Category: Parenting
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Intentional Connection Daily
Listening & Sharing. We could fill tens of books with our conversations. But we are not. I’m starting to see there is no need. I hope they will remember much of the wisdom I passed on, but I trust they will remember my heart. “You will reap what you sow.” (Galatians 6:7) They may not remember…
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O frustrare ridicolă și repetitivă
Dimineață iau micul dejun cu Ivy. Îi pregătesc gustarea pentru școală cat ea își termină cerealele. O duc la școală împreună cu alți trei vecini care merg la aceeași școală. Ea în fața. Povestim despre toate. Le răspund la întrebări. O iau la 12 de la școală, împreună cu ceilalți vecini. La întoarcere procesează cu…
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A deep sense of acceptance starts at home
My youngest is a lot like me. Quiet and observant. I know there is a lot going on behind these beautiful attentive eyes. And I have little control over what happens outside my home. She is learning to adapt to the world, its fickle friendships and exclusions, the sense of loss, lack of understanding, the…
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The storm beneath the surface
Ignorance would have been bliss. Upon reaching the border with Serbia I discovered our technical inspection was expiring the day we were supposed to return, on Sunday. Cutting it close. As I looked at all our options to cross the border with the car in a timely manner, I felt trapped, 550 km away from…
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Întâlnirile MomCo din Iris.
Familiaritatea, rutina simplă, structura întâlnirilor, deschiderea mamelor, disponibilitatea echipei de organizare, toate ne ajută să ne bucurăm noi înșine deplin de fiecare întâlnire. Sunt toate un dar, inspirate de Duh. Ne trezim ca suntem intr-un gând pe subiect sau pe nevoile inimii noastre. Anul acesta am avut parte de încurajare și învățătură, de odihnă și…
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Paying attention / Active listening
“She doesn’t seem to be interested in what I have to say.” Humans are self-centered and insecure. Some grow out of it. Most don’t. Jackie was telling me how some adults don’t pay attention. I am sure that she has been spoilt for choice and has had many adults hang on every word and engage…
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Home economics
The Game: 10 lei a week (it’s not about the monetary value). Pay taxes, tithe, utilities, rent, see about some savings and how much money will be left over for spending. Usually barely enough for a croissant. On the chores chart: reading daily, homework, cleaning their room, their bathroom, set the table, clear the table,…
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Disciplina postului
După întâlnirea momco din iris am hotărât sa încercăm o zi de post. Singura si de capul meu fac destule. Dar am vrut ca aceasta experiența sa fie împărtășită cu familia. Conrad a fost de acord fără nici o lămurire suplimentara. Pe ivy am întrebat-o si a răspuns prompt “ok, când?” Când i-am zis si…
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lineage
I don’t wait for the girls to bring up adoption. I initiate. Intuitively I know when they are worked up about a curiosity and they also talk freely among themselves and don’t make a big deal out of it. The adoptive moms’ bookclub had a lot of questions about my approach. They asked if it’s…
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white after darkness
When you have a busy social calendar, taking a few weeks off from seeing people feels heavenly. On the other hand, if you long for connection and crave socializing, staying home throughout some winter weeks feels exhausting and lonely. If it was just my husband and I, without any self imposed pressure to make the…
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First birthday of the year
In the year of AI and other algorithms taking over social media, I don’t want to post any memento of my daughter’s birthday, but I want to comemorate it in writing. I seem to have misplaced my purple leather diary, so I will reflect here on a few thoughts about celebrating birthdays. I am not…
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Fast turning tide
We are on top of the world. We have our health. We have each other. The course of life is steady. The kids are safe under our roof. The storm of adolescence hasn’t hit us yet. Their dependence is sweet and natural still. While they dare to brave the new beginnings, the grownup works, they…