Family Musings

I never thought I'd need to talk to my 6 year old about suicide. But on the bus ride home this afternoon, some of the older students told her about a classmate of theirs who is believe to have committed suicide this morning. So, because I'm not afraid to tell my children the truth about life, we talked about what she heard. I didn't try to distract her from the story, leaving her with unanswered question. Instead, I used the opportunity to talk to her about broken hearts. A while ago, after the Sandy Hook school shooting, she wanted to know why someone would want to hurt other people and then kill themselves. At that time, I told her about broken hearts and that when you combine a broken heart with a "broken brain" (my overly simplified phrase for mental illness), it leads some people to do bad things, things that hurt others. Today, I used those same words to describe what happened to Rebecca (I'm not saying she was mentally ill, but if she did commit ...

The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!  Proverbs 20:7 In honor of this special day for Dad's everywhere, I repeated my Father's Day Interview with Charlotte & Mary. What is something Daddy always says to you?  - "I love you." What makes Daddy happy? -  "Giving him hugs and kisses" What makes Daddy sad? -  "When I disobey him" How does Daddy make you laugh? -  "By telling me really funny jokes" What was Daddy like as a child? - " I don't know because I never saw a picture of him." How old is Daddy? -  "How old are you Mommy?" "I'm 35." "Then's Daddy's 35." How tall is Daddy? -  "Really, really, really, really tall. But not as tall as a giant." What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? -  "Play with me and work." What does Daddy do when you're not around? -  "Go to work. Work at home." Wh...

Dear Charlotte, Just a little over an hour ago, I waved good bye as you blew me one last kiss on your way to Ms. Rhoade's kindergarten class. It wasn't easy, but I tried to give you the biggest smile I could. I really want to write something super elegant that bring a small tear to your eye when you read it many years from now. Instead, every time I start to wax poetic, I get all teary-eyed. And, as you know by now, I'm not one of those "pretty criers" like you see in movies. It's a good thing that just Mary is home right now. This morning, you showed so much enthusiasm for learning and experiencing new things. You even told me how you were going to greet your teacher, "Good morning Ms. Rhoades! I'm excited to learn something new today!" I hope you maintain your love of knowledge for the rest of your life. It will serve you well as you grow in both mind and spirit. When I helped you put your uniform on this morning, I was ...

My best plans to teach Charlotte about taking pictures never really happened. But she does know how to turn the camera on, zoom in, and take a picture... here are some of her better ones. The  first sunrise Charlotte has ever seen. This was taken from the bus on our way to Miami. Hanging out on the front porch of our hotel. I guess when you are short you are more likely to cut people's heads off in photos. There were several like this. This is Mary Ruth, a very good sport for letting Charlotte take so many pictures of her. Our trip leaders, Steve & Angela. This is the couple who bought the farm.  This is Carlos. He is the main, native interpreter for our trip. Today, he is interpreting for Bruce's seminarios with the local pastor's alliance.

Monday included two visits to a local school called Dream of Louisa. While public education is free in Nicaragua, uniforms, books, and supplies are not, so many children are shut out from educational opportunities. This school exists to fill that gap.  For some reason, my photos from our morning visit uploaded in a random order... This first one is Mary modeling for the camera in the older student's classroom. Charlotte finally had a chance to ride in the back of a truck. And to take a picture of mommy taking a picture of her. :) Our family is grateful for Stepanie and the other teenage girls on our team. They are willing to help out and keep the girls occupied when we need a rest or have something else to do. Here, Charlotte is encouraging the students to dance during the Chicken Dance song. And here she is working on the fishing game. During the morning session she quickly bored of her job, but towards the end of the afternoon session, she was practically runnin...

They say mission trips can change lives. Apparently, that is true even if you are 4 years old! We've seen Charlotte take risks she never would have taken in the states. Some of it is just fun to watch and are things we already knew she could do, but other things are really surprising to us. She freely walked all over a farm we visited today. Even going so far as to venture off the beaten path to find her "walking stick." There was a big hill to tackle and she did it cheerfully too. While she normally freaks out at the sight of most unleashed dogs, it didn't take long for her to get up close to this one. Her love of the bixi ride has far outweighed any fear of strangers she might have had. Fortunately, this is one of our trusted drivers and Bruce was following close behind while she and Antonio (about 3 years old) rode on his daddy's bixi. Maybe it's just me... but I had to include this picture because she looks so darn grown up in it! I...

The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him! Proverbs 20:7 In honor of this special day for Dad's every where, I repeated my Father's Day Interview with Charlotte & Mary. What is something Daddy always says to you?  - "I love you." What makes Daddy happy? -  "Seeing me and Mary" What makes Daddy sad? -  "When he misses us. That makes me sad too" How does Daddy make you laugh? -  "By tickling me. I'm ticklish." What was Daddy like as a child? - " I don't know because I wasn't there when he was a child." How old is Daddy? -  "I don't know, 25?" How tall is Daddy? -  "Tall enough that he can get the beans down." What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? -  "Watch us dance and play together." What does Daddy do when you're not around? -  "He just, you know, like, he likes to sit around." What is Daddy really good at?  -...

