I’m in Nunnelly, TN this weekend at a retreat with some other ladies from our church. We are going through a 9-month intensive discipleship program together. This is my 5th time through this program and each year I go through it, it continues to deeply impact my life!
Here’s a peek into the last week at our house…
Kierstyn was working on her homework this morning and the boys came over to observe. Watching David intently pay attention to everything she was doing and how patient she was in telling her brothers about what she was working on was just so beautiful!
David brings such a calm to our home and to Micah and Kierstyn’s life. I worried when we said yes how it might impact their lives. And it has definitely impacted them — but in the best of ways I couldn’t have dreamed or imagined.
Micah is SOO excited because he is now taller than David and, according to him, he is now officially “David’s Big Brother.” He was so pumped up about this because it means he can protect David. He came up with this all on his own.
Earlier this week, they went to drop-in daycare while Jesse and I had a meeting. The whole time leading up to dropoff, he kept saying things like, “I will protect David. If anyone tries to hurt him, I will tell them no and stop them.”
He also told me this week that he has to eat a lot of food so he can grow big and strong to be David’s protector.
I think back to when I found out I was pregnant with him and how overwhelmed I felt at having a brand-new baby while also caring for a tiny boy who had such significant needs. But God knew better.
God knew exactly what I needed in the gift of Micah (he is such a precious mama’s boy who is always taking care of me) and that David would also be getting a fierce advocate and protector in Micah.
After school on Wednesday Kierstyn and I went to Goodwill! We found a bunch of great stuff for only $28 – click here to see the full shopping trip! Pictured here is her Twinkle Toes sneakers that she has been wanting and she LOVES them!
We went to Sam’s Club together for fun this morning as part of our Friday morning Sabbath time together. (Does that make us weird that we love grocery shopping together and 100% qualify it as a date??)
Discovered their Chobani yogurts that David loves (and are one of the few things he loves being fed) are around $0.25 cheaper per cup!!
If you’ve been considering a Sam’s Club membership, you can get a one-year membership right now for just $25!
This is something I did for years in the name of productivity. Listening to a podcast while driving. Turning on an audiobook while I fold laundry. Scrolling on Instagram while I eat lunch. Always consuming, never just… being.
And then wondering why I felt tired and scattered.
This year, I’m practicing the lost art of stillness. Of driving without listening to anything. Of sitting and eating lunch without scrolling on my phone. Of waiting in quietness without needing to fill the space with doing something.
It’s uncomfortable at first. But I’m realizing how much I actually notice my surroundings more and breathe more deeply when I don’t try to fill every moment with noise and consuming and doing.
There’s nothing wrong with consuming — it can bring a lot of inspiration, fun, conviction, and encouragement to our lives. But when we are using it to avoid stillness or when we can’t just sit in quiet, that’s likely an indication we may need to challenge ourselves to practice more stillness and being present right where we are.
After all, it’s not just our bodies that need regular rest; our brains do, too. I share more about it in this Instagram post here.
My #1 parenting tip as a 44-year-old mom of 6: stop trying to fix your kids and start loving them and walking with them right where they are.
I get it. We want to raise kids of character who love Jesus and go out in the world and make a difference. But the biggest way to build a wedge in your relationship is to project all your expectations on them and constantly point out what they are doing wrong.
There is a time and place for correction, but let it be built on a solid foundation of connection.
Think about it, if someone in your life is just constantly nit-picking everything you do and telling you where you were falling short, would you want to hang around that person and spend time with them? Probably not. In fact, there’s a good chance you might go out of your way to avoid them — lest you be reminded, yet again, of everything you are doing wrong and how you don’t measure up to their standards and are disappointing them.
Every day — through our words and expressions and attitude — we have an opportunity to build a little bit more of a bridge or burn a little bit more of a bridge. It’s our choice.
Let’s choose to ask the Holy Spirit to flood us with love and kindness for our kids.
Let’s catch them doing things right and call it out.
Let’s praise 10 times more than we correct.
Let’s talk well of them to others.
Let’s enjoy our kids and have fun with them.
Let’s lean in and love.
Let’s ask curious questions instead of jumping to conclusions or criticism.
Let’s lay down our pride over our reputation and our fear over the future, and let’s just focus on lavishly loving these gifts that God has entrusted to us — as He has so loved us! 
If you want more ideas and practical encouragement to build a stronger relationship with your kids and love motherhood more, I have a free 10-day course I’d love to send you! It shares my own journey to learning to let go and fall in love with motherhood in a whole new way! Sign up here!
I made one of our favorite dinners this week — Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. It’s so easy to make and I doubled it so we could have it for two dinners (plus, we used the leftovers for lunches one day!)
