Hi, Anna!I just love this picture. I released a book over the summer and traveled a little bit for promotions. I love traveling, but we took this picture right after I flew home from some interviews in Austin. As much as I love traveling and exploring new places, the best fun is here with these hot messes. ?

Plus, right before the book launched, we had just moved into our home. We built our home out of shipping containers, a project that took us nearly 2 years DIY’ing most of it ourselves. So to come home to them, and into our new space we had worked on so hard together, really felt like a victory.

I am the author of A Fierce Love: One Woman’s Courage Journey to Save Her Marriage( released with Zondervan in June), a blogger. and contributor, and writer at Good Catch Publishing. You can find me on my Facebook (@shaunashanksbooks) and Instagram (snshanks) pages. ?

I have three boys. Judah is 6. Just think Braveheart riding on the horse with his sword extended talking smack, and charging to fight. That’s Judah. He’s funny and brave, quick witted and on point with his sarcasm.

Gabe is 8 and is the most sensitive and kindest hearted person living on planet earth. He can’t sleep if two of his stuffed animals get separated because “they are brothers” and they need each other. We are reading The Chronicles of Narnia together and I can totally see him being the next C.S. Lewis with his wild imagination.

Siah is 13 and my Science nerd. In a robotics program at school and really wants a 3-D printer for his birthday. He likes reading and playing soccer and he still holds his brothers’ hands when he picks them up from school for me.

My kids are just now at the age where I decided to take them all (with friends) out to eat by myself. I literally did not do this for YEARS. It was so humiliating every time. Someone would have a meltdown, drop their plate in their lap, inadvertently trip a waiter, just PTSD-worthy meal time disasters. But after church Sunday, we did it. We just did it. I didn’t have to lug around a giant bag of diapers, push strollers, carry anyone out of the car, or wipe snot off anyone’s face. It was glorious. The kids….you won’t believe what they did. They sat at the booth and ate their food. Young mamas, you’ll get there. ?

All my kids are old enough now to binge watch Dr. Who with me! We’ve been watching an episode a night and we only have one season left. They’re so excited about it they hurry up and get their homework done so we can watch our episode “on a school night.” They feel like they’re getting away with something but I really love it! ?

I’m still learning to take it easy, slow down and enjoy my days with the kids while they are little and home. Our culture feeds into this need to be super successful, super busy, and I have to remind myself that the most important work is the bedtime stories we read out loud, the after soccer game ice-cream runs, and bedtime family devotions. We can’t stop time from moving full speed ahead and we will watch our kids grow up so fast right before our very eyes, but we can be intentional to slow down the days a bit by spending that extra time together.