I don’t consider myself a lazy person. I am up early, I rarely sit down, and I always have a to-do list a mile long. I mean who has time to be lazy when you are a parent? Yet I find myself parenting lazy. I find myself saying ‘no’ to my kids out of laziness. I [...]
Blog
Thoughts on MLK Day
Today we pause and remember civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King. I can still remember the first time I watched footage of his “I Have a Dream” speech in history class. As a young man growing up in South Africa in the 1980’s Dr. King had a profound effect on my life because the [...]
What Are Your Expectations?
Let me start by saying that I believe most people mean well. But good intentions are just that, good intentions and nothing more. It is amazing what complete strangers feel the liberty to say. Some of the things I’ve heard as an adoptive dad have made me smile, grit my teeth, want to yell, and [...]
Christmas 2014
Every year we try to get a picture by the Christmas tree in our church. This year we decided to stop trying to capture the "perfect" picture and instead capture the family in its natural state. Enjoy!
Thoughts on Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving. It might just be my favorite holiday. I didn’t grow up recognizing a national day of thanks and so I look forward to celebrating this year again. I love the way it smells, the weather is usually perfect, and there’s football to watch. You could accuse me of being an idealist, but [...]
Embracing Hard Things: Foster Care
Being a foster parent can be difficult, but we need to embrace difficult things. http://vimeo.com/111463024
Playful Engagement
One of my favorite parenting strategies is one that is easy to forget -- playful engagement. It’s easy to see why. We spend so much time focused on correcting our kid’s behaviors that we don’t spend enough time connecting with them. Who has time for play when the goal is behavior modification? We want obedience. [...]
The Importance of Attachment
"Where attention goes, neurons fire. Where neurons fire, things wire." - Tina Payne Bryson #TapCon14
Give Your Child Permission to Process Feelings
http://vimeo.com/10805836
10 Ways to Support Kids in Foster Care
Ask any foster parent the phrase they hear the most and it will likely be “I could never do what you do” or “I’d love to foster, but I could never give the kids back.” While it is true that not everyone is equipped to be a foster parent there are so many other ways [...]