DIY projects, thrifty home decor and easy crafts
This letter from a mother to adopted daughter on her wedding day will make you cry and rejoice at the same time! (At the end of this post I’ve included some of my favorite inexpensive gift ideas for your daughter on her special day.) My life changed when I decided in 2008 to courageously share our adoption story. It wasn’t a… Read More
Create a soothing coastal bedroom retreat with these inexpensive DIY beach decor ideas including a plank wall and yard sale treasures! I’ve shown bits and pieces of this room over the last several months but I haven’t ever done a full “reveal” or answered some of the reader questions I’ve received. There’s a bit of a complicated story behind this… Read More
In this heart wrenching post, a bio and adoptive mom answers every parent’s question. Do you love your adopted child as much as your biological one? Recently on a Facebook post I received the following comment. I find it difficult to get past the distinctions in your children: my daughter, my grandson (those ones are really yours), my adopted daughter,… Read More
Maybe this Mother’s Day you’re feeling a little sentimental like me, or searching for a purpose in those sleepless nights and endless days of diapers and tantrums. Could it be that the teenage years are wearing thin and you’re wondering if anything you’re doing really matters? Totally unprepared for motherhood 27 years ago, I dove in and have been swimming upstream… Read More
The last several months have been a whirlwind. Ok, more like a hurricane. Relationships have been tested, our family has been torn apart in heart wrenching ways yet by God’s grace we continue to love and support each other through the storms. Since I have shared just a bit about our youngest son I wanted to invite you into another little corner… Read More
January is off to a quiet start here on the blog, partially with intentionality and partially completely out of my hands. When I scheduled my carpal tunnel surgery for Jan. 5 I knew it would be hard to do a lot of my daily tasks, including computer work, which was fine because I wanted to spend some time focusing on my… Read More
As I watched my oldest daughter’s journey to motherhood I was grateful to play an active part in her life and now in my precious grandson’s life. From the very beginning Rachel was full of questions and transparency. Did it take you long to get pregnant? Did you have morning sickness when you were pregnant with me? When did you get… Read More
I’m afraid to even put these words to paper. Fear. Shame. Guilt. Confession. I used to be THAT mom. I had it all together. The one with the clean house, the kids that seemed to mostly get along and usually had on clean clothes with their hair brushed. (Still asking for forgiveness for the years with the bowl cut. Sorry, Joshua.)… Read More
![Homesick Kids [Encouragement Notes for Camp!]](https://www.martysmusings.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Handmade-Card-Ideas-for-Any-Occasion-9.jpg)
You can help homesick kids by sending encouragement notes to camp or sleepovers. Simply write love notes for your kids to read when they’re away from home. Some of the best family traditions are often those that happen by accident, like our family blessing jar. What started out as a way to teach our children gratitude is now a deeply… Read More