January 16, 2009 • 11:25 am
I found this article in the New York Times today – it highlights a collection of letters written by children to our next President.
The one that made me laugh?
Dear President Obama,
Here is a list of the first 10 things you should do as president:
1. Fly to the White House in a helicopter.
2. Walk in.
3. Wipe feet.
4. Walk to the Oval Office.
5. Sit down in a chair.
6. Put hand-sanitizer on hands.
7. Enjoy moment.
8. Get up.
9. Get in car.
10. Go to the dog pound.
— Chandler Browne, age 12, Chicago
The one that shows the treasure of a child’s heart?
Dear President Obama,
I am small, quiet, smart. I love to swim and play basketball. My mom and dad are from the Dominican Republic. I am going to the Dominican Republic next year. I think you should try to change the world by building shelters for the people who live in the streets. It’s the beginning of January, and it’s cold. Good luck being the president.
— Pamela Mejia, age 11, Boston
And a little child shall lead them. Social justice isn’t lost on kids…..it’s often lost on adults.
Filed under: Faith and Culture, Kids
December 1, 2008 • 12:44 pm
Heather over at Whittaker Woman is doing a fun “Tradition Time” share-o-thon each Monday in December so we can connect and share our meaningful and fun Christmas traditions.
I love how community works!
Here is one that we are enjoying right now:
Each year we try to celebrate Advent with the kids as a way to focus them in on the true meaning of what the season is about. We don’t always have time to do it every single night, but we try to do it as many nights as possible. We light the candles on our advent wreath, talk about the promise of Jesus coming and what it means to our lives and the lives of people back then. We read scriptures about the promises of the coming of Jesus and then pray as a family together. As our kids get older they get it more and more…and it’s fun to see the connections they make.
Last night was the first night of advent and our youngest lit the candle while our oldest read the scripture. Then, we followed with the nightly family reading of “Marley…a dog like no other” – we are nothing if not spiritual around here interpeeps! Truth be told? I’m not sure if the kids were more excited about the candles and scriptures or the reading of “Marley”, but we are hopeful that some nugget of spiritual truth will lodge itself in their brains and capture their hearts just a bit….and remind them in the midst of the commercialized Christmas, that Jesus changed the face of the world with his birth….and we will never be the same again.
So, what are YOUR traditions? Check them out here
Filed under: Family Stuff, Kids , Advent, Christmas Traditions
November 9, 2008 • 8:36 am
Actual conversation with my 4 year old niece last night as we were leaving:
Niece: “Auntie Tracy I want to ride in your car!”
Me: “Honey, you aren’t going to my house – you are going to yours. Only Noah (my son) is riding home in my car.”
A moment later my nine year old nephew walks up and says “Bye Auntie Tracy – May God go with you!”
Niece: “Auntie Tracy? Is God going with you?”
Me: “Sure honey”
Niece: “But why does HE get to go?”
Alrighty then…..not sure how to answer that one!
Filed under: Family Stuff, Kids , Funny Kid Stories, Kids, Kids and God
November 5, 2008 • 9:58 am
You guys….it’s no secret around here that Child sponsorship through Compassion International has stolen my heart. And I’m going to show you a glimpse of exactly how that happened….and why you should open your heart to the possibility.
Melanie – also known in the Blogsphere as “Big Mama” is in the Dominican Republic right now being our eyes and ears to Jesus’ heart for these kids. I just read this post and cried – alot. This is what it’s all about people. If we are not telling these kids there is hope….who is?
Please consider reading these bloggers thoughts and experiences and opening up your heart to sponsoring a child…..it will change you, and it will change the life of a child. I promise.
To sponsor a child, go here
Filed under: Compassion, Justice, Kids , Compassion Bloggers, Compassion International
October 14, 2008 • 7:44 am
I have not had a lot of time to blog the last few weeks. Last week at work was NUTTY – crazy busy. When I got home at night all I wanted to do was sit on the couch, instead I had a late night class to teach on Tuesday, my nephew’s football game on Wednesday and dinner at my parents on Thursday. Just thinking about last week makes me tired!
