What are the first words that come to your mind when thinking about gift giving for Christmas? Stress Expensive Frustration Gift-giving is not my love language thus I don't particularly enjoy the process of planning and purchasing gifts for others. But, I do love to give people things that I have made. Something about the energy and heart ...
Hosting a Neighborhood Open House
image source by gesinek When our children were very young we started a tradition of creating food baskets for our neighbors for Christmas. Instead of just dropping the goodies by, we set up a time for the recipients to come to our home or for us to visit them (many are retired). With ten families on our list, we started late-November ...
Creating a {Do Not} Worry Book for Children and Adults
The outward appearances are different but the internal feelings are the same. Fear. Anxiety. Worry. For Bubs, it manifests itself in him tensing his body and opening his eyes very wide. In Peanut and my niece, their fingers go to the mouth. For me, worry results in tense muscles and a pounding headache. All signs of worry about a present ...
When Your Children Don’t Match Your Parenting Dreams
When Your Children Don't Match Your Parenting Dreams Giveaway: Out of 157 entries, the randomly chosen winner of the Galaxy Buck DVD is: Monica M (email monicamil...@) Monica, please contact me within 48 hours using the winning email address and be sure to include your mailing address. Thank you to everyone who entered ...
Teaching Your Children About God: Galaxy Buck Review & Giveaway
True or False: It is the church's responsibility to give my child a solid foundation of the Bible. While most of us would choose "false" for this statement, I wonder if there isn't a little truth to it. Here's a quote from author and executive director of global networking of Awana and KidzMatter, Larry Fowler, from his book Rock-Solid Kids. I ...
Why Can’t I?: Living with ADHD
image source by Leeroy This is a post that I wrote January 2012. I share it again for those of you living with a spirited child or a child with ADHD. It is hard. But know you are not alone. In the past few weeks, I have visited a few homes for playdates and the holidays. Many of these homes have children around our ...
Fall is in the Air: Books and Activities for the Whole Family
Fall is such a wonderful time of year with fun crafts, engaging activities, precious books to read, and delicious recipes. Here are just a few to get you started. Pictured below is a fun Shape Pumpkin to combine Halloween, pumpkins, coloring, visual perception, fine motor practice, and shape recognition. (Shoo, that is a lot of ...
How to Give God Your Worry
Each morning I watch the local news. And between the crime, corruption in the government, and the unrest around the world, I can find myself in a heap of worry. My mom shared with me an idea that she heard at Bible study last week. Whenever something is on your mind that is causing you to worry, write the issue on a 3x5" card. Then place it ...
Do You Have a Talking Stick: A Visual Cue to Teach Respect and Listening Skills
“Do you have a Talking Stick?” she asked me. My first instinct was panic. Should I have a talking stick? Is it wrong to have talking stick? Oh my…what is a talking stick? Bubs’ speech pathologist could sense my confusion and immediately put my mind at ease stating that she would explain. To begin, Miss W folded a piece of a paper long ...
How I am Connecting with You through Live Periscope Broadcasts: The What, When, Where, Why, and How
For the past year, I have been praying about ways to engage with you on a personal level. While several options have shown potential, nothing has grabbed my attention enough to take the dive. Last week I was introduced to a new free app that I think will provide us with the avenue I have prayed for. Last week approximately 65 of you ...