“Help your kids get to the table and stay there. We’ve made a rule at our house that nobody eats until we’ve all said grace together. This keeps us from having some start before others and being finished too soon. We began holding hands to pray because we had some ‘food grabbers’ in our family. There seemed to be a faster-than-the-speed-of-light-prayer-amen and before anyone could take a breath, hands were flying to the serving dishes to get the best portions. When the kids were little, we said our prayer holding hands, then we had to squeeze after we said amen. It helped slow them down.”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 156

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Athena gives a military mom’s perspective at Our Crazy Life
I had no idea that I was ‘chosen’ to review this book because I needed it so desperately.

Through the good, the bad and the ugly, Carla Anne Coroy takes you through step by step and asks (and answers!) the really tough questions that we are all afraid to ask. She isn’t the perfect woman telling you what you should be doing, but the one willing to share her story – mistakes, hurts and all. . . .

If your husband is in the military and deploying or training for long periods of time or he works away from home a lot or even if he has just ‘checked out’ of his roles as husband and father, this book is for you. You won’t regret reading it and you may just finish with a new perspective and a changed attitude. I did.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

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“Many solo parents carry the burden of shame. Depending on the situation, we may feel ashamed to be covering up for our husbands. We don’t want someone to think we don’t measure up and that’s why our husbands aren’t choosing us. Deep down, we’re afraid that we’ll become another statistic . . . another failure . . . another docket in the divorce court.”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, pp. 44-45

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Faith at The Non-Religious Christian
This book is for those who have tried everything short of divorce, because they happen to believe that God offers something higher than escape from such a marriage.

With tenderness and grace, Carla puts that “something” well within reach, in a refreshing and surprising way. Adhering fiercely to Biblical standards for marriage, Carla gives readers permission—not to settle for an apathetic coexistence—but to unapologetically honor the husbands God gave them, and to expect to thrive in the process. And she shows them how.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

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“Psalm 37:4 says, ‘Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.’ This means that God wants to give you your heart’s desires: the desires that he puts in your heart, not our selfish, sinful ones.”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 24

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Kristin at Impatiently Wishing on a Star
The title may read ‘Married Mom, Solo Parent’ but I feel this book is for every woman: single, married, kids, no kids. I took a lot from this book, in fact there are few pages that aren’t marked with my highlighter.

I learned not only how to deal with my situation at hand but how to talk to God, how to be a better parent, friend, wife, sister, daughter, etc. In reading this book I realized things about myself, things that I was doing or thinking that were hindering my relationship that I never even thought would be an issue.

I’m excited to see the changes that will soon take place in me, in my home. This is a fabulous book. I’ve already promised my bestie she could borrow it and I know it will benefit her greatly as well.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

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“I sometimes think about the wives of Jesus’ disciples. They don’t get much attention because Scripture says so little about them. Yet I’m sure they were women much like us. Did they ever go to God with complaints about their men like so many of us do? What if God had answered those prayers to ‘change their men’ or ‘bring them home’? How much of the development of the early church and what we read today in the New Testament would have been lost?”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 188

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Pattie at Fresh Brewed Writer
Carla Anne pulls no punches. She is honest, very honest in a way that is not off-putting but definitely needed when dealing with difficult issues like emotional divorce and infidelity, honoring her husband, and parenting issues like discipline. I think this book is a much-needed resource for women who find themselves parenting mostly by themselves.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

Thanks for reading my post! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

“Every moment that our husbands are gone, we idealize the time when they will walk through that front door (or out of the TV room), throw their arms around us, and announce that they’re home to stay, choosing to engage in family life and be the husbands and dads they were meant to be.

And when they do, we want to send them packing!”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 229

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Christine at The IE Mommy
I think Married Mom, Solo Parent is a must-read for any new-bride or mom and the old-timers, like me. It’s refreshing, open and enjoyable. There are little bits of nuggets and wisdom that will help you understand and appreciate your situation a little bit more within the pages of this book.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

Thanks for reading my post! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

When Michelle Obama accidentally called herself a single mom, the whole world sat up and took notice.

Why?

Because she’s not single.

Michelle Obama during her interview in which she "slipped up" and accidentally called herself a "single" mom.

On one hand people are outraged that she’d say something so negative regarding her marriage to the President. On the other hand, people are giving her a break because they understand how hard it must be to have a husband who travels so much.

