December 9, 2019
by Maralee
Comments Off on When The Baby Turns Five
When The Baby turns five, you’ll breathe a big sigh of relief. You’ve made it out of the baby years with your sanity in tact. No more diapers. He can mostly feed himself. He puts on his own pants. He … Continue reading
June 14, 2019
by Maralee
1 Comment
Dear Foster Dads, I can’t tell you how many women I talk to who tell me some variation of “I would love to take a foster child into our home, but my husband. . . he’s just not behind the … Continue reading
May 6, 2019
by Maralee
Comments Off on I’m Done Apologizing for My Apologies
I was late to a meeting this morning. It was absolutely unavoidable because I had to drop my kids off at school (which starts at 9 a.m.) before I could head over to the meeting across town (which also started … Continue reading
February 1, 2019
by Maralee
1 Comment
Quitting has a bad reputation. It’s perceived to be giving up on your dreams or on yourself. It’s what you do when you’ve run out of willpower, support or talent. It’s that thing that losers do. Whatever else we do … Continue reading
January 29, 2019
by Maralee
2 Comments
My husband and I watched the “Minimalism” documentary on Netflix recently and it definitely made an impact. I immediately started looking around my house for things I could get rid of and briefly considered setting fire to the small piles … Continue reading
December 3, 2018
by Maralee
Comments Off on Zechariah and The Impossible Prayer Request
We got a letter from our pastor about something new our church leadership is trying for Christmas this year. There is going to be a Christmas offering– something above and beyond what we would normally give to help support our … Continue reading
October 3, 2018
by Maralee
Comments Off on Raising Kids Who are Close in Age is Easier Than you Think
I have six kids. Those six kids came to me over the course of 7 years through a mix of birth, international adoption and adoption through foster care. When my youngest was born my kids were 8, 6, 5, 3, … Continue reading
September 24, 2018
by Maralee
Comments Off on Dear Son, Our Work Together Isn’t Done Yet
I woke up early to come wake you up. Even though you don’t need me to. Even though you’re capable of waking up on your own to your own alarm clock in your own room. Every day you become more … Continue reading
September 20, 2018
by Maralee
1 Comment
I recently had the privilege of working with Nebraska Public Television on a short parenting segment that will be used as part of a child abuse prevention campaign. It was a new experience for me since up to this point … Continue reading
August 6, 2018
by Maralee
1 Comment
My Sweet Kids, I know there have been times you have felt poor. There are vacations we can’t go on, the hand-me-down wardrobes, the times we didn’t send you to a friend’s birthday party because we couldn’t afford to buy … Continue reading