Much More Than a 5K
My family and I just participated in our fifth Hearts of Compassion 5K. This annual event is a tremendous fundraiser for families who are in the process of adoption. It was a great help to our family when we were…
ELECT to Have Teachable Moments with Your Kids
The harvest is ripe for teachable moments with our kids during election season! Seriously, they’re everywhere, just waiting to be picked and used. Parents, are we looking for them? The obvious one is to make sure our kids understand that…
My Family’s Favorite DIY Costumes
In our family, we don’t go all out for Halloween. We do think it’s fun to get dressed up in costumes and go ask our neighbors to give us candy, but that’s about the extent of it. Oh, and we…
Parenting a Puppy
Several weeks ago, my family decided that two dogs just weren’t enough for our family of seven humans. And so we added a third dog. A Golden Retriever puppy, to be precise. His name is Dallas, and he’s just about…
Let’s Take Responsibility…And Pass It on to Our Children
Responsibility. It’s a quality that we all desire for our children. We parents must realize, however, that responsibility is something that must be taught. And we are the ones who must teach it. Start Early The key to raising responsible…
True Confessions
We used the train-your-baby-to-be-on-a-schedule-and-sleep-through-the-night-so-that-you-can-sleep-too-and-everyone-is-much-happier-this-way method with each of our children. One night we heard baby Callie crying in her crib. I honestly don’t remember how long or short she cried, but we knew that she wasn’t hungry and didn’t need…
We Need Community
We were a couple of months overdue for our daughter’s one-year “well-baby” checkup with the doctor. We had recently moved to a new state and had not yet met with a pediatrician. “It’s not a big deal,” I thought. When…
Points on Parental Publishing
When I was around five years old, I remember helping my mother make chocolate chip cookies. I so badly wanted to add the eggs to the batter, and I remember thinking so hard about the correct way to ask my…
Fighting Fairly with Your Spouse
“Fight.” “Disagree.” “Discuss.” Call it whatever you want, but if you’re married, it happens. And that’s okay! I’m not saying we should unleash our anger and let careless words fly whenever we feel like it. We can, in fact, still…
My Mama
My Mama taught me how to walk, talk, laugh, and play. She sang softly in my ear when I was a baby and instilled in me a forever love of music. She read to me early and often, then taught…
