parenting | 4tunate

Raising a Home Full of Boys Over a Frat House

January 28th, 2015

I wasn’t a regular at the Frat Houses during my days at Butler University, but the times I did step inside of them I was hit with the smell of urine and beer. Not the most luring or pleasing smell to a 20 something girl, and somehow I haven’t acquired an appreciation for either …

Fresh Year, Fresh Starts

January 8th, 2015

Even in its bitter harshness (ummm -7 this morning was completely unacceptable, Indiana), there’s something I love about January. I love fresh starts. I love the blankness of a clean slate. Do-overs are embraced, and we all cheer on each other’s ambitious. There’s real beauty in that, Friends. After if we all learned something in …

Boy Mama Confession: I Let Them Play Ball In the House

November 18th, 2014

I grew up on Indiana basketball. I would watch it on the floor of our family room on our Zenith TV with my pajamas and pom-poms thinking they needed my cheers to win. Team sports have been part of my childhood and adulthood as I’ve participated and cheered on various teams through the years. Now …

How Life Has Changed Since Becoming a School Mom {Or Not}

September 4th, 2014

We are into our 4th week of school and one of the biggest adjustments of our lives, and Brad and I are still pinching ourselves over how well smoothly it’s running. No tears, no complaints, no reluctance – is this just honeymoon newbie school phase still? People keep stopping to ask me what I’m doing …

When Words Are Harsh

July 14th, 2014

Always thankful when Brad shares his words here… Since the day the Lord blessed us with four baby boys, I feel like I have been on a parenting crash course. There is no class each year to prepare you for the next phase of parenting, you know? Have you ever woke up one morning and …

On Being Steadfast…

June 9th, 2014

Oh, Parenting. You are a different bag of tricks than I had expected. I’ve been searching for the quick fixes, and happily ever afters, and everyone wins, and they’re not to be found. Instead it’s the daily race of being steadfast. It’s being a constant, consistent, calm, steady, gentle, faithful, firm, continual, and grounded …

Teaching Gratitude at Christmas Through Hand-Written Cards

December 6th, 2013

We’re doing our best at making this year a simple Christmas season. Less fuss. Less stress. Less stuff. More of focusing on what MATTERS in the Season. I don’t want to leave thankfulness back in November. I’d love for it to be heavily sprinkled onto the things we do during this month of December. …

When Strangers Lose Their Filter

October 15th, 2013

I was standing in line for our favorite pulled pork meal, and I overheard him. The boys were across the way, picking out a window seat, helping daddy fill up drinks and snacking on pickles. He had spotted my them and was putting together the fact that there were four of them sharing one birthday. …