Every once in a while us moms find ourselves in a very perplexing situation: We have an unexpected hour of time and we have no idea what to do with ourselves. Today, we're gonna get a game plan.

There is something so sacred about food during the holidays. The taste of your grandma's casserole or your aunt's monkey bread, or your mom's Christmas Eve dinner. It can fill your heart and mind with so many wonderful feelings and memories. Food represents so much more than just a meal. It represents feelings of nostalgia and it represents just the most important parts of the holiday season, which is bringing people together around the table in love. I'm so excited just to have a little bit of fun on this episode and encourage you just to think about the food that you are having in your family over this holiday season.

I'm pumped to talk about a Christmas budget and Christmas gifts today. Guys, this can get so outta hand so fast, and also it can have such a negative connotation to it. Just making a Christmas budget feels like it's stifles all the Christmas cheer. But I'm here to say it doesn't. It doesn't. Making a Christmas budget actually brings me a lot of joy because it helps me to stay organized and focused on what I really, really want to be spending my money on.

And it helps me not get so carried away that in January I look back and have a lot of regret. I don't. When I make a Christmas budget, I don't. And so today we're gonna talk all about how to make a simple and effective Christmas budget for you to follow, as well as how to create a gift tracking document so that you can keep track of everything really well this Christmas.

Okay. Deep breath everybody. It is time to tackle the holiday schedule. Dare I say, this is the main source of stress that we encounter during the holidays. There are so many different invitations, obligations, so many people and organizations who are all asking something of us. And today I am here to remind you, you get to choose your yeses and your nos.

Today I'm kicking off a new series on the podcast, and I am giddy about it because it's all about the holidays. We're all thinking about it already. It's the last week of October. We're looking at November and December, and I think we can feel equal parts overwhelmed and excited. So today I am starting a five-part podcast series. It's gonna be very short podcast episodes just to get you thinking about how you can create holidays that are full of joy and contentment.

And I'll get into all the details of it. But here's what you can expect. The first episode, which is today, is gonna be about traditions. Next week it's gonna be about creating your holiday schedule. Then the next week, your holiday budget, and then your gifts, and then food. And I'm gonna be sharing all of the things that our family does while also just inviting you to think through and really, I don't know, analyze and consider what you want your holidays to look like. And I'm excited. I'm so excited about this. So I'm glad that you're here. Let's jump in.

So we all know that play is such an important part of our lives. It's easy to talk about work all the time, and it's a little bit more difficult as we get older to talk about play and incorporate play into our lives. But what I found out is it's so important to do it in small ways every day. If you can incorporate small play into your life on a daily basis, it really makes your lives and your work that much better. And that is what we are talking about in today's episode.

Summer is here—and after a long school year of hard work, it’s time to kick up our feet and play! Today’s episode is going to be fun and two-fold. First, we’ll talk about the practical: how to plan your summer well. Then, we’ll dive into part two and talk about the actual summer plan and what kind of mindset can help you have a summer filled with both rest and play!

Welcome to May is for Mamas, where I dedicate every episode in the month of May to the Mamas listening. We are kicking it off with a beautiful, encouraging conversation with Ashlee Gadd on why it's so important to keep creating in the margins of motherhood. Ashlee is the author of Create Anyway, which is a beautiful book. It just came out and I could not get my hands on it fast enough.

Y'all. It's so good. Listen, Ashlee is a wife, a mom of three, a follower of Jesus, a writer, a photographer, and she founded Coffee and Crumbs, which is a beautiful online space that brings mothers together through storytelling. Ashlee is just the kind of person who has a beautiful heart, and I'm so grateful I got to spend time with her today.

Also, side note, Coffee and Crumbs has a podcast and it's one of the very few podcasts I actually listen to regularly, and what a gift it was to just to get to know Ashlee, to get to know her heart. I know you're gonna love our conversation on creating in motherhood.

My most downloaded episode, maybe ever, was Episode 007 called You Can Do Hard Things. Today, I'm gonna introduce her sister to you: You Can Do Fun Things.

I've decided that this year I want to make more of these Work & Play episodes about play, and I'm gonna try to be a little more lighthearted, which can be kind of hard for me. But that's the goal for this year, and that's what today's episode is all about—encouraging you (and me) to incorporate more play in your life and to do fun things.

Hello and Happy New Year! I am so excited to be back to be bringing you some fresh episodes of the work and play podcast moving forward, and to start this year off on the right foot, encouraging you in your work and in your play.

Happy 2022!

Today's episode is going to cover all of the work and play of going on a babymoon. I'm going to summarize each of the babymoons we've taken: how they've all been different and how we've budgeted for each one.

I was talking with a friend the other day and she asked me the question, what are you fighting for this year? And it took me a minute to answer her, but after a pause, I finally said, “You know, I think I'm fighting for fun.” I know that might sound trite or silly, but I'm realizing it's—it's not that silly, it's actually necessary.

Today, I brought Emily on to have a conversation about camping, kids, and slowing down. You're going to love Emily. She has a depth and a graciousness that is unmatched, and I love her. It's why she's been my friend for so long. So, I'm so excited to share our conversation today.

It is the middle of summer. I know you know this, but sometimes it's good to hear a reminder of where you are, so you can reset your thinking and really make sure you're on the right track.

So today it's simply going to be like a quick glance at your compass in the middle of 2020 to make sure that, hey, you're on the right track—you're living the life you want to be living!

Today I'm going to talk about birthdays in honor of sweet Milly turning five. I'm going to talk about putting some joy back into birthday celebrations and give you a few ideas and lessons that I've learned to make birthdays in your home perfect for your family.

Today, I'm excited to jump into the topic of play, because during this strange season of our lives I realize our work and play is not totally clear cut, there's a lot of mixing. I hope this episode encourages you to truly prioritize your play and the play in your kids' lives.

I believe that work is good and it feels good to know that you've done a job well at the end of your day. But, I also love to rest. We all crave it. We need it regularly. But for some reason this Sabbath rest, this weekly rhythm of just stopping all work has been lost.