life would be. Today we sat in church for the first time with Sage. She is 8 days old.

Another Toddler Experience

I hope parents learn from their toddlers. I learn from Ivy all the time. Here is a simple example. Today we were all sitting on the couch. Sage was cradled in my left arm. Beth was sitting to my right with Ivy in her lap. Bengie, our aging dog, was between us. Ivy was doing

Last Night I let the Party get the best of me (No Sleep)

Remember last week when I wrote about The greatest moment of my life every day? Yeah, well here’s the dark side of that smile. There’s a serious question/joke every new parent has heard at least 100 times.  Are you getting any sleep? Why are we asked this question? Because it’s a REAL concern. So, for