This week is shaping up to be better, with the exception of the colds that both the husband and I seem to be developing. Stupid elementary school germs are probably invading my house….both my kids seemed to have mild colds last week.
Life is good but busy for us right now. With 2 kids in school and 2 parents working full-time, there isn’t a lot of “extra” time for us these days. I still really enjoy my job and it’s continuing to be a nice challenge. I’ve been teaching a lot of classes the last few weeks in addition to being the chief editor for all the education content being written for our new websites (6 of them) and all the other little tasks that take up my time. I moved into an office last week since we got some new space accross the hall and now I have 4 walls and a door….it’s exciting stuff and I am enjoying the opportunity to really focus instead of being distracted by the 8 or 9 different phone conversations that were constantly going on all around my cubicle.
Brian was given a promotion last month along with a much needed and much appreciated raise. God is continuing to provide for us in amazing ways. It seemed like a long road getting to this place where we can say “things and life are really good” but we have grown and changed and been stretched so much that in the end I can totally say it was worth it. We are thriving in our life here!
The kids are doing fantastic in school and really seem to love it. Abbie in particular just seems to be coming alive. She gets disappointed when the weekend comes and she doesn’t have school for a few days. Noah continues to love reading and science and history. He is growing up and getting to be so mature. He helps us out around the house and is a general joy most of the time. I’ve found that I REALLY enjoy the age of 9…it’s a great age! He is independant and trustworthy and a great companion, but he still needs us and wants to be with us….we are still cool to him!
So that is what is going on in my world…..glad you could catch up with me!
Filed under: Family Stuff, Kids , catching up, life
September 28, 2008 • 8:35 pm
Let me set the scene for you…sitting at the dinner table with the fam eating a big yummy pot of soup. Good conversation, everything is warm and cozy. Out of the blue, my son comes up with two “observations”
1.” I know why parents try to make their kids drink milk. They say it’s because milk is good for us. BUT, I know that it’s really because if we didn’t drink milk all the cows would blow up.”
2. “Oh, and also, nose picking…..parents make kids think they shouldn’t do it because it’s rude. But really…. They are afraid we will deflate our brains.”
I love nine….tonight was almost as good as the day a few weeks ago when he came out of the bathroom and said “Daddy….the toilet is clogged. And it’s not because I used to much toilet paper because I didn’t. My poop was just really huge….seriously, I witnessed it!”
Nine year old boys are a true treasure!
Filed under: Kids, Seriously? , humor, nine year old boys, silly boys
September 8, 2008 • 12:09 pm
I know how important it is to both teach and model my faith for my children. Spiritual formation is vital for them and who they will become. Knowing that, you can imagine my great delight when I overheard the following conversation between the hubby and my 5 year old daughter yesterday while getting ready to go to church.
Hubby: “So Abbie, what do you think you will learn about in your class today?”
Daughter: “I don’t know Daddy…..maybe we will learn about princesses!”
Hubby: ” Do you think maybe you will learn about Jesus? Maybe hear a story about Jesus?”
Daughter: ” Daddy…..we’ve had stories like that before….and I didn’t really like them.”
Clearly, my work here is done!
Filed under: Family Stuff, Just because it amuses me, Kids , Kids, modeling faith, Spiritual formation, sunday school
August 25, 2008 • 8:59 pm
The first day is over…and I’m glad! I was dreading the emotions of “letting go” for days and in truth? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Yes I cried and yes I felt sad but she was so excited that it was hard not to be excited with her.
Here is a picture of the kindergarten girl the night before:
And here she is in the morning all dressed up and ready to go:
Is it okay that I’m a bit distressed by the fact that she looks….oh I don’t know….about 14 years old in this picture? Aren’t kindergarten age kids supposed to look a little more like….babies? Don’t tell her that I said that, but she looks WAY to grown up for me! My goodness….give her a few more years and some make-up…. and I think I might be officially freaked out!
So there you have it….another hurdle in our lives leaped over. It’s a never ending adventure for us….and we love it!
Filed under: Family Stuff, Kids , first day of school, Kindergarten, new adventure
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