Making the Most of ALL This Family Time
These next weeks/months will likely set a record for the most family time any of us have ever had. Ever. We didn’t see this coming, but it’s here, and we are faced with a choice: We can either waste our…
How Does Your Garden Grow?
My husband Kevin has maintained a vegetable garden in our backyard for several years now. Some seasons it has gotten more attention than others. One summer’s garden was particularly great and produced an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, lettuce,…
Teamwork in the Family
My husband likes to refer to our family as “Team Partridge” or “Team Peartree.” Teamwork is essential to family life, and I am understanding this concept more and more as my family has grown from five to seven members in…
True Love (As Seen on TV)
When I was a kid, I had a crush on John Schneider (“Bo Duke”) and Henry Winkler (“Fonzie”). In my teenage years, I had a crush on Michael J. Fox, Kirk Cameron, and later, Andre Agassi. I’m sure there were…
Parents Seeking Better Relationships with Their Children: Experiences Required
When you think back on your most treasured birthdays, holidays, and other special times with your family when you were growing up, you probably remember the experiences you had with them more than you remember the gifts they gave you.…
The Problem with 4
When I see a problem, I have a tendency to get tunnel vision. It feels like it’s my responsibility to solve or fix the problem, if it’s within my ability to do so. But it can consume me. My brain,…
Brothers and Sisters, Apples and Oranges: Handling Society’s Comparisons of Your Children
“I always hated being compared to my brother, because I could not perform like he did in school.” “I was constantly compared to my sister. I was the pretty one until she came along. Now I struggle believing that I’m…
Special Needs Diets: The Art of Living with Dietary Restrictions
When my youngest biological child was just a year old, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Having never before heard the term–and certainly not knowing what it meant–my husband and I quickly became educated through doctors, dietitians, books, and websites.…
Keep the Doors Open
“Keeping the doors open meant so much more than just foster care. It meant children, birth families, new friends, and even support for our own family that we hadn’t yet realized we would need for ourselves. Keeping our doors open…
Growth Spurts: A Farewell and a Letter to My Younger Self
Note: This post was the final installment of my “Growth Spurts” column, which I wrote for Parents & Kids Magazine for nearly a decade. Please enjoy… I started writing “Growth Spurts” almost ten years ago. My three biological children were…
