It’s Week 3 of our new podcast series we’re calling “Is It Disobedience Or Something Else?” In this episode we discuss some of the problems a poor diet can create for our children.
It’s something we often overlook when it comes to our children’s behaviors- diet. How much does diet play into behaviors that often make no sense, or come out of nowhere, so it seems? Listen to the episode now…
Sometimes we can become so exhausted on this journey that we lose sight of our children’s accomplishments. They are warriors. Many have had to overcome so much! Even if you’re in a hard season, you have reason to be proud!
Once again, to my surprise, school is drawing to a close for the year. Parents, we’ve almost made it! Announcements for award ceremonies are going out through multiple emails. Parents are notified if their children will be receiving an award. We received a note stating one child would. Not a surprise. He’s a smart kid. Does his homework without being told. Those kind do exist who seemingly don’t struggle. But we got another one. For another child. And I knew due to the flu season that ravaged our home and required renting a carpet cleaner, it wasn’t for attendance. What could this award be? Surely this is wrong. Perhaps it accidentally got placed in the wrong backpack, I wondered.
It’s officially, OFFICIALLY, the Christmas season and we are excited to see Mary Poppins Returns as our annual Christmas Day tradition. But Kristin and I had the chance to see a pre-screening of the film earlier this week, which is officially in theaters today. The question we always try to answer with our reviews is, “Is this good entertainment for foster and adoptive families?” Here’s my take…
In an era of remakes and reboots, comes a refreshing sequel with Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns. You read that right…sequel. Because honestly…how do you remake the original Mary Poppins? The answer is, you don’t! Like a well-preserved bottle of wine, you allow the magic that Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke brought to the silver screen in 1964 to grow better with time. And you add a magnificent layer of magic with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins and Jack The Leary in case you are wondering).
Sometimes we find ourselves struggling through this journey as parents in ways that are beyond the normal struggle. But often, we’re afraid to admit that we may need medication too. How do we reach out? Our hope is that this post encourages you to bravely step into the light. You are not alone!
My children were preschool and elementary age and had struggles. The kind that keeps you up at night. That drains you. That most people don’t get. The behavior kind. The invisible special needs-kind which gives way to more judgement from others, even if just perceived. It had been years and was taking a toll on me.
Bring on the Holidays! It’s opening week for Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and we are your central hub for all things Nutcracker, including a short review of the film, and a family fun page with coloring pages, movie clips, and more!
Photograph courtesy of Disney Studios
If you follow us on social media you may know that we just recently recorded a mini documentary about how our family celebrates the holidays. The documentary was filmed in connection with a home goods store. (We can’t wait to share the finished product with our readers soon!!!) Consequently our house has been decorated for Christmas since mid October.
As parents, one of our jobs is to allow our children to make their own decisions, when they’re old enough. But what do you do when you realize you need to step in and make decisions for them? How do you know when it’s time to protect them from themselves?
I remember hearing an old preacher, a long time ago, talk about granting our kids responsibility when they grew older. “We must arrive to the place in our parenting, and when our children are old enough, where we allow them to stand on their own two feet,” he said, through a crackly voice.
This was supposed to be a post from Kristin about taking better care of yourself while caring for children from hard places. But then I read the story of the recent suicide of California Pastor Andrew Stoecklein, after battling with depression. So I decided to talk openly and honestly about the struggle of being a pastor.
I’ve been there.
This thought bounced around in my mind in the early morning hours, like words echoing off of canyon walls, as I read the heart-crushing story of how Pastor Andrew Stoecklein’s life ended this past weekend. In the darkness of my bedroom, I wiped tears from my eyes as I thought about his wife and young sons now trying to figure out how to live life without their husband and daddy. I read how he struggled with depression, and anxiety and I identified perfectly.
We’re pretty stoked to introduce Tantrum Tuesday to the world!
This is Dasha, our niece. In this picture she’s ticked because, while watching a parade where FREE candy was being tossed to spectators, she refused to pick up any candy from the ground. She expected the parade participants to personally bring it to her. When we told her that she had to pick the candy up herself she melted!
Let’s be honest, tantrums are hilarious! Not all, but most. Because we’re such amazing parents :-), we decided a few years ago to start taking pictures of our kids having epic meltdowns. Be honest…you do this too!
And, that’s what we’re hoping. We want to invite you to share your child’s epic meltdowns with us. If you have a great documented tantrum, email it to us, along with a brief caption, and we’ll feature it on a future Tantrum Tuesday.
We can’t wait to see your epic tantrums caught on camera!
Question: Got any good tantrums to share? You can leave a comment by clicking here.