The "Funny Farm" of the Cowles family.
We've hit this stage in our parenting where boys are starting to take notice of our girls. We were out to dinner one night and I noticed a boy "do a double take". I put my head down and giggled. Hubby is SO NOT READY for this stage. He said they can date as… Continue reading Entrust
40 years... 40 years is a long time. 40 years is a short time. It's all about perspective. Some days I feel ALL of those 40 years. Other days I feel like a kid. I've heard the first 40 years of childhood are the hardest. At least I did all the stupid stuff before… Continue reading I am 40
This morning, sitting in our favorite pew in church, singing "How Great is Our God", it hit me how different this church service could have been for the girls and I. Two days ago, Hubby was in the attic at work, running wire to relocate a computer to another part of the factory. While in… Continue reading Heels Over Head
When soccer (or really any sport) is your children's lives, it becomes your life, and life seems to move around the sport. Laundry loads are based around what jersey needs washed for tomorrow's game. Meal planning is essential, and the crockpot is a permanent fixture in the counter. Soccer bags, muddy cleats, sweaty socks, and… Continue reading Life of a Soccer Mom
Sun beating down. I can almost feel each sun ray driving into my skin. Cleats tied up. Ball at my feet. Opponent’s coach says, “This is our biggest rival.” ...Great, more pressure. They have beaten us in the past. This is going to be a tough game. Whistle blows. Move. … Continue reading Soccer is my life
No person is good enough to be loved by God. No one sin is "greater" than another. We all are "failures" when it comes to being good enough. The best part of all of that...God loves us anyway. He loves us despite our failures and faults. He loves us regardless of how we behave. He… Continue reading The Leaning Process
You know how it's hard to see things clearly sometimes, when you're too close? Those are the times we need a perspective change. Kids, as well as adults, need reminders that sometimes our circumstances are not as bad as we are making them out to be. An "attitude of gratitude" is needed. I've started a… Continue reading Give me 5!
When they were babies, and they would cry, I would go though the questions. Is she hungry? Does she need a diaper change? Is she too hot? Do I hold her or let her cry it out? Am I holding her too much? Am I not holding her enough? Then as a toddler... of course… Continue reading The Mom Doubts
I can't believe you are 13! Where did my baby go? So another birthday, another letter from your momma. 3 years ago I wrote you what I thought you needed to know to "do life". I still believe you need those words, but I also know you need more. So, my girl, here are the… Continue reading T, 13 things before you turn 13
You've heard the phrase, "Live like it's your last", but I would suggest to you to "LOVE like it's your last" day on earth. We are not promised tomorrow. If I have learned anything in my short 39 years, I've learned that life is short and fast. If today was your last day on earth, … Continue reading Love for Today
"Smile from the Heart." My very own, made up by myself, true to my life, MOTTO. Ok, so it doesn't sound like I could have made it up on my own, but I did. Maybe someone, some where out there in the big wide world said it first, but I had never heard it before… Continue reading Smile from the Heart
When someone mentions the name "Abe Lincoln" what image comes to mind? Long black beard and tall black hat, right? Did you know that an 11 year old little girl was the one that told him he should grow a beard? Her name was Grace Bedell. She wrote a letter to President Lincoln (weeks before… Continue reading Change the World
I had a meltdown today. Probably could call it a temper tantrum, but it was minus the laying down and kicking part. It was like the world was against me today. Like I could do nothing right! Then I picked up my girls from soccer practice this evening to find out they have "TONS" of… Continue reading Momma’s having a Meltdown
A lot of times we share only the good parts of our lives, but if we can't share the bad, then how can we truly share in the good? So here it is. This morning I woke up to arguing about the cereal box and milk. I let it go. They need to learn to… Continue reading Daily Choice
We are approaching that time again in the year, the time of year I dread. SCHOOL IS STARTING AGAIN! Every morning, ever since the girls' first day of kindergarten, we pray on the way to school. I pray for different things every day, but I always end it with a specific phrase. "Lord, give them… Continue reading Strength, Wisdom, and Courage
Prayer Journal entry a few months after T was born.... "Lord, she won't stop crying. I can't make it stop. Please make it stop. Please help her to sleep. Please let me get rest. Lord, Make me a better wife and mom." ....a few months later.... "Lord, I am SO not a good mom. I… Continue reading The PERFECT mom
I was looking back at some notes I had written in my "memory notebooks" and came across some of these hilarious memories that I had forgotten. 1. One night we were sitting in church, all four of us, and my youngest saw the Bible in the pew rack and pulled it out. She opened up… Continue reading Kids say the darndest things
Besides my "nighttime notebooks", I have these notebooks that only I write in. (Nighttime notebooks are for each of the girls and I to write back and forth.) I started these memory notebooks about a year after my youngest was born. I knew they would never remember things from when they were little, and I… Continue reading Memory notebooks
Many years ago, my mom was responsible for moving her grandfather (my great-grandfather) into a nursing home. He was in his 90s, and we had tried letting him live on his own but we kept getting calls from his friends letting us know that he wasn't taking his meds or he was wondering around lost.… Continue reading Linking generations
Around Christmas, our oldest was invited to a youth group all-nighter. When I told my hubby that she was invited AND wanted to go, his response had me laughing so hard I was crying. He said, with all seriousness, "Why does she want to be with her friends instead of us?" To which I replied,… Continue reading Letting Go
