THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Tag: Christmas (page 1 of 3)

16 Fun, No-Screen Ideas to Occupy Kids on Winter Break

Reading Time: 5 minutes

kids on winter break

Missed the first list for kids on winter break? Grab it here.

My kids are getting older, which means winter break looks different here. Sniff.

Of course, we’ll still be decorating cookies and mushing together the family clam dip. (It’s a Breitenstein thing.)

But Christmas Eve, we’ll have three different pickups of three different kids: two teenagers have gone for more fun with relatives this week, and my oldest–the Marine–arrives from Camp Pendleton. read more

A Parenthood Christmas

Reading Time: 4 minutes

parenthood christmas bearing children

So–a lot of women I know are in that window of life where one’s body starts needing repair from growing, then expelling a human.

If you’re not there? Hey, super-fun stuff. read more

Ideas for Kids on Holiday Break (& Teens, Too)

Reading Time: 8 minutes


ideas for kids on holiday break

Random avatars of sugar and carbohydrates currently sprawl across my table, and I recently did the Sam’s Club pickup with holiday snacks to feed four teenagers.

Which is to say, never, ever enough. And I need price-club-sized tubs of things like salsa and cheese dip.

I’ve been noodling on ideas for kids on holiday break for years, people. But picky teenagers really up the ante, y’know? read more

A Christmas Blessing. Sort of

Reading Time: 4 minutes

May all your kids come home, and may they get along with each other. Or at least fake it.

May you have a white Christmas to the point that you feel Christmas-y and can say no to an activity you didn’t really want to go to, but don’t lose electricity and heat. May everyone wipe their boots. read more

Christmas 2020 Needs a God Born in a Barn

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Christmas 2020

Thoughts from a Messy Christmas 2020

Note from Janel: This week I’m vacating with my family–or soon attempting to, after the errands are finished and we sink into full-on celebration mode. 

So I’m sliding in these thoughts, most originally published three years ago, which have followed me around like a pet pig. read more

[Stuck at] Home for Christmas? 15 Ideas for a Little More Jolly

Reading Time: 2 minutes

home for Christmas

Since 2020 is on its way out, it apparently needed to swipe one more holiday. Go big or go home, right? Or just stay home. Alllll year. “Home for Christmas” may not have the same ring when you’ve been home for Easter, home for Thanksgiving, home for everything!

But in all honesty, though I sorely miss our extended family, I continue to find a lot of hidden gifts in a year with overt,  sadness and fear. read more

[Being] Present: 7 Ways to Be “All There” with God This Christmas

Reading Time: 4 minutes
being present Minor confession: In the midst of putting out our family’s prayer letter last week…I declined a call. My husband walked into the kitchen, and I had this look like your dog would when it pees on the carpet. I explained my sheepishness. “Why do you feel guilty about that?” he asked, direct as ever. “I want to be the kind of person who will drop everything and be present with whoever needs it,” I shrugged. His eyes had this kind look around the edges. “You know you can only be present by shutting other stuff out, right? You’re present with our financial supporters [my husband and I are supported missionaries with Engineering Ministries International] right now. When you’re present with someone else, you’re shutting out other things you could be paying attention to.” I literally thought about the post I wrote about being distracted with others–and how to be fully, powerfully present. We all know what it’s like to compete with headphones or a smartphone. So often in my attempts to be everywhere, to be everything to everyone, I’m not “all there” with anyone.

Being present is about being there…by not being somewhere else. 

So to be present, it’s fair to say there are boundaries involved.  When it comes to Christmas, being present with God is sucked away by schedules and material stuff and worry: the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Mark 4:19). The Psalmist prays, Unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11). I wonder if I was on God’s mind when he penned this one…because at Christmas, my heart can be going in about 167,856 directions at once.

I’m just not all there with him.

So I’m pulling ideas together to help me/you hone in on being “all there” this Christmas, starting with our audience of One. being present

Don’t do something.

To an already-packed schedule, Christmas can feel a bit like “more bricks, less straw.”

If your goal is being present in the ways that matter, cut out a few of the “have-to’s” that aren’t. read more

Reflection Prompts for Your Soul’s Christmas

Reading Time: 4 minutes

reflection time alone with God

I’ve shored myself in tonight for something I’ve looked forward to for a month and a half.

For my birthday, my husband got me a personal retreat. And the timing is pitch-perfect. (Well, save the fact that my body seems to have been anticipating the drop of adrenaline, welcoming in a cold.) read more

Tired-Mom Advent: The Most Wonderful Time of the Stinkin’ Year

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Advent moms

A friend asked me today on email how my Advent was going. I may have remarked it was still tightly sealed with the rest of the decor in the garage.

My lack of decorating thus far allows me to ignore the fact that I would like to be preparing my heart. read more

A Christmas Blessing. Sort of

Reading Time: 4 minutes

May all your kids come home, and may they get along with each other. Or at least fake it.

May you have a white Christmas to the point that you feel Christmas-y and can say no to an activity you didn’t really want to go to, but don’t lose electricity and heat. May everyone wipe their boots. read more

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