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 [...]
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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
The Importance of Attachment
"Where attention goes, neurons fire. Where neurons fire, things wire." - Tina Payne Bryson #TapCon14
5 Reasons You Can’t Miss the Tapestry Conference this Year
This year’s Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference will be held October 24 & 25 at Irving Bible Church and will feature unique content across two full days. You are invited to attend one or both days. Our theme this year is Discipline that Connects and Corrects. We would love to have as many families as possible join us for one, or both days, as we share our successes and failures, our victories and shortcomings as we try to connect with our kids while we correct them.
Repair Your Mistakes: Apologize to Your Kids
The Bible says the children are a blessing from the Lord. That’s a big, sobering statement because as their parents we have the responsibility to raise them well. There are days when I feel like I get it wrong and I know I have to repair the relational wounds and distance I created. Let’s look [...]
Why Can’t You Just Move On?
We have just completed another commencement season here in Texas. High schools and colleges were graduating people by the thousands most weekends between mid-May and mid-June. In the midst of it all, I attended a high school graduation and was very impressed as I listened to the kids speak and as I heared about their [...]
Homemade Sloppy Joes
I have never really liked Sloppy Joe's. Not just because they are sloppy, but because they just had a strange flavor to me. For some reason thought, they sounded good to me and I decided to find a homemade recipe that I could make without using those cans of "sauce" with their questionable ingredient [...]
Beware Bugs and Burns
Enjoying summer nights can be hard to do if you are fighting with pesky bugs who want to nibble on your ankles. A few years ago we began searching for an alternative to the icky chemical bug repellents you can buy. We discovered that using Young Living essential oils is as effective and smells so [...]