When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.
art work by Erika
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Siblings
Click picture to enlarge
I love these cartoons. It helps to lighten up on the parenting thing.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
GR Herberger Park
I can name a bunch of reasons why go here for a little bit...
Here is GR Herberger Park in Phoenix.
It is the site of a station in the Arizona Canal.
It has a bunch of waterfall features.
And it has shells, not featured here, for picking by 2 little girls.
So, if you are on Fall Break and are bored with staying home, take a drive here to get to know your city.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Parenting 101
I totally engage books in my quest to be an informed, open, understanding parent.
I see my job as a steward of God's intent for their lives.Choices
I just read some one's view on how to best help middle school kids choose a career. This teacher simply said that kids who want to do everything can be reassured that it is possible to do just that but that it may take a few years to accomplish it.
This is so good to see because I have often been troubled by my inability to choose just one thing and have felt unsuccessful because of that.
Combining interests is even more fascinating...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
When you love your children
As a child, our mobility in society is dependent on the parent connected to transportation. In our family that was Dad, the one with the motorcycle.
He worked downtown where things corporate buzzed with life.
He ran our errands to the post office. As I was setting out to find a mailbox to send Grasshopper's letter, I thought of him on his motorcycle doing the same for me decades ago. Our letters to relatives in Portugal were handed off to him for mailing.
He is gone now and I have started shifting my view of self as compared to him. I am parent too, and I do for mine some of he did for me. Sunday, August 30, 2009
Snailey leads the way
Grasshopper collected Littlest Pet Shop critters in first and second grades.
She pulls them out to play sometimes. Here they hang on the lamp post. The little animals have magnets on their feet. Play is important because of what it teaches parents about their children. If you want to know what she's thinking about, what interests or bothers her at any given moment, watch what she does when she plays.Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Love notes
Grasshopper has a huge loving heart.
She has an elaborate way of preparing for any separation. The van with Mom driving away is depicted here.
This is a note of gratitude.
I will be looking for frames next.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Continuity
One honors one's gone parents by raising the next generation. The love continues.
Snowden and Grasshopper living.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
A father's love
He taught them to play Monopoly.
He sits for endless hours with a game where properties sell for 6 million dollars.
The everlasting effects of this kind of love are monumentally good for their soul. Thursday, March 26, 2009
The young alchemist
The mother in me is always looking at possible ways for the girls to be entertained.
One day, I suggested to Snowden that she gather things from the yard and pretend she was an alchemist... something of an era she was studying in school.
She took to it with gusto. I get to smell the potions she creates, and my skin serves as the test area too. As you see above, this is serious business for that creative mind.Sunday, February 01, 2009
Obama's letter to Sasha and Malia
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have.
But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.
In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity. I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer.
And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something. She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.
It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be. I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have.
That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure. I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love,
Dad
(Published in Parade magazine)
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have.
But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.
In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity. I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer.
And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something. She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.
It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be. I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have.
That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure. I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love,
Dad
(Published in Parade magazine)
Monday, January 05, 2009
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Quilted Art
Sometimes it's fun to be out after a long day at school or work, so I drove us to the Chandler Center for the Arts. The current show features contemporary art quilts.
Flowers by the lake.
Grasshopper was intrigued by the stitches in this one.
One of Snowden's favorites.
I love this one.
She cuts the kite line.
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