Being a parent comes with a lot of challenges... from labor to potty training to the first and last days of school. And some where in between, we are expected to teach our children about how, well, children are made. I know a lot of parents stress over having "the talk." It seems like a daunting task to teach them about the birds and the bees. I don't really dread discussing it though. Maybe it's because I want to be the one to do it, instead of leaving it to school nurses or peer groups. I want to make sure I'm tuned into my children enough to sense and answer these questions to their satisfaction before they go looking elsewhere for their answers. Plus, I never want to give her more information than she is actually looking for. Being pregnant, my oldest daughter, Charlotte, has started asking some of these birds and bees questions. The first one was how are babies born. That was an easy one for me to answer, and I even found an animated version of birth to...

I have no idea what I am going to do with my 4 year old. I really think that she might be smarter than me. And more compassionate too. Tonight she totally brought me to tears with this conversation that my husband shared on his Facebook page. Charlotte was bothering  Jennifer , asking for so many things so quickly. So, Jennifer said, "Just a minute Charlotte. I'm not Superwoman." Charlotte responded, "Yes you are, Mommy. You extend your hand to the poor."  Charlotte actually quoted Proverbs 31 about her mother. We have such an awesome daughter. "She extends her hand to the poor,  And she stretches out her hands to the needy." ( Pro 31:20 , NASB) Lord have mercy on me... I hope I can always live up to her image of me. And that, when I inevitably fail, she extends her compassion towards me. All I meant was that I couldn't do 5 different things at once, which is clearly how I would define a Superwoman. But that didn't matter to her. She de...

Bruce here, hijacking Jennifer's blog again. Today is Mother's Day. And I thought I share a little bit about my appreciation for Jennifer. Jennifer and I met in 10th grade history class. And, within one week of meeting Jennifer, I told her that we were going to get married, one day. This is an undisputed fact. But, Jennifer still has trouble believing I really meant it. Of course, she also shook her head "no" when I asked her to marry me 5 years later; she couldn't believe I was serious that time, either. But, I was. So, why would a 15-year old punk be picking out his future wife? It sure does sound pretty absurd. But, even back then, I knew what kind of woman I wanted to be the wife and mother of my future family. Yes, I was a strange kid. Years later, when I actually asked her to marry me, I had already planned out our financial future so that I knew we'd be able to make it. I was only 19, at that time, but I knew people, including Jennifer, would wo...

I love finding new places to do cool things in my chosen town. And as active as I am in my community and as much as my husband likes to tell people I'm the "stay at home mom who never stays at home," I still find new places to explore with my kids and friends all the time. My most recent discovery is a produce stand called Indian Summer Farms . Obviously though, it is more than just a produce stand. I organized a play date there for my MOPS group and for $5 per kid, we had a great time! Here's a peek at what it included: Feeding the animals in the petting area. Mary had NO fear and walked right up to the goats with her bread. She might have even been a little too bold at moments for this momma! Hanging out in a unusual play area that included a wider variety of toys in an outside area than I ever expected. There are also two swinging tires that the oldest kids really enjoyed. Gave one of the moms a pretty good work out trying to get the swings higher and f...

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how Charlotte fits in with her peers. In part this is because I hadn't been certain that we would home school her and she might end up at the local elementary school. Right now, when I observe Charlotte with her peer group, I think she's a bit socially awkward. She isn't as concerned with personal space as others and is overly enthusiastic for even the small things. It kind of makes me cringe a little when I see them react to her excitement over something they don't consider a big deal. After exploring the issue of her social behavior a little more, I've decided it is important to me because I want Charlotte to have a better social experience growing up than I did. If my memory is correct, I was "popular" until 4th grade. I had lots of friends, don't remember being the object of teasing or bullying, and faintly recall creating an exclusive club for my friends and I to join. However, once 4th grade star...

A child who is 4 years old should be learning how to write out their full name. This skill is standard kindergarten readiness and even if you plan to homeschool, as we do, your child should still work to attain this skill in a timely manner. Why? Well, in our house at least, Charlotte spends time with her peers at church and they often bring home worksheets and art projects that need her name on them. More importantly, it imparts a great sense of pride when a child can successfully write their name on their own. With that in mind, I want to start our handwriting homeschooling instruction by teaching Charlotte how to correctly write her own name. She is already pretty close to having it down. But, since she has 9 letters in her name, someone still has to spell it for her. And her 'e' is always backwards and upside down. To the right is a sample of her handwriting from the thank you notes we made for her Christmas gifts. I don't think it's that bad, but with practice ...

As a team, nothing can stop them. When she sees danger, she gets down to business. Her super power is her super cuteness! They can fly anywhere in the world. Fast. Not only can they bust the bad guys, they can also bust a move. Even blindfolded, they can get the job done. The pins fell down before the pumpkin even got there, just at the sight of this dynamic duo. Tall ladders are no match for this super hero. She can (and did) climb that ladder all by herself. Super heroes always need to keep themselves well hydrated. And well nourished too. Look at how this super hero tamed the wild beast, "Princess." It's important for even the tiniest super heroes to practice so they can keep their game sharp. What fun events did your family participate in this weekend?