Seven Backdoors to Learning for Exhausted Moms

Let’s face it; there are times when formal homeschooling is impossible. Such as… …when you are experiencing debilitating morning sickness, …when there is a new baby in the house, …when the whole house is recovering from the flu, …when the family is experiencing a move, …during a time … Read More…

How the Army Made Me a Better Mom

Almost any woman can give birth, but you and I know it takes hard work to become a good mother.  If you are like me, the babymoon gave you passionate love for your little one, but when the emotional high wore off, you needed something more. You needed … Read More…

True Christmas: Parenting Until it Hurts

This time of year gets me thinking about Mary. I wonder what it was like back then; pregnancy and childbirth in times where there were no cars or hospitals. She was most probably contracting while riding around town late at night on a donkey. I can’t imagine a … Read More…

Homeschooling with Toddlers: Tips from a Mom of 15

I have to admit, homeschooling with toddlers has not always been smooth sailing. Our 15 children are spaced an average of 21 months apart, and between some there were only 14 months. At one time we had three under the age of three, and another time we had … Read More…

How Did You End up with 15 Kids?

I was not raised to want a lot of kids. In fact, when I was carrying my first child I was very, very afraid. Babies and children were a mystery to me. Even the men I knew were better with infants than I was.     But as … Read More…

I Want to be a Gold Medal Mom

Athletes have stars in their eyes. Their focus is to become champions. They see themselves standing on the podium, hand over heart, swelling with pride as the medal is draped and the crowd erupts in applause.   But the road to that point is long. Denial. Pain. Begging … Read More…

Encouragement for Stay-at-Home Saints

If you are knee-deep in the stomach flu, or teething, or broken appliances, or just having a hard time keeping up with the responsibilities of life, you should consider your holy estate. You are more than a mere stay-at-home mom, you are a stay-at-home saint. Saints, prophets, and … Read More…

family hacks

15 Family Hacks from a Mom of 15

Yes, I am the mother of 15 children. It’s not really that many; I know all of their names in order and even have their birthdays memorized (I suppose being involved in their births makes it a bit easier for me to remember). Walking, running, and leaping down … Read More…

12 Strategies for Large Family Homeschooling

Homeschooling our 15 children has made me really appreciate public school teachers! After all, teachers deal with whole classrooms of children at diverse backgrounds with different learning styles and needs every day. There is a real reason they devote a quite a lot of time to “classroom management.” … Read More…

You Don’t Have to be Super Mom

Super powers? Not a chance. Yes, I am the homeschooling mom of 15 children, but there is truly nothing special about me.   Here I am shopping, or banking, or at church… I am having a fine conversation with someone; we are discussing the weather or the Lord … Read More…