Hi, I'm Maria!
I'm Maria, Canadian, wife of 14 years, mom of 5 (3 bio children, 2 medically-fragile foster children), understandably a coffee-addict (to the point where I roast my own coffee beans), have a BA degree in Psychology with many, many hours of training specializing in child development, and blogger at Stand Up, Reach Out.
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?
Here at Stand Up, Reach Out, I help Christian moms stop putting out fires and instead simplify and revive their home, family, and faith life.
Friendly advice combined with action steps - exactly what moms need to intentionally raise wholesome, faith-filled, can-do kids.
Struggling to keep up?
Let me put it this way:
You know that mom-guilt hits you when your preschooler wants a tea party, but you have to get supper on the table?
Or the discouragement that comes after struggling to get all the kids in bed and you realize you didn't even think of family prayers? (no judging here, I've done it too)
How about bone-weary, or at this point, soul-weary? ...when all you want to do is sit for 5minutes, but you turn around and discover the mountain of laundry you forgot about? Ugh.
If so, here's a virtual hug. You're in the right place.
I needed a hand to stand up again
A few years ago, I was in survival mode.
My health was in a scary place from extreme fatigue and brain fog, and random leg paralysis that led to trips to emerg and being unable to drive (which is tough when you live on an acreage).
It was a mental army crawl to take care of my kids and make it to bedtime (I went to bed right after they did).
But the laundry kept piling up.
My medical kids still needed to get to appointments.
Kids still get hungry. Every 5 minutes.
I couldn’t seem to lift my head above the water long enough to really nurture and teach my kids.
And I wasn’t happy with simply providing their basic needs.
They weren’t happy with my having to conserve my time and energy for housework and the minimum viable care of my family.
I knew I needed help. I just needed to kickstart looking for it.
Now I can reach out to you
Years later, my health is still pretty crummy.
But I've developed a systematic approach to first teaching my kids chores then progressing to bigger life skills and character development.
This approach has freed up so much time now that my children (as young as 4, some with special needs, oldest being 9) have mastered skills that used to take up my whole day.
I feel more rejuvenated and can spend that time having tea parties, family prayer, or actually sit down with an extra HOT cup of coffee. Oh, good times!
If this makes your heart leap -
-but you feel like life is coasting by and you're just trying to catch up -
don't worry.
I want to help you start your journey to a truly joyful calling.
Who am I to share this journey with you?
- I have a degree in Psychology, specializing in child development
- My husband and I have travelled to many countries, seeing poverty in ways that are not experienced in Canada, which has taught me how much I can GIVE
- We are raising our 3 children and are fostering 2 medically fragile/special needs children. We've been fostering for over ten years, which has meant hundreds of hours of further training in trauma, brain development, and building healthy relationships.
- I have been extensively involved in my Church community, first youth ministry, then music ministry, now mentoring. God is my WHY for getting up in the morning
What to expect from Stand up, Reach out?
As long as my health allows it, I'll aim to publish one helpful, practical post every 2-4 weeks. I like to work with themes, so there will usually be a series of connected posts to take you deeper into the cornerstones of SURO.
I'll be teaching how to overcome daily struggles with managing your home, concrete ways to develop your kids' character, and hands-on ways you and your kids can grow spiritually.
But the real magic happens through email.
When you invite me into your inbox, I'm able to go way deeper and help you more personally with your journey.
I invest way more time and teaching through my email series. This is how I start you on my systematic Teaching Life skills class, walking with you through each step of the journey.
WHAT CAN YOUR INBOX EXPECT?
After an initial devoted batch of emails, where I'll get you from frustration to amazingly smooth systems, I will send out valuable emails on:
- Stand Up Parenting: you’ll be getting hands-on, need-to-try-this-asap parenting strategies to help you raise wholesome, faith-filled kids.
- Thriving Motherhood: self-care, soul-care, and everything in between, with light-hearted high-fives for my favourite moms out there.
- Monthly Themes: I like to keep my blogging simple too 😉 I organize my emails, blog posts, social media, and products around 1 monthly theme concerning SURO's cornerstones: HOME MANAGEMENT, FAMILY PRAYER, and TEACHING LIFE SKILLS.
And you know what?
My favourite part of blogging is connecting with YOU. I personally reply to each email, comment, or prayer request you send to me.
Your resource stood above the rest
Maria,
I just wanted to write back and let you know how incredibly happy I am to have stumbled on your resource! Seriously, this is exactly what I was needing and I love how God provides just what we need at the right time!
I downloaded MANY of the freebies in the bundle but I thought you should know how much yours stood above the rest. Really, the welcome email you sent was just so personable and relatable and that you so graciously took the time to personally respond.. ❤️
I'm already a huge fan and just SO appreciative!
A healing balm to my heart
This was all so beautifully said, and was a healing balm to my heart. I definitely relate to feeling like I couldn't measure up to the Proverbs 31 woman. I mean, rising while it's still dark? Sleep is precious! 🙂 I loved how you went through each verse and offered a different perspective on it from what we normally hear.
Sign up so you can stand up, reach out, and thrive in your motherhood!
~ Maria