I know people mean well, but good intentions are not necessarily an indicator of right actions. We've been asked some questions over the years that either leave us smiling or scratching our heads. These questions could be considered misguided or uninformed, perhaps the thoughts of people who don’t know any better, but when strangers ask [...]
Blog
5 Ways to Use Thieves Household Cleaner in Your Home
In an effort to rid our lives of toxins we are switching our cleaning materials to more natural alternatives. Now search the internet for natural cleaners and you will likely find tons of recipes for baking soda and vinegar cleaners...maybe a drop of essential oil here or there for fragrance. While I am sure these [...]
You Have to Stay Connected in the Chaos
We are usually a pretty busy family, but February 2014 stretched us in ways we hadn't experienced before. It almost did us in. In addition to all of the usual things we do (you know food, laundry, school, etc) we had to deal with games and rescheduled games, cancellations, and late starts because of snow, ice, and temperatures [...]
Do You Want to Connect With Your Kids? Try Apologizing to Them
The Bible says the children are a blessing from the Lord. That’s a big, scary statement and as their parents we have the responsibility to raise them well. Let’s look at parenting from 10,000 feet. There are essentially two very broad but different approaches to parenting: Do as I say Do as I do In [...]
Great and Other Expectations [Re-post]
One of the greatest sources of conflict for any of us is unmet expectations. So many of the low moments in my life are when people didn't behave the way I thought they should or hoped they would. At the same time there are an equal amount (if not more) of moments where others are [...]
Homemade All-Natural Deodorant
I’ve become more and more crunchy over the years and I may have finally gone over the crunchy edge...I’ve started making my own deodorant. I know some of my non-crunchy friends just gasped and are vowing never to stand near me on a hot day again. But before you write me off as one of [...]
Why a Strong Community is Important
com·mu·ni·ty /kəˈmyunɪti / [kuh-myoo-ni-tee] noun - a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually preceded by the): the business community; the community of scholars. We recently had the opportunity to share with a [...]
May I Have a Compromise? [updated]
When people hear our kids ask, "May I have a compromise?" they tend to look at us a bit funny. They seem completely confused when we respond to our kids as if requesting a compromise is normal. But at our house it is very normal. In fact, it’s a question we hear no less than [...]
Fostering Hope. Fostering Connections
We are looking forward to speaking at this Saturday's Tapestry event. We will share some of our experiences as foster parents and some of the lessons we've learned along the way. Here is some more information taken from the Tapestry website. Join us on Saturday, February 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, in Room West [...]
What’s the Impact?
Someone told me recently that she and her husband want to foster when their biological kids are older. She told me they have a heart for foster kids and a background in counseling, so they think fostering would be a great ministry. But they don't want foster kids to negatively affect their children. This is [...]