Moments with MarLo

I'm full! I knew I would be following the Hearts at Home conference this past weekend but I'm always amazed when even my own expectations are surpassed. I've been reflecting on all the great information shared by this year's speakers.  Jennifer Rothschild   encouraged me with her own vulnerabilities, Chonda Pierce  reminded me how good it feels to laugh, really laugh, and Hearts at Home founder, Jill Savage inspired me to think more intentionally about the impacts of my parenting on future generations. Beyond the main sessions, Moms Night Out, and workshops, I made new friends and met up with many I already know and love. Yes, I'm full and so much better for it. The smile on my face perfectly matches the gratitude in my heart for the many blessings I received this weekend. If finding renewed energy and appreciation as a mom is something you need join us at one of the conferences this fall and make plans to join us at the National Conference next Marc...

Perhaps you have a friend, or a group of friends, with whom you always look forward to spending time. You laugh and cry together, eat your favorite foods, talk about life for hours on end, and walk away from the time together feeling better than before you went. Well, if you're a mom, sometimes those opportunities are a bit harder to come by. With kids activities, time with your significant other, work, home, or perhaps even school, there just doesn't seem enough time for you, let alone time for your friends. I know how you feel. That's why I make certain to include at least one day a year just for me. That day is spent attending the Hearts at Home conference in Bloomington, IL. This year it will be held March 11-12 . Before you stop reading let me dispel a few myths some have regarding the conference. MYTH #1 - The conference is for stay-at-home moms. TRUTH - The conference is for moms who work full-time (like me) or part-time outside the home as well as for thos...

Ever caught yourself wishing you were someone else?   Though I hate to admit it, I have. I didn’t really want to be the other person; instead, I longed to have my own sense of accomplishment. I looked at their life and wished I was as successful in school, in my career, with my health, in my marriage, or as a parent.   Reality check! It took me a while to realize a longing to have what someone else has would never bring to fruition those things I most desired. It may however, bring about bitterness, envy and strife. Yikes! The truth is, there is not another me. I have been formed, skilled, matured, mentored, given specific responsibilities and placed right where I am for a very specific purpose.   So have you. So have they. When I longed to have what someone else had I was usually looking for a shortcut to get me to where I wanted to be. Or l was looking for an excuse on which to hang my own feelings of inadequacy. Or maybe I was focused on selfish ambitions rather than k...

I woke up this morning thinking about the needs of moms. Every mom. Regardless of where she works (inside or outside the home, full or part-time). Despite her marital status. No matter where she lives. Whether the children are adopted, naturally hers, stepchildren, foster children or any child, at any age, she's taken into her home. A mom is a mom and all moms share the same needs. I bet if you thought about it you would realize that every need you have as a mom is shared by any other mom. I'm only going to highlight a few of them as I near the end of this year of motherhood and prepare for the next. First, every mom needs rest . For all my mom friends with young children you're probably trying hard to make it through this post! The rest of us are tired too but for different reasons. Some of it is lack of sleep, much of it is too many items on our to-do lists. Without adequate rest we run the risk of low energy from staying up too late accomplishing tasks or stressi...

Lately my junior high friend, Vicky, has been on my mind. A lot. You see Vicky and I met when I moved from the suburbs of St. Louis to the “small town” life of central Illinois. I was a freshman, she a seventh grader. We lived a few houses apart, we each were the oldest in our families, and we both hated our hair. Beyond that our lives were very different. She came from what many would consider a "well-to-do" family; she owned horses, wore designer clothes, and, well, you get the picture.  My family fell into the low- to mid-income range and the year my family was renting the house near Vicky was the first time I had ever been in a neighborhood with a country club.  Every time I think about Vicky I see her as she was then, a young girl who believed she was awkward, ugly, and unloved. An individual with all the great characteristics of a "best friend" but who was desperate for friendship. Those looking in from the outside only saw her family's financial statu...

During a recent shopping trip my daughter, Lydia, became exasperated as she tried on several pairs of shoes, none of which fit. She finally cried out, "Shoe stores can be soooo  frustrating!" She had in mind a certain look and every time she saw a pair of shoes that came close to what she had envisioned she would get a burst of hope as we searched the stacks of boxes looking for her size. On occasion we would find a box with the correct number and she would get giddy as she wrestled them out of the box, stripped out all the paper stuffed inside, and worked at the various buckles or straps to get them on her feet. Too often though the smile disappeared as disappointment set in when the shoes just didn't work on her feet. She was tiring of the process and I knew exactly how she was feeling.  Life can sometimes be just like that shopping experience.  We get something stuck in our head or heart and begin to seek it out. We start out with high hopes believing we can easily a...

Worn Out! Are you a wife or a mom who is tired—mentally, physically, or emotionally? I am a wife and a mom and I have so been there! Too mentally tired to read—email, favorite authors, a magazine article, yes even to want to look at Facebook©! Too emotional to enjoy great moments in life—my husband’s good natured ribbing, my daughter’s laughter, time with friends. Too exhausted to keep up with daily tasks let alone exercise! I don’t necessarily want to be superwoman but I certainly get caught up in doing. I add one more task to my ever increasing list because it’s something I really want to accomplish. But the worse offense I often find myself engaged in, is giving my family leftovers. Not the prior day meals, though that happens, okay frequently. No, I’m talking about the lack of depth of available emotional, mental, and physical reserves. I desire to actively listen to my daughter even if she takes for-ev-er to recount a story. I want to happily rub my husband’s back when he needs ...