School is out, the hot weather seems to have settled in for the season, and summer vacation is here! Our family will be taking our yearly trek to the Smokey Mountains and we are excited to have some planned time to relax and refuel from the busy year. Enjoy your weekend!
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With a road trip quickly approaching, I am printing off a bunch of these winners to keep the little ones occupied!
“I have three goals when I create a car trip binder for the kids:
1. Include surprise activities they can do both on their own & with others in the car
2. Find fun things that will keep them off the tech for a while
3. Get the kids interested in the places we’re visiting on our trip — because that’s one of the reasons we travel, right?!”
Head over to EDventures with Kids for more ideas.
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This was a great reminder for me to be pouring into my relationship with my husband, even more than I pour into my kids. Sometimes it’s hard to be disciplined and make time for your spouse with little ones underfoot. There’s some much needed encouragement and ideas in this article from Gavin Ortlund at The Gospel Coalition:
“Lately, I’ve been thinking about something my mom once said: being a parent, for all the strains it can put on your marriage, also allows your marriage to grow deeper and richer. It’s like going into battle with someone, coming home, and then realizing what good friends you’ve become because you were in the trenches together. So I’m learning to see this challenging season as an opportunity for our marriage, not merely a phase to endure.”
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Although my daughters are 3 and 1, I am keeping this in mind for future years. What a great idea to start a conversation with your tween or teen. Especially in today’s culture.
“At nine and eleven, my girls already have weighty topics on their hearts. One of my daughters had been privately holding onto a heavy school situation that just took my breath away. Being able to write the story and get it all out seemed to alleviate a huge amount of stress for her.”
Follow Lasso the Moon for more inspiration
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This post has been making the rounds on social media, and I’m glad I stumbled upon it. Sometime in the last few years, women have gone from supporting each other to critiquing each other. How much better would it be if we created a culture of encouragement? From Sarah Williams at Six Williams:
“For all of the ways I fail, I am not actually failing my children.
I have probably said this a million times, but I will continue to beat this drum: being an imperfect mom does not make you a bad mom. It makes you normal.
Somewhere along the lines, normal became second-class.
And the unattainable, perfect mom became the standard.”
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I love this site. Thrive Moms is a wonderful resource for encouragement and beautiful reminder that moms need support! Also, they just added a new app for your phone! Check it out today, you’ll be glad you did.
“I write this as a challenge to you mamas. What if we looked around us for ways that God was calling us to motherhood outside of our homes? Maybe he isn’t maybe your calling is something else, but for many of us I bet that He is. God gave us the gift of motherhood, and yes that means for the babies under our roof, but maybe it also means that the mantle of motherhood for us includes God’s children from our churches or neighborhoods, from across the globe or across the tracks. Just keep your eyes and hearts open mamas, your calling to motherhood can be so much more than you imagine it is.”
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Enjoy your weekend!
Let us know what you are up too!
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