+J.M.J.+ It's been quiet around here lately because we are traveling in Montana and I needed to take a break. May was the busiest month of our life thus far and getting posts written ahead didn't happen. It's been good for my humility to remember the sun certainly doesn't rise and set on my writing, [...]
+J.M.J.+ Last week I read an article that Janet Lansbury shared called, "The Tyranny of Relentless Positivity" (Read it here). It piqued my interest and reminded me of the importance of not avoiding what is hard to feel. Difficult emotions make people uncomfortable, both those experiencing them or those around them. That's why they are [...]
+J.M.J.+ A great quote by a priest I used to know was, "A good husband gives his wife what is good for her, not just what she thinks will make her happy." Ethan is one of those good husbands who recently insisted on something he knew would be best for me, even though I didn't [...]
+J.M.J.+ I want to start this off by saying that I want you to know what I am about to tell you is NOT the end of The Natural Catholic Mom as you know it, so stay with me! See, I signed up this month to be a Norwex consultant. I have been using these [...]
+J.M.J.+ Want to know what my kids play with? Not the millions of toys around here. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, my daughters spend about 99% of their time reading books and playing with random things from around the house. Recently Philomena spent an entire week in this pantry organizer and was [...]
+J.M.J.+ I've read more books on birth than any other topic other than Catholicism, probably having gone through at least twenty volumes on it so far, not including countless of birth stories I've read online. Truly, there is something about the miracle of pregnancy and birth that never gets old for me. Disclosure: We are [...]
+J.M.J.+ I remember Fr. Chad Ripperger once saying that if you don't know what your primary fault is, just pray to know and God will quickly show you. He is right, and I have experienced this myself! Another method to discover this is to have children. They seem to bring things out of you that [...]
+J.M.J.+ This week my mother-in-law sent me a tragic news story about a baby suffocating inside a baby carrier. When she messaged me the link she commented that this must not be the same type of stretchy wrap I use, but it was the same thing, just a different brand. I am not scared my [...]
+J.M.J.+ This past weekend I finally tackled a project I have been dreading and avoiding for months: organizing the girls' clothes. Before Philomena was born I sorted out all of her clothing loose into big totes, but I learned this didn't work well for us. As she changed sizes so quickly I was having multiple [...]
+J.M.J.+ Philomena was almost 17 months old on the wonderful day I found out that she was a big sister. I was excited to tell her, although at that age she didn't quite understand. As the months went on though, she knew exactly what was going on as we took the following steps to prepare her [...]