What about you? Do you think she should have called herself a single mom?

Personally, I’m glad she did. She is giving a face to all of us who have been in her shoes. No, we’re not all married to Presidents. But so many of us are married to men who just can’t be (or choose not to be) around as we do family life.

I can only imagine, though, how many never-married single moms made mince-meat of Michelle after that piece of news hit the world wide web.

When a married woman feels like a single mom

On one blog I was reading many people seemed angry because “at least she has loads of money and doesn’t have to worry about that”.

Cash in hand will never be the same as Daddy in the audience.

But if you want the truth… money doesn’t make loneliness easier. Neither does money help raise the kids, or help make decisions, or enforce a discipline. Money doesn’t get up with the kids when they are sick, or have a private celebration when a daughter reaches womanhood. Money doesn’t sit with you as you worry about the marks on the most recent report card, or defend you when your teenager tells you she hates you.

Money doesn’t have any part of the conversation late at night on a child’s bed as she cries because Daddy missed another milestone event, or he didn’t call on her birthday. Money doesn’t hold a worried child as she hears about wars and death threats on her dad, or her nation, or on the President of her country.

Money doesn’t stay up late waiting for a child who is late for curfew. Money doesn’t give advice when you find bongs or syringes in her room. Money doesn’t hold you or your child when there’s two little pink lines on the stick. Money doesn’t care.

So why does money make a difference?

Some think money makes a difference because then you don’t have to work outside the home. Or maybe you can eat out more, or get a housekeeper, or a nanny, or drive a better car.

But in the grand scheme of things, when it comes to the things that matter, money doesn’t factor.

It’s hard to be a Married Mom who Solo Parents

A newly divorced mom I know has recently confided that she has it easier than most moms. She works full time, making a great income in a white-collar job and has two grade-school kids. But she gets every other weekend without the kids, and if she really needs a break or she’s desperately ill, their dad will take them for a night or two. She’s not a fan of the “new” family her kids are exposed to, but realizes it does give her an opportunity to teach her kids things that otherwise might not have come up.

Single moms who have never married tell me they’d hate to have a man come into their lives and change things up every time things start to settle down, and to have to keep track of his life as well as the family’s life.

Parenting is not easy, no matter what. But the additional burden of being married, and not having access to your husband, is heavy.

Michelle Obama was right. I don’t blame her. As a matter of fact, I wish some American lady who loves her and prays for her would send her a copy of my book!! (hint! hint!)

The only difficulty with her statement was that she’s not single. But I so understand – in fact, a growing number of women identify themselves as “Married Single Moms”, and that phrase stirs up controversy too. That’s why in my writing I often use the word “Solo” instead of “single”. It’s also why I named my book on the topic Married Mom, Solo Parent.

I think it’s about time we make this phrase stick. Michelle Obama… You are officially a Married Solo Parent. Welcome to the club!

How about you?

• Are you a Married Solo Parent? (If you’re not sure check out this post: Am I a Married Solo Mom??)
• Who are the Married Women you know that are Solo Parenting, or that have?
• What do you think about Michelle Obama’s comment?

Posted at carlaanne.com in Marriage, Married Single Moms, News, and Parenting | Permalink

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“I picked up a book that said I should reason with my children. So I tried that for a while until I determined that this author had never had a lawyer for a child. If he had just spent one day with mine, he would have never written his book!”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 96

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Katy at A Few More Pages
This book gave me a lot to think about. I’ve got a lot of sticky notes marking important passages that I plan to go back to on a regular basis. I am really glad I read this book. It has helped me to look at my husband from a new perspective and has forced me to think about making my actions and my attitudes good examples for my kids. I want them to be able to look at our family as something they want to emulate, not reject. The best way for me to do that is to lean on God’s strength, because when I depend too much on my imperfect and weak self, it doesn’t go that well.

I highly recommend this book for any married mom who finds herself struggling to do the solo parenting gig for whatever reason. You’ll find a lot of great support and advice within these pages.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

Thanks for reading my post! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

I got married with expectations.

I’d found a man who loved me and expected him to be my companion, right by my side, for the next several decades until death parted us. So when education, and then career kept him away from home so much our oldest became convinced we’d gotten a divorce – I was hugely disappointed. God had not kept His end of the deal.

What deal?

