Who is Jane?

I'm Jane. I live in the happiest place on earth. Not Disneyland, but in a little house in the big woods. My husband, Bruce and I are enjoying the last of our eleven children. Three are married, three are in college, four are at home and our little son, Taylor, passed away when he was three.

When Natalie created this blog, I had my doubts. But it has blessed me in so many ways. It has forced me to crystallize my thoughts. It has connected me with a small army of sweet mothers whose humility and love for their children makes me so proud of them--and hopeful. It has helped me to recall important moments of understanding that changed me as a parent--that brought more joy to the process.

My son, Nick, gave me a perfect analogy about motherhood. It's like a field of roses, he said. You approach it from a distance and it looks so beautiful. Then you find yourself in the middle of it and there are thorns and struggles and it's hard to see where you are. Then you get to the other side and look back and say, Wow, that was so beautiful!

Is it possible to make it more beautiful right while you're walking through it? I hope so. Because it's a great work you're doing--the greatest work in fact. And you're not alone in it. You have family, friends and a Heavenly Father who want your success. Hopefully, mine can be just one more voice to cheer you on.

YOU can Ask Jane any old question you want.   Ask away!  She'd love to hear your questions. Although she can't promise answers, she'll do her best to be helpful.  (she hasn't let me down yet!)  Send her an email at:

askingjane@gmail.com

It doesn't have to be a general question.  Please feel free to include any details you feel may be helpful.  If she does have an answer and we think that your question may be helpful to others out there, we'll post it on this site.   We may edit questions to make them more concise for posting. 

We're happy to include your name and blog link if you don't mind, or happy to keep you anonymous if that is what you prefer.  Just let us know in your email.

If you DO NOT wish your question to appear on this site let us know and we will not post it.

Introduction

Welcome! I am Jane's oldest daughter, Natalie.
Let me fill you in on what this site is all about.

After becoming a mother myself, I began to realize what a valuable source of wisdom and inspiration my mom is. I've looked to her time and again for help, insight, and pep talks over the past four and a half years. I set up this blog, then asked her to go along with it. Fortunately for me, (and you) she was happy to.

Every week I ask a question, usually something I'm pondering at the time but general enough to be helpful to whoever may stop in. We decided on a weekly schedule for now, but may post more often if questions come rolling in.

Her answers never fail to fill me with gratitude for my children and inspire me to be a little better. Her parenting style is loving and nurturing and sometimes her answers aren't in line with current trends in parenting. Often her answers seem to feel like the right thing to do, and resonate with the way I want to respond to my children. She helps me tune in to my mother heart and tune out the experts who recommend parenting practices that go against my grain.

This blog is something my mom and I have both come to love. We love your questions. Please ask away!

More importantly, we hope that you will freely share any advice you have on any of the topics, current or past. No one has all of the answers, and my mom has said many times that she certainly doesn't. She loves to help if she can, but doesn't claim to know everything there is to know about motherhood. Please share your advice! Even if all you say is " yeah, I know what you're going through..." just say it. It's comforting. You never know who will be inspired by what YOU have to say. We love your comments and know that this site would quickly sound like the same post again and again without your contributions.

I hope my role here as question-asker will become obsolete in time. I'm just here to get this thing rolling! Welcome to our little blog, we're so glad you're here!