When my kids were little, I felt like I lived on the floor of our living room. Looking back at video footage of Christmas mornings and birthday celebrations seem to confirm my memory because the entire time I seem to be at their level, assisting in present opening and sharing excitement over every little thing.... Continue Reading →
Hiking
Yesterday my guy texted our oldest and suggested that the three of us take the dogs out to a trail she discovered months ago. We take the beasts for walks in the neighborhood almost daily, but our girl is known for venturing out with them and coming back with tales of beauty and risk. We... Continue Reading →
Handle With Care
Feeling a need for bubble wrap today. I want to take a huge roll of the stuff and start it at my core and spin around multiple times, I'll need a helper with some strong tape to secure it tight after I'm snug in there. Maybe some headphones first, alternating between smooth jazz and the sound... Continue Reading →
Listen and Obey
When our kids were little we had a constant saying in our house: your job is to ‘listen and obey’. It seemed to cover most every situation and was simple enough to understand, but difficult enough to accomplish that it had to be repeated many times throughout the day. As the children got older, they... Continue Reading →
Good Example
For years when my kids were little I was able to get away with a few double standards in my life: Eat all your fruits and veggies before having something sweet Work up a sweat every single day And my favorite, never watch something on TV that isn’t educational and/or uplifting There are many more,... Continue Reading →
Success
Recently we had some friends over for dinner and conversation. This group is made up of people from our church who have children in the tweens or teens stages and/or have been married 15+ years. We had an agreed upon topic to discuss before hand, and this time it was 'Handling Success'. There is... Continue Reading →
No Competition
In my early twenties, I had a job where I worked in an office with three other women. Our boss was twice my age, very fit and energetic and seemed to check me out head to toe each morning as I arrived at work. She would comment on my outfit or jewelry, in that way... Continue Reading →
Last Day
One of the first things I do every morning is to open my son's door and invite him to start his day. He's eighteen and very capable, and certainly owns an alarm clock, but I do it anyway because he is in my home and is so easy to wake up. During football season I... Continue Reading →
Do Not Feed
As our children grow up we look for signs of normal growth; is Junior getting taller than his sisters, is little Princess coming out of her awkward phase. Those are physical characteristics, but there are other signs of being a normal teen that we as parents can get stuck on. I know this one personally,... Continue Reading →
A Fan
Last night our son was playing in his last soccer game of the season, which meant the last sports tournament of his high school career. We have watched this kid run, catch, throw and kick from the sidelines for at least ten solid years, and this was the final time. It occurred to me that... Continue Reading →