Read the rest of my story here at Beautiful Womanhood with Sandy Ralya. Sandy would love it if you left her a little comment love on her blog while you’re there, I’m sure!

You’ll know you’ve arrived at the right blog if it looks like this:

Posted at carlaanne.com in Marriage, Married Single Moms, and Personal | Permalink

Thanks for reading my post! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

“Some women will boast about the fact that they never felt the need to have sitters or that they loved being with their children so much they wouldn’t think of hiring a sitter. Be on your guard. There is nothing spiritual or even incredible about a woman who doesn’t take a break.”

Carla Anne Coroy, Married Mom, Solo Parent, p. 173

About Book Marks

In each of my Book Marks blog posts I share a key quote from my published writings.

What do you think of this one? I hope you’ll take time to comment and share your opinion!

What People Say

Anna at The Cross Is All
Carla Anne Coroy speaks the language of solo Moms everywhere. Her new book, Married Mom, Solo Parent: Finding God’s Strength to Face the Challenge is at times heartbreaking, at times humorous and is at all times pointing to God’s strength and power.

Whatever situation a married solo Mom faces, Mrs. Coroy has words of wisdom for her and something of value to add to her life.

Real Hope and Practical Help

Married Mom, Solo Parent is down-to-earth and easy to read.

Whether you’ve lived as a Married Solo Mom or not, you’ll find encouragement and practical, biblical teaching on marriage, parenting and life.

Widely endorsed and touching a cultural nerve, God is using Married Mom, Solo Parent to minister to women, marriages and families around the world.

Free Companion Resources

Whether you plan to read alone, with a friend, or in a small group there’s a companion resource designed for you! The Personal Reflection Journal and Small Group Study Guide are available for personal use free of charge.

Learn More, or Just Start Reading for Free!

For more information on Married Mom, Solo Parent, including tons of awards, endorsements and reviews, check out:

www.carlaanne.com/married-mom-solo-parent

Still not convinced, or just can’t afford a book right now? You can read some of Married Mom, Solo Parent at Google Books for free!

Posted at carlaanne.com in Christian Life, Marriage, Married Single Moms, Parenting, Personal, and Women | Permalink

Thanks for reading my post! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

I’ve been making a hot breakfast for a few special girls this year on Tuesday mornings. I’m trying to come up with something different instead of the same old boring breakfast stuff.

One of the girls loves potatoes so I decided to try my hand at something new.

Turns out everyone loved it except one girl (my daughter) who is not a fan of baked potatoes! But if you do like baked potatoes… this is definitely for you!

Baked Potato Breakfast Topping

8 potatoes, washed and wrapped in foil
24 breakfast sausages (if you prefer, look for gluten free breakfast sausage at your local meat market or butcher)
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced small
1/2 green pepper, diced small
1/2 red pepper, diced small
1/2 yellow pepper, diced small
1/3 cup rice flour
3 cups milk
1 dozen eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

• Bake sausages on a baking sheet along with the potatoes for 1 hour. (If the potatoes are really large, cut them in half before wrapping them in the foil.)
• Cool the sausages enough to cut them into half inch rounds. Leave the potatoes wrapped in foil and cuddled into a tea towel to keep them warm.
• Melt butter in a large frying pan.
• Sauté onions in butter until clear.
• Add peppers and sauté another minute or two until peppers begin to soften.
• Sprinkle rice flour over pan and mix with the veggies and melted butter or drippings to make roux. (If there is no butter left in the pan either add another tablespoon of butter or pour in the sausage drippings from the baking sheet.)
• Slowly add milk while whisking to avoid lumps.
• Once all the milk is incorporated allow to simmer for about 1 minute.
• Crack one egg into a cup. With one hand begin whisking in the spot you will be pouring the egg and then pour the egg in. Beat it with the whisk continuously and quickly until it is incorporated into the whole pan. Repeat this until all the eggs are incorporated.
• Add the cut up sausage. Heat and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes.
• While the topping mixture is heating, open the baked potatoes and cut them into cubes.
• Pour the hot breakfast topping over the potatoes.
• Serve immediately. I also served some extra breakfast sausages on the side.

There you go, enjoy!

How about you?

• If you’ve tried this, how did you like it?
• What’s you favorite potato-based breakfast recipe?

A Carla Anne Feature Recipe

Posted at carlaanne.com in Food & Fun | Permalink

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