Hi! My name is Renee. I grew up one of five girls between two blended families, spent my childhood praying that God would give me a long-lost identical twin sister or a brother. He did neither. But He did one better.
He gave me 3 wonderfully rambunctious boys and a husband that is a boy at heart. I’m living my dream and love to tell my boys how God answered my prayer for a brother by giving me my boys.
When I was 6 years old, my parents were divorced. Within a couple of years, both remarried and our families expanded. My parents and step-parents did an amazing job in loving us through the pains of divorce. They sacrificed greatly while raising us in order to bridge the gaps created through a broken family. But somewhere in those early years, God developed in my heart a burning desire for something different for my own family one day. I didn’t come to know God until I was an adult, but God knew me, and I can see the passions in my heart that He planted long before I took hold of His extended, waiting hand. I knew loving marriages and strong families weren’t just for the fairy tales.
I met the love of my life when I was a mere twelve years old. He knows me better than I know myself. It’s true. He inspires my passions and encourages me to fulfill my calling as the Proverbs 31 woman I desperately want to be. I’m a doer and a taskmaster, and as such, I tend to be far too serious far too often. My Steve keeps me light and he can still make me laugh with the same jokes I’ve heard for the last 20+ years.
God granted my heart’s greatest desire when He provided a way for me to stay at home with our children. I will share my heart with you in my posts and will be genuine and authentic. You will not read a picture of perfection, you will not read how I have it all figured out. Instead you will read posts hoping to infuse fresh ideas into your family, revive your family connections and relationships, and share the information that I’ve found helpful in my own life.
I’m flawed and sinful. I mess up every day. I need forgiveness daily. Thankfully, I have Christ. I’ve been redeemed. I’ve been set free. I’ve experienced the grace and mercy that is found only in Christ.
My hope is to inspire you to develop and create traditions, memories, and experiences with your family. Traditions will unite you, bond you, create lifetime memories, and give a sense of belonging to something bigger than the individual. Traditions can be the simplest of acts done repeatedly, a certain way to give a kiss, a special evening stroll, the way you signal goodbye. Traditions will affirm to your children that they belong to you, they are a part of you. And when they feel a part of you, you can point them home, to the One they truly belong to.
If we intentionally invest in creating these memorable experiences with our families, then when they fly the nest, we can look back with peace and satisfaction knowing that we made the most of the time God gave us with them.
