Jolynn VanWienen

Pressing on with my faith, family, and a little chai tea

Jolynn VanWienen
  • Adoption
  • Faith & Family
  • Food
  • Grief
  • About Me
  • Disclaimer
  • GET INSPIRED!
  • Adoption
  • Faith & Family
  • Food
  • Grief
  • About Me
  • Disclaimer
  • GET INSPIRED!

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  • Food,  Main

    The MOST AMAZING chocolate chip cookie you have ever tasted!!!

    January 30, 2019 / 2 Comments

    Something just wasn’t right! So I woke up this morning to the realization that something was wrong in my kitchen. I didn’t quite know what it was at first – just a feeling of “off-ness” settled over me. As I walked into my kitchen, I didn’t see anything out of place. The typical cups in the sink that weren’t loaded into the dishwasher the night before. The finished puzzle on our desk that Greg had finished the night before. Sawyer’s (our schnoodle) toys sprawled haphazzardly around the kitchen floor. But nothing major was sticking out to me, then I saw it. Sitting on the counter…   OUR COOKIE JAR WAS…

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    jolynnkvw

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    8 tips to help those who are thinking about adopting

    March 11, 2019

    Spring is here!!

    March 25, 2019

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    August 21, 2018
  • Adoption,  Faith & Family,  Main

    Touched by adoption – Grace’s story

    January 14, 2019 / 2 Comments

    Adoption is a true calling from God Have you been touched by adoption in some way? Maybe you yourself have adopted or someone in your family or church or neighborhood has adopted a child or sibling group? Perhaps one of your kids goes to school with someone who is adopted. Maybe a friend has adopted and you have supported them either financially or prayerfully to that growing family? Our family has been touched by adoption in several ways. 🙂 We personally have adopted 5 children (one domestically, 3 from Russia, and 1 from Guatemala), our brother and sister in law have adopted from Guatemala and are currently in process of…

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    jolynnkvw

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    The Power of the Cross

    April 15, 2019
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    October 29, 2018

    12 Bible verses for tweens to memorize

    May 20, 2019
  • Faith & Family,  Main

    My favorite things – January edition

    January 7, 2019 / 4 Comments

    Sharing 5 of my favorite things for this month Happy 2019!! Took some time off for the holidays to be with my family. How were your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations? To be very honest, mine wasn’t the best this year. Greg had to work on and off throughout the week, he went to the hospital to catch a few babies, and then we were sick on New Years Eve. YUCK! Truth be told – SO GLAD that school started back up today and I’m back into a normal schedule!! I am a schedule fanatic. Planners – oh yea!! Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you I am…

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    jolynnkvw

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    What is the difference between a house and a home?

    September 10, 2018

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    September 25, 2018

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    March 11, 2019
  • Faith & Family,  Food,  Main

    Random Acts of Holiday Kindness can make a difference!

    November 20, 2018 / 2 Comments

    Serving others with random acts of kindness not only affects the ones you serve – but it blesses you too! One of my love languages I have found is gift giving.  I LOVE to encourage people with something a little special they weren’t expecting.  Whether it’s something in the mail, a text, a little gift, or a gift card – it doesn’t have to be anything large or expensive.  It’s the thought that counts and makes a difference!  Have you ever experienced giving something like this or been on the receiving end of someone’s random act of kindness? One of my favorite random acts of kindness anytime of the year…

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    jolynnkvw

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    Favorite things – february edition

    February 5, 2019

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    January 14, 2019

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    April 9, 2019
  • mercies are new every morning
    Adoption,  Faith & Family,  Grief,  Main

    If you love big….expect to grieve big.

    November 6, 2018 / 2 Comments

    When grief days hit you unexpectedly hard We had a pretty significant anniversary this past weekend.  11 years ago on November 4, our 10 year old son, Seth, was killed in a car accident.  11 years doesn’t seem like a significant number but the entire weekend a few days ago was lining up to be the same way it was 11 years before.  Let me explain…Seth was at a soccer game on that day.  He was with 2 of his brothers and our wonderful babysitter for the weekend.  Our sitter’s brother was the goalie for the soccer team that was playing so she wanted to take the boys with her…

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    quote from Jane Lee Logan

    Creating a house into a home

    October 29, 2018

    Fall is finally here – and so are the many fall traditions!

