Did you know you can thrift shop online these days?! I heard of online thrift stores like thredUp for the first time a few years ago, but I was sceptical. I thought wandering around touching things and trying clothes on was an essential part of the process.

Maybe we can chalk it up to another way motherhood has changed me, but I no longer like going into stores. I'm serious. I don't even go to the store for groceries anymore! I've been placing curbside pickup orders since my daughter was born, and I LOVE it.

So… are we going today? I asked my husband every Sunday morning, knowing neither of us wanted to show up at church. We always left the decision to the last minute, and sleeping in usually won. Church didn’t feel like a priority.

But when I was pregnant with my daughter, everything changed.

I imagined the life I wanted for our kids, and I knew I wanted God to be a part of it. There was no longer room to be passive about my faith I was going to be responsible for discipling another person.

I learned more in my first few months as a mom than in my whole life before that. I also had dozens of new topics to binge audiobooks on including breastfeeding, baby sleep and more.

As I read and learned more about motherhood, I realized I don't want to get so focused on the tangible everyday needs that I forget to care for our souls. I want to be constantly learning how to be a godly wife and mother. I want to be continually pointing my kids back to God and modelling what it looks like to depend on Him and walk closely with Him.

Life seems to be constantly changing, and do my Bible-reading routines. It looked different when pregnant with my first, as a new mom, with two-under-two and now with a toddler and baby in my care. Sometimes, I miss those days of unstructured quiet time where each precious second of quiet didn’t feel quite so urgent.

The busier life gets, the harder it feels to prioritize reading the Bible in rare moments when both my kids are occupied. If I have a moment to sit, or I could be working on a household task, choosing the Bible feels hard and unproductive.

In this post, I’m sharing 5 ways to entertain your toddler as you try to grab a few moments in God’s word.

As a huge fan of our 15-month age gap, I’m here to share a message of hope along with my favourite tips and tricks and advice to transition well into life with two-under-two. I know you can manage a baby and a toddler and enjoy motherhood even in this busy season as a two under two mom. There are many ways to make life easier and tips you must have as you make the jump.

About a year ago, my search history looked like this:

“Pros and cons of the 15-month age gap?”

“What is the best age gap?”

“Two under two tips”

It feels surreal being on the other side of the transition and able to share my own experience as a two-under-two mom. Spoiler alert - we love our small age gap. I highly recommend having your kids as close as you want to and are able to!

If you know me, you know I take a “wait and see” approach to buying everything, but especially when it comes to buying baby items. There are so many crazy gadgets marketed towards tired, desperate moms or anxious moms-to-be, and when it came time to build my own baby registry, I was skeptical. It turns out, most first-time moms need a lot less than they think.

After having two-under-two, I feel well equipped to share what you do and don’t need for your baby’s first year of life. I recommend taking the same approach I did and putting off any purchases you feel unsure of. I’ll be sharing the best baby finds on Amazon Canada.

“What made you decide to have a homebirth?” people often ask.

The question makes me chuckle because I always wonder the opposite. Why do people choose to leave their homes and go to an unfamiliar environment for one of the most vulnerable and impactful moments of their lives?

The question surprises me now, but just a few years ago, I would have been the one asking it.

I'm the only person I know who said “thank goodness pregnancy is so long” right up until 40 weeks of pregnancy with my first. Labour was starting, but I didn't feel ready. Are you ever ready for kids? Maybe not.

Entering motherhood is one of the biggest transitions you will go through. You will encounter so much joy but also moments of sorrow as you part with the life you're leaving behind.

There's something special about the beginning of motherhood. I'm so full of hope and excitement as I look at my babies and imagine who they are becoming. I'm excited to intentionally create the culture in our home and raise kids who know Jesus.

There are so many decisions I won't get to make for them. Especially big, important decisions like whether or not they choose to walk with Jesus. I take my role very seriously, and I want to lovingly introduce them to Jesus years before they’re ready to make that decision. Since my first child was in the womb, I've been seeking out godly children’s books and I've loved reading my favorites to my growing bumps and babies.

I used to view Bible-reading as a chore on my to-do list. It changed everything when I realized I don’t have to read the Bible. Not to earn God’s love or my salvation, or increase my worth. Now, I have much better reasons for reading the Bible!

Four. That’s how many blogs I started and quit before I FINALLY stuck with it. I had excuses of course - I was busy. I had nothing to write about. I didn't have any readers.

I would have told you my circumstances held me back each time, but now I see it was my mindset.

I don't have time = this isn't worth my time

I have nothing to write about = no one wants to read about my boring life.

I don't have a following = the people who follow me right now don't matter.

Time is just one of many obstacles that can keep us out of the Bible. If you’re constantly thinking “I don’t have time to read the bible” or “I’m too busy to get in God’s Word” this post is for you. I want to help you overcome common obstacles and increase the time you spend with your Savior!

If you plan on giving birth soon, here’s my number one tip: Don’t forget you’re having a baby.

it sounds simple, right? You’d think the constant contractions and downward pressure would help you remember what’s going on. but being in labour is like nothing else, and apparently, I’m not alone in genuinely forgetting it was time to meet my baby.

10%. That's how much of my income I planned to spend when I got my first job. It was doable when I was going to the bank and getting cash out after each paycheck. But as soon as I got a credit card? It was game over.

My peaceful first-time homebirth left me wanting to do it again, and soon! That explains my kids 15-month age gap.

I love thinking back to my first impressions of my daughter. I was totally shocked when she was suddenly on my chest. So shocked I yelled “oh my goodness it’s a baby!” But I remember thinking she felt sturdy and she looked like my mother-in-law.

The devil doesn’t want you to know your value. He doesn’t want you to walk around with your head held high like a child of God. He is crafty with the ways he leads us to doubt who God made us to be, and I used to fall into that trap and stay stuck there for months at a time.

This is war. If this was a physical war with an enemy we could see, we would have a plan! I don’t want this to just be another cutesy post you read, I want you to implement these steps so that next time you find yourself drudging through doubt, you have a plan to remember who God made you to be and get back to walking in your value.

But what if words are manna? What if I’m meant to wait in anticipation and trust that God will keep showing up? What if hoarding more than I need causes them to spoil? What if burying what God teaches me in the depths of my google docs is poor stewardship?