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When our first baby was born my husband said I can't wait until she's bigger so I can play with her, and I felt a little the same way. But being with her all the time I discovered that there are plenty of ways you can play with a little baby even before they're up and moving around. Here is a list of 43 ideas to try with your baby at different ages if you're feeling like you will just be feeding and changing diapers for the rest of your child's life and want to interact with them a little more.

Men and women were both created to reflect who God is and in different ways based on the character traits and gifting they are given by God. For example, men were created to reflect God through being strong, brave, protectors and providers, people who finish a job and do it with all their heart. Goal oriented and driven people who want to create and build and make something. Women reflect God through being the more caring, comforting and detail-oriented people who care about beauty and details. Patient and showing grace in situations where someone might think they shouldn't. There is a verse, 1 Timothy 2:15 that says, "‭Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control." This is a section that is talking about proper actions in the church for me and women.

There have been a lot of times where I have sat on the floor with both my girls, and we all were just sobbing in tears because we were all stressed frustrated and overall, just having a rough time. There have been moments where I am so frustrated that I've pounded my fist on the wall or threw my face into my pillow and groaned or I have had to just put my kids somewhere safe and walk away. I think most if not all parents can agree that these are moments, we have all faced at one point or another in raising our children and unless they're all out of the house we can likely expect to experience them again. Personally, I would like to get better at handling these situations and grow in the fruits of the spirit in kindness, patients, peace, and self-control so here are some things I have noticed make a difference in my response to situations. I am by no means perfect in this area, but these are things I've seen make an improvement.

We have talked about this before on here a few times and I'll link the posts at the end of your interested in more on this topic, but I was thinking about this idea that children are a gift from God and reflecting and what a gift is, and it reminded me of a Christmas in my childhood when I was around 9 years old.

There are a few main reasons I love baby wearing. I love to be able to have my baby close so I can more easily read her hunger cues and respond sooner. I also love the ability to be hands free and get some things done without leaving my baby in some swing or something. Another reason I love to baby wear is because it is convenient for when you're out and about like at church or grocery shopping. It helps keep people out of your baby's face and thus protects them from unwanted germs as well as any strangers who might want to just simply get too close for comfort. You can do it skin to skin which helps promote bonding and has many health benefits for both mom and baby. For me with my second it also protects her for my energetic and not self-aware dog as well as my toddler who just wants to hug and kiss her nonstop and also doesn't realize her own strength most of the time.

I had every plan of having an all natural unmedicated birth and that mostly happened but as we went in for my prenatal appointment at 40 weeks my doctor talked my husband and I into scheduling an induction at 41 weeks. We agreed because my bishop score was a 7 if it was any lower then that I would have declined.

Birth control has a lot of uncommonly known and often unexpected side effects and one of those is the effect it has on your attraction. If you were on hormonal birth control when you started your relationship and then came off and noticed a change in how you feel or vice versa started birth control after getting married and struggled with feeling like you married the wrong person, the birth control might be the problem. Fortunately, men typically become more attracted to a woman when she is off birth control (more on that later) and women have a unique ability to learn to love if they choose to so if you are in this situation know that it can work out and not to give up on the one you love instead show yourself and your spouse some grace and give each other some understanding as you work through this transition. I will talk more about Love being a choice later in this post as well so read on for that.

The sympto-thermal method is the most accurate method of fertility awareness because it combines both cervical mucus observations with your basal body temperature and the option of tracking your cervix positioning and openness to determine your fertility. This is the method I use and have really enjoyed it.

There are many differing opinions on the subject of family planning and how many children a couple should have as well as how they should be spaced but today were going to take a dive into what God's word says on the subject and discover God's heart for the family and marriage. I believe unknowingly many people hold a worldly view of having children and I was once one of them. There are several main reasons why people today choose to delay having children or not have them at all and I'm going to cover them here as well as what God has to say one the matter.

Basal body temperature (BBT) method of natural family planning uses your body temperature to tell you when you have ovulated. When you ovulate is cause a slight increase in temperature due to your hormones changing and an increase in progesterone. 

The first thing I think we need to address is what even is birth control. I am far from an expert but will give brief overview of what I know here. Many people will simply say well it is a way to prevent pregnancy which is true in a way, but there are lots of different kinds. There is the most popular type, the pill which also has many different formulas but all of them are either estrogen, progestin or a combination, usually a synthetic form, that replaces your hormones to prevent ovulation.

The Creighton model is one of the popular methods of fertility awareness that uses a woman's cervical mucus patterns to determine on a day by day basis whether or not she is fertile. This is a great method because it determines each day off you have the chance to become pregnant so it works with most people's cycles weather regular or not.

The bible has a lot so say on this subject both the do's and the don'ts. I want to talk about what the bible says in terms of what you should do because I feel it is often not talked about. There are verses in both the Old Testament and new on the subject that hold equal value to the modern Christian. I need to start this off by saying God created sex. He created it in the garden before the fall as a good and beautiful gift to Adam and Eve, the example of what marriage should be because this is also where God established the first marriage, Genesis 2:21-25. Sex is not something to be ashamed of or disgusted by. It is also not just a responsibility of one spouse to another although there is a little element of that which I will discuss later. Sex was given by God to a husband and wife as a celebration of His good creation and the ability to be cocreators with Him.

The world will try to convince you that you need to "try before you buy" and that to have a lasting marriage and a happy relationship you need to know if you are sexually compatible before you get married. This thought process doesn't align with God's word and there are consequences to doing things our way but there is also grace and forgiveness in Jesus. There are a few different perspectives I'm going to discuss on this question and give some advice to help you make the answer yes. This question, however, does not appear to have a straightforward answer likely because humans are subject to their will, and the area of sexual intimacy and its success in a relationship is primarily based on the determination of the individuals involved. I hope to help provide some statistics but also some ways to make your sex life grow as the years of your marriage go on.

Why should you prioritize sex after marriage and especially after having kids? It is not uncommon to hear married women talk about sex as a duty to their husbands to fulfill their needs however, that is not a biblical perspective. There are many things that I believe we have learned either from culture or the church that is an incorrect perspective of God's design and intent for sex. I think this has resulted in many couples selling themselves short and missing out on all the good God has for them in this area.

Dating can often get forgotten once you get married or become very difficult ones you have children, and most couples will experience a season (or possible multiple) where they feel like they have "lost the spark." Dating and continuing to pursue your spouse is so important to the health of your marriage and your whole family so it's important to pursue times with them dispute these challenges. I have learned that it's about choosing connection with your spouse even when everything else seems to be calling for your attention because a healthy marriage makes a healthy family and both those things are eternal which is far more important than a clean house. My husband and I have recently had the opportunity to do somethings that have really brought back some of those dating butterflies and I wanted to share them with you if you're feeling stuck in a bit of a rut. Maybe you can give one or a couple a try this valentines day/weekend.

In this post I will share about a very well-known couple who had a baby in the least likely times and under the most unconventional circumstances. This is honestly probably the biggest reason I hear people say they aren't ready for children but after having 2 of my own and really evaluating what they truly need I have begun to wonder if that is even a valid reason, and I will get into that in a little bit. I think that our culture and society has made us thing babies need way more than they actually do and the things they do need most of them can be found more affordably than most think too.

Christmas is right around the corner, and I don't know about you, but I always have a really hard time finding gifts for my husband so here are a few ideas of things my husband uses all the time and loves that I know a lot of men would really like that might work for the man in your life too. Some of these things are specific to Husbands or fathers so keep that in mind when reading this list however most of these will work well for any man. Now on to the gift ideas!