The "Funny Farm" of the Cowles family.
We are just a few months away from you turning another year older, and that means it’s time for another "Letter to my Girls". My babies, I can’t believe how grown you are. You are quickly approaching the ages when all I could think about was wanting to be a wife and a mom. I… Continue reading Parents have no clue
Work trip today with my babies! These are the things that make this Momma heart happy...just being with my adult girls. When you think about what your life will look like before you have kids, there are dreams that every Mom thinks about. Usually, the big things come first in our thoughts, big moments like… Continue reading Days of my dreams
This "whole blog thing" started with letters to my girls. It began as simple notes to them when they were babies. I wrote about their milestones and how much I loved being their Mom! As they grew, my writing grew. The simple notes turned into letters for their big birthdays and things I wanted them… Continue reading Letters to my Daughters
While your parents may be the loudest applause tonight, as you walk across the stage, THIS momma is silently remembering your soccer games, baseball games, field trips, class parties, and you being in our home, many nights, celebrating our girls lives. Your graduation from high school may feel bittersweet, but this is not an ending.… Continue reading Dear Class of 2022
We all have influence, no matter our age. You may think you have no influence, or you don't matter, but you do! You changed the world by just being born, and every day of your life, you matter! You bring a light to this world that was not present on this earth until you were… Continue reading Things Every Kid Needs to Hear from Their Parents!
Sunday morning was Christmas Sunday, the Sunday right before Christmas. Little girls in frilly dresses. Little boys tugging at the tie mom made him wear. It is the last Sunday that we can hand out our gifts and Christmas cards to our church friends. The Sunday service is for rejoicing and remembering the real reason… Continue reading Christmas Sunday Moms
My youngest starts her senior year of high school this week, and my oldest starts her first year of college. I feel like I'm the mom in the driver's seat that has just slammed on the breaks of the car and thrust my arm out to stop her and protect her. I'm wanting to hold… Continue reading Holding back from moving forward.
When the girls were little, as we did our bedtime routine, one of the last things I would say before I walked out of their room was, "What was the best part of your day?" I started saying it as a way to distract them from the desire to stay awake. What kid doesn't hate… Continue reading Best Part of Your Day?
While your parents may be the loudest applause tonight, as you walk across the stage, THIS momma is silently remembering your soccer games, baseball games, field trips, class parties, and you being in our home, many nights, celebrating our girls lives. I still see some of you in Kindergarten, when I would come to help… Continue reading Dear Class of 2021
I read about a lady who decided that she was going to be completely still for a few minutes a day for 14 days. I read through her daily notes while she was trying this experiment. The first few days were hard. She would wiggle. She would try to not think, but thinking happened. She… Continue reading Be still… so God can move
My favorite day of the week is Thursday. When I tell people that, they usually laugh and ask, "Why Thursday?" My response has always been, "because it's so close to the weekend and the anticipation of what's to come is so great.... ... but then Friday comes and goes and before we know it's Sunday… Continue reading Simply “Thursdays”
I cried myself to sleep the other night with feelings of nostalgia. I was thinking how quickly the girls have grown. I remembered how every birthday I would trace their little hand, and see how big it had gotten that year. I was thinking about how lately they are driving all over the place and… Continue reading A Family Promise
I am a wife of a very caring, loving husband who is my friend and we are raising our girls to recognize that the household does not run itself! We all work together to keep it going. You've heard me say before, this family does life together. That includes working together, (YES, we work at… Continue reading “This house does not run Itself!”
This weekend we did a tour of a college. The whole time I'm walking around this school and listening to the guide, I'm looking at both my girls and realizing that at some point they stopped looking like my little girls and looked like grown college students. They fit there. They looked like college kids.… Continue reading The Last Days that I missed
My baby...my itty bitty...who is now inches taller than me, got her driver's license! The places she can go, the experiences she can have...now she can have them without me by her side.Oh the fear! Not the fear of her driving, (although there is always the safety concern) but the fear that she is growing… Continue reading “DRIVING HEAD ON” into a new relationship with my daughters
I just heard my youngest say to a group of boys, "Yes, I'm a girl!". She said it with pride. See, she was playing a video game with some friends and they couldn't believe that "a girl" was "THAT GOOD" at video games. (She also got the passion award in school for geometry this year.)… Continue reading I am Woman hear me roar!