T and S, Another year older and another letter from your momma. You NEED to know how much just your existence has made a difference in this world. 1. You made me a mom. You changed my life for the better. You are a blessing to this family and we would not be same if… Continue reading YOU ARE SO LOVED
My mom recently gave me some old school papers and photo albums of mine. In the box of stuff, I found a paper that I had filled out when I was 8 years old. At the bottom the paper was the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My answer, written… Continue reading Living the Dream
My sweet girlies, Picture this...You are driving to meet a friend for dinner. Along the way, your friend calls and says, "Be careful, there is an accident ahead of you." You can't see the road ahead, but your friend was already there and had seen it and warned you. You got a chance to switch… Continue reading Bigger Picture
Like most two year olds, when T was about two years old, she was just pushing my buttons. After the 5th time of me telling her to "Stop eating the dog food!", she threw a fit. I waited patiently until she was done with her fit and I asked if she "had put her 'grumpy… Continue reading “Grumpy Pants”
My sweet girls, In my short 38 years, I've unfortunately been apart of many funerals. The whole day is just awful, but to me the worst is the "visitation". Basically what happens is people you know and many you hardly know come to the church or funeral home and they want to express how sorry… Continue reading Funerals
Picture this... You are standing in a garden with your friends. A group of soldiers walk up and your friend says, "Who are you looking for?" The soldier says your friend's name. Your friend says, "I am he!" He says it with such power and authority, that when the words leave his lips the soldiers… Continue reading Real life SUPER HERO
My sweet precious girls, I was determined. I was determined to not "let it beat me". I was determined to not let the fear take over... Looking into the face of a doctor, a man I had come to respect, and see the fear in his eyes, (even though his mouth is saying he's "not… Continue reading The Waiting Room
As with every kid, when the girls were little, they liked to jump on furniture. Bed, couch, chairs, coffee table...it didn't matter what it was, they jumped on it, and as with every mom, jumping on the furniture is huge no-no! One day, I caught them jumping on T's bed, and told them to get… Continue reading Jumping on the couch
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Col. 3:23-24 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Cor. 10:31 What… Continue reading EVERYTHING you do…
This was my Facebook status today, "If you find me in a ball, in the corner of the room, crying my eyes out, it's o.k. Just let me be. It's just that the school book bags are out and packed." I hate school! I hate school more now, as a mom, then I did when… Continue reading Back to the “S” Word!!!!
One day, when the girls were around 2 and 3, they were playing in the playroom. I was doing laundry in the other room, and hearing normal play noise. Then things got quiet. Too quiet. As a mom, you know, when things get quiet, that's never a good sign. So I had to go to… Continue reading Too Quiet
When the girls were little, I was in the kitchen making breakfast and they were playing in the living room. I heard giggles and dancing and clapping so I went out to see what all the excitement was about. I watched for a bit as they were jumping in the air and clapping at what… Continue reading Sun Fuzzies
I was saying goodnight to the girls and I was in S's room and I asked my regular nightly question, "what was the favorite part of your day?" S told me and I told her my other "regular", "wake me if you need me." She smiled and I added, "because you know when I'm old… Continue reading “Wake me if you need me.”
(Ironically, this pic was just snuggling, but I thought it looked like they were choking each other. 😉 ) As I sit here in our sunroom, I'm in awe of how the girls can go from one minute of practically RIPPING each others heads off to, giggly, happy girls the next. Their fights have never… Continue reading Learning to Argue
I found a letter like this on pinterest and loved it. After I wrote one for T, I wanted the same thing for S. I took S out for ice cream, and I gave her this letter. I told her that she could read it to herself, or I could read it to her. She… Continue reading S, 10 things for you to know before you turn 10!
T and S, Did you know mom had a life before you? No seriously! I can hardly imagine my life without you girls now, but I went to school, had parents and a sister who loved me to the moon and back, had a curfew, had a few (sorry Daddy) car crashes, had boyfriends, and… Continue reading Invisible
I don't know how many times people have said to me, "You always have a smile on your face.". It took probably 100 people to tell me until I finally realized that I must have a smile on my face all the time. I am a "wear your heart on your sleeve" kind of girl.… Continue reading I Will Be A Difference Maker
Another letter to my girls.... Your dad and I met at church when he came here to the States to go to college. The first time I saw him walking his Nana into church, I thought he was really cute! We were in the college and career class together and we did a lot of… Continue reading Happily Ever After / Invested Forever After
Back when my girls were little, I was keeping a journal about what we did that day. One for each girl. When T started Kindergarten, I thought it would good to get her to journal and practice her letters. (It became a great communication tool for us when she was being bullied, and was too… Continue reading Nighttime Notebooks
T, turned 10 last May, and this was a letter I wrote to her. I took her out to go shopping, on a "mommy/daughter date", and gave her this letter. I found one on pinterest and loved the idea. 1. It is not your job to keep the people you love happy. Not me, not… Continue reading T, 10 things for you to know before you turn 10
I wrote a letter to my girls, like I have been since the day they were born. I recently wrote a letter to them about crying, and how important it is. I thought I would share part of it with you all. Partly for you to know me better, and partly because I think we… Continue reading Danger in Dry Eyes
Cowles Farm 