The "Funny Farm" of the Cowles family.
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
I am an organized person. I have been my whole life. Everything has a place. That doesn't mean my house is always spotless though. I hate to clean. However, I'm constantly reorganizing and purging closets or drawers or even whole rooms. Recently I was asked to give my opinion on buying a planner/organizer. Here is… Continue reading Choosing the Perfect Planner / Organizer
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
The best parenting advice I ever got was, "Don't listen to any parenting advice." You are the parent. You know your child better than anyone else. Trust your instincts. Pray. Most parents don't want advice. They want to vent or complain and have someone just listen. They need someone to tell them they are not… Continue reading The best parenting advice
My mom, the retired English teacher, made me aware of a phrase that we all use incorrectly. The phrase, "Raising a Child" is actually incorrect. The correct phrase should be "to rear" a child. She explained it to me in a such a simple and OBVIOUS way. She said, "We RAISE cattle, we REAR children."… Continue reading Raise a Child or Rear a Child?
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
My hubby read this for family devotions tonight and we talked about the PEACE that Peter had to be able to sleep the night before he would face possible death. Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John… Continue reading Peace for the Soul
Too often we forget that the person standing in front of us at the register is a real person! We look at them, moving slowly, thinking... "What is taking so long? Can she not move any faster?, oh great now she is going to answer the phone and I'm never going to get out of… Continue reading Choose to see…
A lot of times when we post things online or on our Facebook pages we edit and reword and crop our pictures to be just what we want it to be. Last thanksgiving I decided to be thankful for things I'm normally complaining about. I tried to see the good in what only seemed like… Continue reading Thankful for the clutter
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
I have a fear of just about everything under 1 lb. I'm o.k. with dogs, cats, guinea pigs even, but MICE, oh my word, neighbors 4 streets over can hear me scream if there is mouse in the same building with me. The girls have hamsters as pets, and I'm o.k. with them in the… Continue reading Scary Little Critter
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!
As a mom, it rips your heart out to see your child cry. Whether it be something simple as a skinned their knee, fear of a bug, or just plain mad, no mom wants their kid to cry, but let’s face it, skinned knees are easier to fix...being mistreated...not so easy! After a recent letter… Continue reading Bullying hurts the WHOLE family
You know that Subaru commercial, where the girl “grows up in the back of a Subaru”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ENr4J8zwcI I CRY EVERY TIME!!!! I see my girls in that straight haired girl’s face and her “WHAT?” is what I hear from them, when I just STARE at their OLD faces! We are coming up on another round… Continue reading Time is not waiting on us….
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
Birthday’s are special in our family. We celebrate EVERY ONE! To me, it’s a day to treat “that someone” to a day just for them. I want to show them how important they are and that we appreciate them, even if we don’t show it everyday. I remember how much I loved getting cards when… Continue reading Birthday Card Organizer
I love blankets! We have tons! At least 3 in every room in the house! When I got pregnant, I was blessed with friends and family who showered us with many gifts. I was given a lot of receiving blankets and baby blankets, or I would pick up another one if I thought it was… Continue reading Repurposed Baby Blankets
I am blessed with a wonderful husband who notices when things are piling up around the house that I can't get to. He will enlist the help of our girls and the three of them can bang out, so it shouldn't be a shocker when I walked in the door and I see that the… Continue reading Housekeeping vs Home-Keeping
When I was writing a recent blog, and looking through some old pictures, I couldn't believe how much I have changed. In March of 2012, I had had enough. I was sick of being fat! I was sick of all my health issues. I was sick of being on Yo-Yo diets. I wanted a change!… Continue reading Weight Loss App
Right now, I'm sitting here listening to my girls play with their Barbies, but I'm "NOT ALLOWED" to listen! Most of the time when they play, they want P and I out of the room. They don't want us listening to them play. I guess it's embarrassing when we start cracking up at their high… Continue reading “Supermom bug killer”
My facebook post on Dec. 18th, 2013 “I have seen such sweet compassion come from my hubby this week by doing things for our failing Max. I have seen the gift of "comfort" in both my girls as they try to coax him to eat or drink, or by covering him with their blankets. Today… Continue reading Max’s Death
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
I love to bake. I love my girls. Put the two together, and you can create a fun bonding time (and maybe a mess or two). I always try to include the girls, when I can. I have tons of pics of the 3 of us together working in the kitchen. One day, while making… Continue reading Recipe Books
Have you ever felt like a monkey could do your job better than you? There have been some days where I have thought, “a monkey would be better at this.” A monkey could get my kids’ juice (without spilling it all over the floor). A monkey could put my kids to bed. A monkey could… Continue reading Monkey Love
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
Cowles Farm 