One of the things about having a family as large as ours is that everywhere we go people will comment about our six kids. Usually it's something innocent like, "You must have your hands full" or "WOW! That's a lot of kids." And sometimes we have those less than nice interactions like "What's wrong with [...]
Category: Foster
Tell Me a Story
One of my favorite things we do as a family is eat dinner together every night. And by together I mean everyone (including babies) sitting around the table sharing food and each other's company. There was a time when we would sit on the couch and the kids would "picnic" on the floor while watching [...]
Let’s Try that Again!
"Let's try that again" is a phrase heard daily at our house. With 6 kids in our home, we are always looking for simple ways to correct our children's unwanted behaviors without always seeming like we are correcting them. One great tool we use is to simply have our kids redo a behavior. It is [...]
A Change of Plans
Often people will ask me when I knew I wanted to be a foster parent. They are usually quite surprised when I respond with...never! In fact, if you had asked me 10 years ago if I could/would ever be a foster parent I would have told you, "NO WAY!" I would get too attached. Adoption [...]
5 Keys to Better Relationships
I want better relationships, don't you? Sometimes I feel like I spend more time thinking (or writing) about changing the way I interact with people than I actually spend changing the way I interact with people. I think some of you can relate. Change needs two things...ideas followed by actions. Our example of the balance [...]
Take me to the Other Side
Sometimes we feel like we have to be superhuman. You know what I mean, you can't say no to anything, it always has to be yes. Soccer, baseball, football, tennis, dance, gymnastics, play dates, etc. added to the therapies, appointments and all the rest. If you're like us you feel like saying no is a [...]
Can I Say a Bad Word?
One of the interesting things about fostering is that some of the kids who come to us have, shall we say, "spicy" vocabularies. They know and use words that our kids don't know and use. They know and use words that we don't use. They know and use words that 4 year olds shouldn't know [...]
What do you Remember?
Today we celebrate Memorial Day. Our nation has set aside the last Monday of May to remember those who have given their lives in defense of their country. This national day of remembrance got me thinking about all of the things we remember as a family. I remember the night we met Tori. I remember [...]
Go and Tell it on the Mountain
We often get asked about being foster parents. People seem to have a high degree of interest in foster care and we are always happy to talk about it with anyone who want to have a discussion. At some point in the conversation this phrase is uttered "I could never be a foster parent, it [...]
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Two summers ago I decided to study the Psalms. If you're anything like me you firmly believe that you have read every word of the Bible. If you're honest you know that’s probably not true especially when it comes to the Old Testament. And so I embarked on my journey through the book. One hundred and fifty of them [...]