November is national adoption awareness month. (note that I did not say national Let's celebrate adoption month.) I'm know we are all likely aware of adoption, but I don't think we're all likely aware of the implications and complexities of adoption. Thus the awareness part of national adoption awareness month. Is there something you've always wanted to ask about adoption but never did? Ask me. Is there something that's stopping you from adopting? Tell me what it is. Do you know someone who has or is adopting and you want to be a better support to them? Let's talk about that. Does it scare ..read more

I'm cheap. Stingy. Parsimoniously. A penny pincher. Tight fisted. Frugal. Good or bad and regardless of what we call it, I'm pretty much that when it comes to our grocery budget! Because in my head it affords us to spend money in other ways, like all the expenses those wonderful 8 kids of ours require! Or perhaps a well-earned mom-dad only trip to Hawaii? Yeah, that kind of stuff. I've always gotten lots of questions about how I feed our family so affordably, so I thought I'd use this as a discussion prompt and tell you how I do it and what works for our family. This is just us and what wor ..read more

1-Thank you.  2-I didn't know something like that was survivable. 3-I didn't know I was a dog person. My kids say I am now. 4-Thank you!  I've gained a deeper appreciation for the fact that I'm the kind of gal that processes things by talking about them. I talk about stuff that weighs on me. A lot. In depth. In detail. I'm the type of gal that not only shares openly, but seeks out and embraces the tribe for comfort. Thank you for those that read my IG and Facebook posts last week and saw the photos and commented on the story and reached out and said How is Monday doing? How are you doing? If y ..read more

Mimi loves to do this.And she loves to do this often! Monday... not so much. But she tolerates Mimi's love language which is evidently acts of service, specifically giving baths to puppies in the kitchen sink. Right about this time last spring, Papa and I were thinking of some ways to bring some more joy and happiness into our home. Honestly I didn't have get a dog on my radar since we lost our Spirit about 18 months prior, and honestly it still hurt my heart to think about. Still does. But... there were a few people in the house that really needed some more honest-to-goodness unconditional d ..read more