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Stranger Friends near Eiffel Tower

DenaSeptember 22, 2010

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Welcome

Welcome to Live, Love, Simple. This is our little corner of the world. We are so grateful to have you here. We are a blended family of 8! This is our story of family life, faith + grace, heart-centered living, suburban homesteading, and all of the magic + madness that happens in between. Thanks for stopping by.

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The balance of staying soft while maintaining boun

The balance of staying soft while maintaining boundaries. This is such a hard one, but it’s incredibly important. I have written so much and shared so much about boundaries over the years. But the best advice I can give is that you just need to do it. No matter how uncomfortable it may be, just do it. Set a boundary. Maintain that boundary. That is the only way that you will learn how to do it. As difficult as it may be, with time and practice, you will build the skill. 🗝

The second part of the practice is staying soft. It is in softness and patience that we find grace. The world is a hard place. We need only look at the cruelty of nature or recount the devastating losses that we have faced ourselves or watched others endure to see how hard and cruel the world can be. But maintaining your softness in spite of all of that is where the true beauty of life exists. ✨

I like to say it this way: “Be kind, but have boundaries like a motherfxxxer.” 😜

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#mentalhealth #emotionalintelligence #staysoft #boundarysetting #empathsunite

I can't believe it's already been 2 months since o

I can't believe it's already been 2 months since our trip to Mystic. It was such a magical whirlwind. I am so grateful that we got the opportunity to go. One of the things that I haven’t written too much about yet is blended family life. Since my husband and I both came into our relationship with 2 children, our little family basically doubled in size overnight. That was a major adjustment for all of us, filled with twists & turns, ups & downs, just as you would imagine! It has been an adventure, a beautiful and often challenging adventure. And I do plan to share a lot about blended family life in the future—what I have learned and what I would share with other families. ⁠
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Once the twins were born, that of course added a whole new layer to the complexity of our family. Having the twins was actually such a beautiful, surprise turn for us. It wasn't easy, not at all! But it has been truly incredible watching all of the kids take on their roles as big siblings and watching them fall in love with the babies, one by one.⁠
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Through all of this, naturally my alone time with all of my children is stretched thin, but I work really hard to find ways to make it happen. Alone time with Roman and Marina is the most rare because my stepchildren are always with us, as are the twins of course. But Roman and Marina are with their dad quite a bit. So having the opportunity to go on this trip with just the 2 of them was more special than I can put into words. It was such a gift and we enjoyed every single moment of it. Even though it was only a weekend getaway it will forever be one of my most favorite trips of my lifetime.⁠ 🤍
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#blendedfamilies #blendedfamily #thisismystic #mysticaquarium #childhoodunplugged

I am always so impressed by my children's artwork.

I am always so impressed by my children's artwork. Their creativity blows me away and brings me such intense joy. That is one of the reasons why I make sure to keep them creating through the summer months. It's so important that they keep creating and continue to refine their skills even when they are out of the classroom. ⁠🎨
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Last year Roman was nominated by his teacher to enter his school's gifted art program and I was so proud I felt like my heart would burst. He has always loved art and receiving the confirmation that his teacher sees his talent, too, was such a gift to him and to me. ⁠
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I am so grateful for the gift of watching them grow and develop their own passions and talents. 🧡🙏🏻✨

Hello, sweet friends! Happy Monday. I hope that yo

The “Summer Slide” is the term used to explain

The “Summer Slide” is the term used to explain the loss of academic skills & knowledge that children experience during summer vacation. In our home, the children devote about an hour a day for reading, writing and creating each week day during summer break. It keeps their skills sharp and there is still plenty of time in the day for play, rest and free time.

Here are 5 tips on how to implement this in your home. Even if there are only a few weeks left until school is back in session, you can implement this kind of practice to get them back in the habit. I also have a full, detailed post on how we do this in our home up on my blog now.

1. Be consistent. This is the most important thing. If you’re not consistent, your little ones will pick up on that and they may try to “get out of it” each day with excuses. If you’re consistent, and they know that these practices are going to get done each day, one way or the other, they’ll be inclined to complete them and realize that it isn’t so bad. In fact, they may come to truly enjoy it. 🧡

2. Keep it simple. Don’t go and spend a lot of money or make an elaborate plan. When it comes to daily practices, simple works best. All you need is a few supplies and a simple plan. 📚

3. Read every day. Determine what is the right amount of reading time for your family. My children read for 30 minutes a day and they get to choose when and where. They get 1 hour of screen time each evening after dinner, and they know that if their reading isn’t done, they don’t get their screen time. So, needless to say, the reading gets done. 🤣

4. Write every day. Choose how much writing is right for your children. We do 8 sentences each, but the focus should be on neatness and structure. As for subject matter, if we have a lot going on, it’s easy for them to write about their day. But if it’s a slow day and they don’t know what to write about it, I’ll give them a prompt--write about the season, a holiday, a trip, a book, a movie, a game, etc. ✏️

5. Follow your intuition. This is my advice for anything that comes to parenting. What works for one family may not work for another. It is our job as mothers to know what is best for our children. ✨

My heart beating outside of my chest. 💙 #RomanJ

My heart beating outside of my chest. 💙 #RomanJames #babiesdontkeep

Hello, sweet friends! I have been so eager to star

On the exquisite pain of time passing— I disti

On the exquisite pain of time passing—

I distinctly remember coming home from the hospital when Marina was born. Suddenly, Roman seemed so big to me. Though he was just 2 months shy of being 2-years-old, compared to Marina’s tiny body, he seemed a giant. The first years of Roman & Marina’s lives were incredibly slow. Both times, I was a stay-at-home mother and it was just me & them. Some days felt like they stretched on for months. I was almost always alone (in every capacity). It was beautiful, but it was lonely in a way that still breaks my heart to recall.

What I know is that it wasn’t fleeting. It was slow and hard and wonderful. The months in which they were tiny, they stretched out and lasted. I experienced them fully, as painful as it was at times.

It would be 6 years later until I would bring home another set of babies, this time 2 at once. My experience with the twins has been so different. Their first year truly flew past in what felt like the blink of an eye. It wasn’t because it was easier. It was just as hard in many ways. In fact, many of the parallels—especially the aching loneliness—were uncanny in their similarity. Yet despite the struggles, it still flew past.

I am so changed in how I handle motherhood, and life, now. After 9 years of motherhood, I simply know that no matter how it may feel in the moment, it is truly all fleeting. I know that the searing pain of a moment (whether emotional or physical) is only temporary. And. I know that matter how badly it hurts or how certain I may feel that the pain will never go away—it will.

Mothering children who span across multiple ages is an inexplicable joy. I simultaneously get to experience the wonder & excitement of new motherhood along with the deep, knowing love & friendship of seasoned motherhood.

So many times in life, we get thrown into storms that we cannot possibly understand. The pain, the uncertainty, the fear—all of it can feel insurmountable. But then, eventually we come to a place where it all begins to make sense. The thousands of times that we look up to the sky and ask, Why? Why? Why? Why?, finally have their answer. {cont’d in comments}

Happy Birthday, my sweet babies. What an extraordi

Happy Birthday, my sweet babies. What an extraordinary 1st year we have had together. Thank you for choosing me to be your Mama. You are my greatest gift from God. 🤍🤍🙏🏻✨ #twinmom #boygirltwins #twinsandmultiples

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