When I imagined becoming a mom, I pictured sleepy baby snuggles, first words, and sweet milestones. I didn’t picture the first month of my child’s life being spent at a children’s hospital after open-heart surgery. I didn’t expect therapy appointments to fill our calendar, or for terms like “neurophysiologist,” “psychiatrist,” and “conduct ...
Disabilities
When we dreamed about a family, my husband and I never imagined the challenges that we would face. It wasn't in our plans to have children with diagnoses and disabilities. But, none of this was a surprise to God. He knew that our children would need us; and we would need them.
This blog was started to encourage and help families, especially those with challenging children. While reading these posts, I pray that you will find ideas to implement in your home. Secondly, I pray that you will find hope and encouragement knowing that you are not alone. Finally, we pray that God will use Our Story to encourage you.
What to Do When Sensory Emotions Explode
Sharing a past post in the prayers that it will be helpful to many. It was the perfect scenario—or so I thought. We had just left church, and Grams was sitting in the backseat cuddling with Bubs (age seven). We picked up pizza and chatted about the fun day we had thus far with family. Once home, everyone gathered at the dinner table—except ...
Do Your Understand Dyslexia: Dyslexia Bible Review
Most likely you have heard about a learning disability called dyslexia. Many people associate it with reversing letters. But 2 years ago, I learned that about dyslexia on a personal level when after 10 years of searching for the cause, my daughter was given the dyslexia diagnosis finally providing a path to help. You may remember in my post ...
How Chores Can Help Reduce Child Anxiety
Growing up on a farm, work was a significant part of my life. Whether it was loading livestock into the trailer, preserving vegetables from the garden, or cutting thistles when the grass was waist-high, there was always something to be done. It took everyone working together to stay on top of it. However, I believe that working together has many ...
Unlocking Your Child’s Development: New Checklists for Ages 1-5
Are you ready to better understand and nurture your child's development? As a fellow mom on this journey, I'm excited to introduce the latest tool from ABCJesusLovesMe to support you: brand-new developmental checklists tailored specifically for ages 1 through 5. Understanding your child's developmental milestones is crucial for providing the ...
How Visual Perception Activities Would Have Helped Her
I thought we were done with diagnoses. Isn't Autism, ADHD, and Executive Function Disorder enough? I guess God has other plans. Let me back up a little. Things began falling apart for Sweet Pea in the 2nd grade. Her reading level decreased, her test scores dropped, and her spelling was atrocious. But she continued to be at the ...
Is Your Child Meeting Pragmatic Milestones?
I remember it like it was yesterday. Bubs was laying on the floor, playing with a friend's baby. He looked at me, circled his face with his finger, and said, "I don't know what this means." He knew that the baby was telling him something but didn't understand what her face was sharing. After talking about her eyes, mouth, and body language, he ...
Does Early Intervention Even Help?
Today I was reading through some past blog posts. What a journey it has been, especially with our oldest son after his dramatic start in life! I found this post from February 12, 2009, written when Bubs was 4.5 years old. Several people shared their opinions on our decision to place Bubs in Occupational Therapy. One of the negative comments ...
What I Wish I Had Known about Sensory Processing Disorder
This post has been updated - https://parentingtoimpress.com/2025/06/when-normal-doesnt-fit-your-child.html ...
Teaching Emotions to Kids
I remember like it was yesterday. Bubs, age 9 at the time, was lying on the floor near me watching a friend's baby kick and choo. One could see the wheels turning in Bubs' mind as he was taking in every movement that Baby Annie made. With a puzzled look on his face, Bubs asked me, "What does this mean?". As he questioned, he circled his ...