Be a Thermostat, Not a Thermometer We experienced a little rise in temperature last week here in the Midwest– maybe the hottest and muggiest weather of the summer. I couldn’t help but notice how much easier it became to react in irritability when I was feeling the full effects of the heat and humidity. (Like when you get in the car and need oven mitts just to touch the steering wheel. Or you begin to smell your body odor only an hour ... Read More
Setting Routines
Setting Routines Proactively solving for the non-negotiable, systematic things in our life (like laundry and dinner) frees up valuable headspace and keeps things flowing as smoothly as possible in our homes and relationships. Setting base habits for these areas prevents us from growing irritable and overwhelmed in the scope of our daily responsibilities, and helps us to react and adjust gracefully when life happens. While we may not ... Read More
Recipes Round 2
What we are loving: Cottrell family edition We're not quite as adventurous as Michael & Tami, but we still love a good tasty dish! I've learned a lot in the cooking department since getting married three years ago, one of those being how to compromise meals that Eli and I both enjoy. See, his tacos are compromised of a tortilla, taco meat, and cheese. The end. I'm usually halfway through preparing my taco toppings while he's on to ... Read More
Balancing Reality with Expectation
The key struggle? To do it with grace. Honestly, as mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and friends, we all have expectations. We expect our children to wake up at a certain time in the morning, we expect our husbands to come home at a certain time in the evening, we expect a certain holiday to go a certain way, we expect our mother's advice to work out perfectly, we expect a meal to taste a certain way, a date night to go well, and ... Read More
15 Tips for Beating the Winter Blues
15 Tips for Beating the Winter Blues If you're anything like me, you may find yourself fighting off the wonderful winter blues this time of year. Freezing temperatures and longer nights have a way of imposing their cold, dark moods upon us. Mild seasonal depression is actually fairly common, and it can leave us feeling sluggish, bored, and gazing out the window dreaming of warmer days ahead. If this is you, I challenge you to a simple ... Read More
Tami’s 2021 Word of the Year
JOY. What a year to choose this word, a word that literally oozes out happiness. "Joy" was actually my word for 2020 as well, and boy, what a year to choose it. I'm more than happy to shut the book to this past year and open my brand new planner for 2021, but with it comes a strong conviction to once again, choose Joy. I confess that the word of the year for 2020 flew out the window. It was not at the forefront of my mind nor did ... Read More
Larissa’s 2021 Word of the Year
AS CLICHÉ AS IT FEELS, I love the opportunity the turning of a new year brings. It provides such a perfect bench point to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. To make peace with the old, while embracing the new. And each year, I like to choose a word that fits the season of life I’m in. I can take it with me throughout the year, reminding myself of my goals and keeping me focused even through the detours life ... Read More
Integrating the Gospel into the Everyday.
As followers of Christ, we have both been on our journey of faith for over 5 years. To some, this seems like very little time. To us, we barely remember the time before we devoted our lives to the Lord. The everyday can become mundane, however. The fire and drive we felt as new followers of Christ is hard to continue with the same vigor and passion when diapers need to be changed, emails need to be answered, remodels take up ... Read More