There is this very common phrase out there that says, "She believed she could, so she did." This is my new favorite shirt. While I believe that we women can do anything we put our minds to, I do believe that I can NOT do it without the Lord. I need Him in every aspect… Continue reading She Believed She Could
Picture this...I have a pair of glasses on that can only see green colors. All the other colors are seen as gray. Now, you have a pair of glasses on that only see blue. You can't see my green colors and I can't see your blue colors. Well, what would happen if we traded glasses?… Continue reading Seeing the world from other lenses
I'm the Nursery Director at our church. I love being the Nursery Director. I love the kids. I love the parents. I love the volunteers. I enjoy getting to know each of them. My desire for the parents of these little ones, is that they get a chance to step into the worship service and… Continue reading Do Battle with Worship
My oldest took her driver's test today. As with most parents, there are new fears when your teen starts driving, but after driving with her in a most recent snow storm I realized that I've moved into a new relationship with my girls.I've always been one of those mommas who tried to suck up every… Continue reading “DRIVING FORWARD” into a new relationship with my daughters
T passed her driver's permit test this morning. Mom's of little ones... you won't have a date to mark the "last bath", the last time you "pick them up for snuggle", the last time "they come running to grab onto your knees when you walk in the door". Cherish those moments. Even when it's a… Continue reading Mother’s Day
T! How in the world are you 16? How is it possible that tiny, little 6 lb baby is now taller than me and is so fiercely independent? I have learned so much from you, my girl. You were a serious baby. As a newborn you were "taking it all in". Your eyes wide, looking… Continue reading What I see in my 16 year old, T
Dear girlies, You know what the hardest part about parenting is... it's that I've never done it before. I don't know what I'm doing! I'm still learning about what it means to be a parent and you are still learning about what it means to be a kid. I've only been at this for 15.75… Continue reading Mom is still learning too
I've just discovered what kind of parent I am. Well, what kind I want to be, based off of Disney Movie characters. There are all kinds of parenting styles in this world and most are portrayed in Disney movies. There is Jasmine's dad, the Sultan, who is worrying about his daughter's future and the path… Continue reading Disney Parenting 101
I am generally a very kind and sweet person. I am usually super smiley and I look for ways to encourage people throughout the day and I try to extend grace and forgiveness to those around me. I wear my heart on my sleeve and on my face. However, deep down inside, when my girls… Continue reading “Momma Bear, Get Back in the Cave!”
We've all heard the phrase, "get back on the horse". The girls have been taking riding lessons for a few years now and they've been stepped on, bucked off, smashed fingers, sore legs and fallen off the horse. They may not realize it, but these moments, in this sport, are actually life lessons in disguise. … Continue reading Get back on the Horse
What I would say to the victim... Bullies are just louder than others and those are the ones we tend to hear. Bullies tend to be the only thing we see when we are hurt. We can't see the people who have our backs, or those who are being kind because all we feel and… Continue reading Bullies
T had an art project due in a few days. She was working steadily on it but was getting so frustrated with the look of it because it wasn't the perfect image that she had in her head. I came home to a very frustrated girl. To me it was beautiful. The piece was just… Continue reading The Bigger Picture
T had to write a poem for her English Literature class. The topic was to be choices, serious, and personal. With her permission, I am sharing her poem. Two choices that day: Tell my mom or hide away. I bury my cries in my pillow. Everyone asks if something is wrong. I say no, and… Continue reading Two choices
My sweet girlies, I've got another life lesson for you that most adults haven't figured out yet. Everybody has problems! EVERYBODY! For some reason we think WE should be exempt. No one is exempt. Problems are going to come. Life is not perfect, and usually problems come "at the worst times" in our lives. Times… Continue reading Everybody has Problems!
I've changed their diapers. I've dressed them and helped tie their shoes. I've fed them. I've watched every growth spurt, and every tooth come in. I've helped with the "impossible" math homework... ... now they are taller than me and have been doing all this on their own for years. Somewhere along the way I… Continue reading Mom Courage
This time of year, with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, life can be super busy and sometimes stressful. When you have a business that thrives in the 4th quarter, your days can be so full with simply answering questions and solving problems that you can't even check your emails from the day before. The incessant… Continue reading Lord, run my day.
I remember being a kid and thinking that 40 was old. Now I'm 40 and let me tell you, 40 is NOT OLD! My mom is turning 70 this week! I hope I'm as healthy and happy as she is, when I hit 70. I've learned a lot from watching my mom. Some things I… Continue reading Things I’ve learned from my Mom
I have a dear friend who I can pour out my "MOM HEART" to and she gets it! We began our friendship with PAGES of handwritten letters, unloading everything onto each other when our girls were just babies. Later in our friendship we had long talks on my couch or at her dining room table. … Continue reading I AM NORMAL!
I'm doing it again. It's July! The 4th of July, Independence celebrations have come and gone. My daisies are blooming. IT'S JULY! That place that starts with an "S" is going to start up again in a few short weeks and I haven't had enough time with my babies. I think what is really… Continue reading Mid Summer Freak Out
Change is hard and death... well, it sucks. I've been thinking how "life" can bring these hard times and how awful they can be to go through, BUT how thankful and how grateful I am to not be going through them alone. I think back on my life, a hard time in my family when… Continue reading Change is Hard
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 S, 13 Things Before You Turn 13!
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
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
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
A few years ago, we were on vacation in Disney World. Trying to get to one of the shows, my youngest and I were "bringing up the rear" and my hubby turned around and said, "Come on, let's walk a little faster so we can make the show on time." I said, "We are trying… Continue reading Momma, Set the Pace
I was recently asked to write down words of encouragement for a mom to be. Some of this I have written before, but "it bears repeating". I do not have it all figured out. I am not one to "go to" for all parenting advice. I am just a mom, trying to do my… Continue reading New Mom Advice
"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
180 days in a school year × 13 years of education =2,160 days 2,160 days × 6.5 hours / day =14,040 hours of their lives they spent in school. Dear School, Do you know the influence you have over my child's life? Do you realize how many hours of the day you have with my… Continue reading Dear School,
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
Cowles Farm 