Q&A’s From This Week
I posted a question box on Instagram stories a few days ago and got a lot of questions. I wanted to share a few of my responses here…
Question: Do you do health sharing or health insurance? Which company, we’re facing job loss
Answer: We have private insurance that we pay out of pocket for. We’ve chosen this for a variety of reasons (one of which is that most don’t cover those with disabilities and I feel like it is hypocritical to be all about being prolife in name, but not in actual business practice), but it is definitely more $$. I know multiple friends who have health sharing plans and love them. We choose a high deductible plan with full coverage after you hit the deductible and set aside the deductible amount in a separate savings category. We get our quotes through Zander.
Question: Who is handling the business side of things? You seem so less stressed.
Answer: Oh! I love this question! The biggest thing is that I am not launching anything or starting anything or building anything new this year (other than my book launch in the fall). I usually launch/start/build multiple things in a year so it feels really calm and quiet and weird. I’m also saying no to almost all ongoing opportunities and business commitments outside of the basic things required to run the business. This has also made a huge difference.
In addition, last year we brought on 8 new team members and so we have a really fantastic team and great systems and no one is stretched too thin or having to juggle too much at once. We also worked hard to set up good systems thanks to having some wise business mentors who helped speak into this and my incredible business coach Alli Worthington! And best of all, I hired an incredible executive assistant through Belay and she has taken SO much off of my plate so I can focus on the things only I can do and those things I love doing! Thank you, Jessica!
Question: How are you present with one kid/ Jesse at a time? I always feel like another kid needs something from me.
Answer: My goal – no matter where I am – is to be where my feet are planted. So I try to focus on exactly right where I am and be fully present there instead of thinking of all the other places I could be or “should” be. I give each day to God and ask Him to help me be present and available where He has placed me. And then I try to make the most of the opportunities and moments I gave with Jesse and each of our kids. I’ve found that even 5 or 15 minutes can be super meaningful when you give your full attention to the conversation or to being fully present.
Response from Follower: Just wanted to say thanks for sharing Nourish. I started using it yesterday!
Answer: This makes me SO thrilled for you!!! Hiring a dietitian through Nourish has truly changed my life – and I still can’t believe it’s covered through insurance!
It’s like part therapy, part accountability to prioritize my health and nutrition in a really freeing manner, and part cheerleading to help me remember to take care of myself as a whole person! (See if your insurance covers it here!)
In Case You Missed It — Posts From This Week
My Homemade Vanilla Extract Experiment — I never realized how ridiculously EASY it is to make homemade vanilla extract; an official recipe isn’t even really needed! I followed some very basic directions, and I’m so excited about how they turned out! The result was delicious and frugal — but much-loved — Christmas gifts!
Baked Chicken Chimichangas and Cilantro Rice — If you love Mexican food, but don’t love the price of eating out, this week’s $10 Family Dinner post is for you! You can have this entire meal on the table in around 30 minutes (if your chicken is already cooked — this is a great way to use up leftover chicken!) –– and your entire family will love these baked chicken chimichangas!
From Instagram — a story about my follow-up call from the nurse after my colonoscopy. I hope it encourages you. On a different note, if you need a laugh today, watch this.
Brigette’s $55 Grocery Shopping Trip & Weekly Menu Plan for 4 – Check out what my sister is feeding her family this week!
This Week’s Podcast Episode
Just as a forewarning, this week’s episode might be a little bit TMI — it’s all about my recent colonoscopy! While I don’t get into the especially gritty details, I talk openly with Jesse about my experience because I really wanted to share the full story. I kept hearing from people who were scared of the procedure or avoided it because of what they’d heard about the prep, and I was nervous too, especially after reading all the horror stories online, but I found that preparation and good guidance made a bigger difference than I had expected!
Listen in as I walk you through why I had the procedures in the first place, including my long history with chronic anemia and how my doctors wanted to look for possible root causes rather than just treat symptoms. A big part of the episode is the prep experience because honestly, that’s what people tend to dread the most. However, I talk about starting a low-residue diet days early, sticking to very bland foods, and what it actually felt like to move into the clear-liquids phase. I share how hunger, brain fog, and low energy showed up for me and how surprisingly manageable the laxative process was compared to what I feared. I also mention small practical things that helped such as choosing certain drinks and realizing that some flavors quickly became unappealing once prep started.
I then walk you through the procedure day itself – checking in, getting an IV, anesthesia, and what it felt like waking up after sedation. The sedation was so strong and peaceful that I can understand why people describe it as a really good nap. In fact, I kind of didn’t want to wake up! I also reflect on how disorienting that it felt trying to talk afterward when my brain wasn’t putting words together correctly.
We also touch on recovery, what my results looked like so far, and why I truly believe that these screenings are worth it, so if you have been afraid of getting a colonoscopy, I really hope that this episode with Jesse makes it feel a lot more approachable!
Listen to the episode here.
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