Hi, I’m Kristen! I’m a tried and true follower of Christ, wife to Josh, and a happy homeschooling mom to our beautiful daughter Squeaks, our sweet Little Dude, and our laid-back Flash.
I’ve been blogging for a little over ten years and love it!
I never thought of myself as a writer until I started blogging after the loss of our first child, Evelyn, in 2012. After her stillbirth at 26 weeks, I needed a way to express my thoughts, hopes for our future as parents, and ultimately, an outlet to spread the word of our hopes to adopt. Blogging has helped me focus on my blessings and make lifelong friends with other families with similar experiences.
Our daughter Squeaks came to us through the miracle of open domestic infant adoption in January 2014. She was most definitely God’s plan A. I can’t imagine our family without her. I thank God daily that her beautiful birth mom chose life and then chose us to be her parents.
After Evelyn’s stillbirth, we were told biological children would be a miracle. Well that’s God’s specialty because, low-and-behold, a week after Squeaks’ first birthday we found out we were expecting Little Dude. We were a bit terrified, but absolutely thrilled. Experiencing stillbirth leaves its own special kind of scare. However, determination is my middle name and I was determined to enjoy every second of this gift even if it didn’t last long. To our great joy, Little Dude was born happy and healthy September 2015.
A month after Little Dudes first birthday, we were surprised with an encore performance. God decided to bless us with another beautiful son. After a smooth and peaceful pregnancy, Flash was born happy and healthy in June 2017.
After going through a barrage of fertility treatments for years, experiencing stillbirth, wading through the paperwork, bittersweet heartache, and intense expectant hope of adoption, and then a healthy pregnancy, I strive daily to not waste a moment with the little pieces of my heart now outside my body. Children are a gift from God.
I take Psalm 127:4 seriously.“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.”
My children aren’t just cute little cuddly noisy mess machines. They are weapons. I want to raise them, safe in the quiver, sharpen their minds, and then release them on the world to make a lasting impact. Until that day though, I also want to allow them to enjoy their childhood. Babies don’t keep. I want them to be messy, make mistakes, learn to play, learn to imagine, enjoy the wonders of this world our God has created with fresh and innocent eyes.
My goal for this blog is to offer encouragement, prayers, and advice, when able, to those in the midst of parenting and homeschool life.
I first started making my educational activities when Squeaks was about two years old. I loved designing them almost as much as she loved playing with them. Now I hand-draw all my own illustrations and get insane amounts of joy from creating helpful resources. Each of the activities I create and share have been prayed over and carefully crafted. I make most of them for my own children, but I am thrilled that other homeschooling families are blessed by them. It’s a true joy to watch other children grow alongside my own while using my games. Thank you for coming on this awesome journey with me!