    October 22, 2018

    How to surprise your husband for your anniversary

    August 21, 2018
  • quote from Jane Lee Logan
    Faith & Family,  Main

    Creating a house into a home

    October 29, 2018 / No Comments

    Family Room remodeling is a pain during the work, but so worth it in the end! Today I wanted to share with you another room in our house that we updated this past year.  Next to the kitchen, our family room is probably the most used room in the house.  It’s where we hang out and watch tv – like most homes.  When we first built our house 15 years ago, our family looked VERY different.  The older 6 were in grade school and the importance of bedrooms was higher on our list than a great room was.  Now, when we’re down to only 2 at home, I wish we…

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  • Faith & Family,  Food,  Main

    Fall is finally here – and so are the many fall traditions!

    October 22, 2018 / 2 Comments

    Some traditions that our family does includes apple picking and dessert making. Don’t you just love some traditions?  One of ours that our family does is to go apple picking once fall hits and the apples are ripe!  We’ve been doing this since the older kids were just little.  For several years we went apple picking with my brother and his family.  It was so fun to see the kids playing and picking with their cousins!       Sorry for the poor quality pictures – cameras back then were not NEARLY as clear as they are today :):)  For weeks after, we’d have apple everything: apple pie, apple crisp,…

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    Welcome to my little space. Hope you stay awhile!

    August 7, 2018
    quote from Jane Lee Logan

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    April 23, 2019
  • Faith & Family,  Main

    Protecting our children’s eyes when they’re online

    October 16, 2018 / No Comments

    Have children who are active online?  How do you protect them? A few weeks ago my husband Greg and I attended a seminar given by Protect Young Eyes organization.  According to their website (www.protectyoungeyes.com), their mission is to keep kids and teens safe from the dangers lurking on portable, Internet-ready devices.  Our 6 older kids are grown and living independently, but we still have our 2 littles at home that we need to supervise and teach appropriate technology use.  I was so impressed with this seminar and learned so many things – first and foremost – get rid of their use of youtube (even youtube for kids!)  The predators on…

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    Big family transitions in a small 6# baby

    October 2, 2018

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    September 10, 2018

    Favorite things – March edition

    March 4, 2019
  • Adoption,  Faith & Family,  Main

    Big family transitions in a small 6# baby

    October 2, 2018 / 2 Comments

    Thoughts from a first time grandma (Oma) Our family had a wonderful addition this past spring!  Last summer our oldest son, Caleb and his wife, Sidney, told us that they were expecting – and we were overjoyed.  Surprised as it had only been 3 weeks prior that we were in Montana watching them get married! 🙂  But we were so excited for them!  Watching them become parents during those 9 months was a beautiful thing to witness.  I was surprised once again when they asked if I wanted to be in the delivery room during labor.  They also asked Sid’s mom, Brenda, to be there as well.  I had never…

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    5 step guide to Meal planning

    February 19, 2019

    8 tips to help those who are thinking about adopting

    March 11, 2019

    How do you talk to your child about death?

    February 11, 2019
  • Faith & Family,  Main

    5 Tips to enjoy Christmas – which is 3 months from today by the way!!

    September 25, 2018 / No Comments

    I.  Love.  Christmas!!    I love everything there is about Christmas.  The real reason of celebrating Christ’s birth, spending time together with family, cooking & baking, going Christmas caroling ( I’ll have to tell you sometime about when we had a tradition of taking the older 6 caroling – ask them and they’ll say they LOVED it as much as I did – NOT!! :):))  I love searching out the perfect gift for the perfect person, watching Hallmark Christmas movies, decorating for Christmas and today is the 3 month mark!!  3 months from today is Christmas!! Do you have ways to get yourself ready for Christmas so as to not…

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    jolynnkvw

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    The Power of the Cross

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    March 4, 2019

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    March 25, 2019
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About Me…

Hi! I’m Jolynn.  I love big… I cry big… I laugh big…

I’m married to my very best friend and love dating him even after 27 years of being married.

We have 8 children.  We have adopted 5 times from 3 different countries.  Yikes!  One child is in Heaven.  The older are grown and we have 2 littles left at home with us.  We call it our “empty nest – phase 1”. 🙂

Looking forward to getting to know each other a little better through my blog.

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Recent Posts

  • 12 Bible verses for tweens to memorize
  • My Top 5 Favorite Things of the Month
  • The Power of the Cross
  • Touched by Adoption – Seth’s Story
  • Spring is here!!

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