It happens more than I would like. I shift from praying for my kids and trusting God for every aspect of their lives out of my control to worrying as if I alone can do something about it. I always end up shifting back. I want to enjoy my children before they are grown. Worry kills the joy. So I shift back and pray. Prayer is guaranteed panic prevention. Prayer allows me to let go and enjoy parenting. Some of…
Sometimes I am overcome. Thoughts press down on me. My failures as a mom and a wife and a daughter and an employee and a friend grow vaporously before my eyes until they tower over me. I am overcome by the dark shadow of knowledge of what I have failed to do. I have spent time in this dark place. I have visited enough now to recognize when I am on my way again. I try not to allow it. I…
Teaching your kids patience. It sure doesn’t come easy, but it’s an important lesson you’ll teach your kids for the rest of their lives! Use these simple actions to help your child or children develop patience. Start a Conversation: In the calm moments, ask your child important questions like, “Why do you lose your patience?” “How?” Make a Plan to Play: Camping is a great way for children to learn that the best things in life take patience. Plan an indoor camping trip…
Matt sent me his book, A Story Unfinished: 99 Days with Eliot as a gift several weeks ago. A friend provided this weekend on the beach to rest and read. The combination was what Matt would call a rainbow just for me. I know Matt and his story; I did not know that he had the rare gift to write words never conceived in my literarily finite mind but echoed in my heart. The page above was the beginning of what spoke…
Choose Five days after I had my first child, Megan, I hemorrhaged and lost so much blood I had to be readmitted to the hospital for several days for surgery and a blood transfusion. Because of those complications, coupled with my heart condition, a second birth would be dangerous, so before we could have another child, we had to weigh the risks. When we felt it was time to have another baby, we intentionally made the choice, despite the risks, to have Emily. Eventually we chose…
Not every child can be president but they can dream and dreams can lead to other things. Such is the case in the true story of the Kid President. He needed a dream, a vision, something to do. Concerned adults in his life helped him catch that vision. They turned his disability and inability to participate in sports and physical play and created an opportunity for him. The Kid President has an amazing platform to inspire kids and who knows…
Lately, I have been royally overwhelmed. It seems as if I have had so much to do for so long that I have lost my way in the maze of kids, husband, travel, book, work and just emergencies of one sort or another. For the first time since I had Emily (baby #2, otherwise known as the one who didn’t sleep for 8 months) I feel as if I am in a fog. I wake up tired and I go…