October 3, 2013
While driving down the nearly mile long dirt lane, to our house this afternoon, Kaydenc extended her arm out the window and brushed her hand over the rust colored autumn leaves, still left clinging to their branches.
Then she said, “Mommy, I like to imagine when I see the trees that they hold the memories of all the people in the world.” Continue Reading
August 27, 2013
We recently allowed our kids to start playing educational computer games on the PBS Kids website. We did not have cable television for at least seven years, let alone video games and access to the computer was strictly reserved for carefully supervised Netflix entertainment. Needless to say, this new commodity has quickly become a treasured pastime. Continue Reading
April 17, 2013
“The innocence of children is what makes them stand out as a shining example to the rest of Mankind.”
Finnley walked around with what I thought was an invisible pet named Pincher for over an hour. After closer examination, I realized Pincher was a bee he was proud to have saved from a puddle.
He excitedly told me about how he had discovered the Carpenter Drone flailing around helplessly on the driveway. He looked for a stick to fish him from the murky water before he succumbed to a certain muddy demise. Continue Reading
March 27, 2013
In my experience, one of the most rewarding and magical things about parenting is the lessons I learn and the perspective I gain through a child’s eyes as we grow together.
The greatest challenge for me, as a parent, is instilling values and shaping beings that will one day positively contribute to society as it evolves… with those lessons in mind and their innocence maintained. Not to close a mind but to open a door to the future.
My children remind me daily that I haven’t seen life from every angle yet, and I should never give up on trying to ‘think’ it differently. Never stop trying to BE the difference. Make the change! Continue Reading
March 21, 2013
Today, Finnley had a revelation about how he sees color.
Finnley – “Mommy, skin really only comes in three same colors. Light-light brown, brown and dark brown… but it’s all just brown. Shirts come in lots of colors, though!”
It’s unbelievable how enlightening a five-year-old’s perspective on the real difference between races can be. It’s the shirt colors.
Growing up in a small, river valley village, where tradition was as stuck as the mud to the old rusted pickup trucks that roll along the back country roads, racism was still an unfortunate ignorant perspective passed down through generations, as if the world stopped turning half a century ago. Continue Reading
January 29, 2013
There is a certain appreciation for those sweet life lessons learned by accident. It never ceases to amaze me the circumstances under which children learn to hone their primitive rationalization skills. And with four exceptionally inquisitive children expanding the bounds of their gray matter simultaneously, I can’t help but wonder how I don’t already have gray hair.
Today, Finnley demonstrated that he has reached the age of reason in the stickiest way he could think of. Continue Reading
January 26, 2013
Looking for a way to charge Davionn’s creative center and keep him entertained while I worked diligently to finish my morning chores, I handed him a small pack of markers and some Disney Pixar and Cars pictures to color. Within minutes, I could hear a variety of enthusiastic blasts coming from across the room. Sound effects often arise from just about any game the boys play, so I didn’t pay them much attention. I just smiled, amused by his eager imagination, and hustled around the kitchen. Continue Reading
December 15, 2012
I sat with Kaydenc for a long time this evening talking about the school shooting yesterday and her innocent wisdom prevailed yet again. She asked me what the names of the beautiful lives lost were. Then she and Lorelei sat and listened solemnly as I read them, tears brimming my eyes.
November 16, 2011
One night, while I was doing the dishes, Finnley was valiantly protecting me from dragons; which I was naturally very grateful for. Dragons are sneaky creatures, and you never know what will creep up on you while you’re elbow-deep in soap bubbles.
He was not a Knight, though. He was a Prince.
In fact, he was no ordinary Prince—he was a very “clever Prince.” He insisted that the Prince always destroyed the dragon better than the Knight because he got the hoes from the tower.
I said, “you get what from the tower?” He said… “the Prince has to get the hoes from the tower. That’s why I can kill the dragon because I’m the only one that can get the hoes from the high tower.” Hrrrmmmm? Continue Reading
October 8, 2010
As I rush about doing my housework, I realize how grateful I am for organized chaos despite my frustrations with the pace of my daily life.
I often read laments of parents complaining that their children prevent them from being able to complete housework at a productive pace. You may think this is absurd… but my children are TOO helpful! I actually work FASTER because of them. Continue Reading
Bringing Up Butterflies 