Kristi Bothur
Kristi is a pastor’s wife, mother, writer, and former public school teacher for English for Speakers of Other Languages. She grew up all over the United States as an Air Force brat, but moved to Columbia in the 1990s to attend Columbia International University, and has called the Midlands “home” ever since. Her days are kept full with the antics and activities of her children - homeschooling, church activities, American Heritage Girls, and Trail Life - as well as writing and leading her Columbia-based pregnancy loss ministry, Naomi’s Circle. Kristi is a contributing editor for “Rainbows and Redemption: Encouragement for the Journey of Pregnancy After Loss” (www.rainbowsandredemption.weebly.com) and a co-author of “Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother“ (sunshineafterstorm.us). She shares her thoughts about faith, family, and femininity on her blog, This Side of Heaven (www.thissideofheavenblog.com).
School Choice :: Education Options Available to Children in South Carolina
As you may know if you follow my writing on this blog, I am in my fifth year as a homeschool mom. I have some friends whose children attend Ben Lippen or another private...
How to Give Thanks in a World Gone Mad
The headlines in the past several months have been shocking to me. Thousand-year floods. Category 6 (if it existed) hurricanes. Natural devastation. Island communities now uninhabitable. Mass murders vying for the unfortunate title of...
When Your Mom Tribe is Scattered
There's a lot of talk today about finding your "tribe" ... that group of like-minded people who just get you. The ones who will rally when you are recovering from the hard times and will...
10 Ways to Thrive Your First (or Any!) Year of Homeschooling
So you did it! You decided to homeschool! You either didn't register your children, or you went to the school and withdrew them, and you answered the questions from well-meaning relatives and friends about...
Listen With Your Eyes
It was a normal, crazy moment in a normal, crazy day. It was afternoon, and my mind was on the dinner I hadn't planned yet and the baths that needed to be done. I...
5 Ways Having Foster Siblings Changed My Life
When I was seven years old, my family changed overnight. My parents decided to become foster parents, and one day, as I was riding my bike down the street, a friend came up, pedaling...
8 Ways Early Intervention Helped My Son
My son is nearly five, and countless times each day I tell him to be quiet, to stop talking, to slow down, to listen. He shares his dreams, his imagination, his loves, his heart,...
When a Bump on the Head is More :: Brain Injury
My son is four, which explains a lot. The holes in his jeans, the scuffed toes on his shoes, the bruises on his legs. He is a rough and tumble boy who has two...
7 Ways Homeschooling My Kids is Changing Me
We started homeschooling for many traditional reasons. We wanted to focus our kids' education on our faith and have more time as a family. We also chose homeschooling out of concern for some of...
Why We Don’t Do Santa … and How We Handle Those Who Do
There are so many choices to make when you become a parent - formula or breastmilk, sleeping issues, how to discipline, what kind of education to give them.
And, eventually, what to do about Santa.
It...
The Power of Thank You
I have a confession. Up until three years ago, I really hadn't paid that much attention to Veterans Day.
As a military brat, I knew about it, of course. I think we got off from...
What’s Normal When You Are Parenting After Loss
October is winding down. For those of us in the babyloss world observing Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, that means it will be another year until the spotlight is on us and the...
What to Expect When You’re Homeschooling
It's back-to-school time, which for me, brings up all sorts of nostalgia and memories of new crayons, new lunchboxes, new clothes, new everything.
Like most people in the United States, I grew up attending school. You...
When It’s August and You Haven’t Touched Your Summer Bucket List
It's August.
Wasn't June just yesterday? The whole summer stretched ahead of us? Plenty of time to do everything we wanted because THIS was the year we would do it - have that magical, productive,...