Why I Changed the Code on the Lock Box of My Heart.

When you travel to a new place with all the new sensations that the adventure brings one can experience a multitude of feelings. Excitement, wonder, joy, freedom along with a need to learn about the new environment to understand where the best places to travel and where one might want to explore with caution.

Checking the travel advisories like you check the weather advisory. Checking your list to make sure you have what you might need on your journey.   Do you need a raincoat, umbrella or do you need to detour around a particular area for a less eventful passage? As a child, I traveled the world with an air of certainty that God was always my guiding light and compass. My constant go to for help.

My relationship with God and Jesus were my home-base. I came into the world hard-wire with this natural relationship. No one taught it to me. Maybe you have a connection like that yourself with your home-base too or maybe you are...

#1 Parenting Tip ~ Bundle Your KIDS Up with This, BEFORE You Send them on their Way!

Moms In Joy ~ In All Kinds of Weather.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!  I HAVE DISCOVERED THE MOST IMPORTANT ALL-WEATHER GEAR FOR MY FAMILY.   As a mother, the moment I feel the cold chill in the air outside, I know the time near to bundle my kiddos up.  I begin running my mental list to make sure everyone is outfitted with coats that are warm enough for the incoming weather front, along with scarfs, hats, gloves and warm socks.  

Mothers are designed by our creator to protect our children.  

We all want to make sure our kids have the proper protection, not just from the cold but from all of the dissonant elements that they may encounter in their lives.  

One day while I was in prayer, I asked for the best way to protect my children in today's world.  You see as a child I was not fearful of the world, however, as I grew older become increasingly more...

Autumn is the time of year that I love to watch the leaves race down the driveway like a group of excited children running to see a new attraction. I feel grateful to live in a part of the world where we get to enjoy four seasons. Each season holds its own unique gifts. Years ago, during the busy fall preparations for the holidays, I found myself becoming frazzled and cranky.

I was not feeling the true holiday spirit, and my acting job did not fool my family one bit.  In my heart, I knew it was time for me to make some changes and turn this picture around.

I have so much for which to be grateful; however, I had gotten out of the daily practice. One of the most powerful things I have discovered that I can do for myself is beginning my day listing three things for which I am grateful at the beginning of my day. 

The simple yet powerful step of acknowledging what I am grateful can help to shift me from being a cranky mom into a grateful mom who is a much happier...

Good News Flash!!!  Awesome tip for all Moms and Kids too!

The credit card machine was prompting me to input the phone number so I could get our family rewards points credited to our account.  l was in the process of paying at the office supply store and I have entered this number many times at this store. No problem, easy peasy! However on this day I could not for the life of me, remember the number that we use on this particular account.   My mind went totally blank!   Have you every had the same experience where someone ask you something you know by heart and your mind goes blank?

I have to admit I was feeling bit embarrassed.  What was going on?  I know, I know this phone number!  Maybe, I stayed up a little to late reading my book.  The lady who was working at the cash register was so kind. She said, "I totally know how you feel.  I now keep a book in my car with all my important phone numbers written down.  My cell...

Though I love to travel and enjoy the adventure, I must admit that I am not fond of the challenges that can pop up when making the arrangements. It was my 8-year-old daughter, Allie, who had the answer that I needed to solve my dilemma. I was preparing for my pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. I would be walking over 500 miles beginning in the Pyrenees of France and continuing through Spain; but first things first: I had to book my trip.

It was one of those days where the different legs of travel that I needed to coordinate would not fit together. I had spent several hours trying different options and as I let out a sigh of frustration, my daughter Allie walked in and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?” I shared that I was frustrated because I could not complete my travel plans for my trip on the Camino. Allie looked at me and said, “Mom, try flying to Lourdes, you know, where the young girl lived who saw Mother Mary.” I told Allie that I didn’t think...

Throughout time the age old questions that new parents have had to decide is how are we going to raise and guide our children when it comes to discipline.   Some parents chose to follow the well- worn path of continuing  to raise their children the way their parents chose to  raised  them.   While other couples decide they want to change some things up from the way they were disciplined by their parents.   Still others may decide they are going to raise their children completely opposite of how their parents raised them.

Let's look at the definition of the word discipline as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 

1.  Discipline -

a.  control gained by enforcing obedience or order.

b.  orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior

c.  Self-Control.

My husband Jeff and I were newly married we had not given much thought or conversation to how we were going to discipline our first child Tori.   One day we found...

“You’re doing what?”

I could only imagine the shocked reaction my family would have to my announcement that I was going to walk across Spain. It was October 2014, and I had finally decided to fulfill my long-held dream to walk the legendary Camino de Santiago. Also known as the Way of St. James, The Walk of Forgiveness.  The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage along the field of stars that follows the Milky Way, a journey of 850 kilometers over the French Pyrenees across Northern Spain.

As a child, I dreamed of being an astronomer. Now, I was actually going to follow the Milky Way. The Camino attracts not only Catholic pilgrims, but also many spiritually minded people who wish to test their resilience by hiking through several mountain ranges and the Meseta of Spain. It is a journey that crosses both harsh terrain and the landscape of the soul.

My heart was telling me it was time, so I prayed and asked for clear guidance on what would be the best decision for our...

My daughter, Allie, exclaimed, “No way Mom!”  But I did it anyway!  It was a sunny crisp day in January, and Allie and I were going to take our dog Annie on a walk together.  It was a chilly day and I needed to wrap up so I could enjoy our walk together. Allie warned me that if I was going to do what she thought I was going to do, she would walk ahead of me. We had no idea the surprises that were in store for us that day on our walk.

When its cold outside I like to walk with a hat that will keep my head warm.   I had a feeling that the perfect hat for our walk on this cold day would be my Cool Elf Hat.   This was my favorite hat from the holidays and it always made me smile.   It was red and white striped short stocking hat that had big elf ears on it, and one of the ears even had small gold hoop earrings. Across the front of the hat, written in white letters was Cool Elf.  (Check out my look in the picture to...

As a mother, I am always seeking new ways to encourage my family in this busy world. I discovered that two of my children were being bullied, though they told me they were “fine.” Research shows that over 60 percent of kids who experience bullying never confide in anyone. Where do we start to gain our children’s trust to confide in us when they experience challenges in their lives?

I want this to change for all families, whether their child is the target of bullying, the bully or the bystander who fails to speak up.  When I speak to parents and kids around the country, we talk about how sometimes a cry for love is buried within the bully’s actions.  My son had an incident with a teen who had sprayed a toxic spray into his face. At the exact moment that I was speaking to the principal about this incident, the teen who had sprayed my son was on the football field under the bleachers crying because a group of boys were taunting and teasing him. I later...

If you are a busy mother or caregiver like myself, your “To Do List” is filled with things needed to help your children make a smooth transition into their new school year.

But let me ask: do you put yourself anywhere on that “To Do List?” In my own experience, there were many days that I never even considered my own needs, let alone found the time to tend to them. I knew deep inside that something needed to change.

I made a commitment to start each day with time for me.  At first, I could only offer myself five minutes per day. Once I gave myself this small gift of time every morning, I began to notice how much more pleasant and balanced I felt. It’s like the moment on an airplane when we are instructed to put on our own oxygen mask before we assist our children.

The first thing I do when I wake up is list three things that I am grateful for and three things that I love about myself. I either speak these aloud or write them in my journal.

Then, I...