How is it that boys get immeasurable pleasure out of beating the living daylights out of each other? Not every boy has a brother, but even amongst their friends, I notice that guys give a punch to the shoulder as they say hello or as the boys leave the classroom, they are tussling and manhandling [...]
The forecast said rain…all week…and the boys had just begun two weeks of spring break. We were spoiled with the most beautiful, sunny weather for weeks but wouldn't you know it, the kids were out of school and cooped up in my house. Oh sure, that's fun for a day or two, but active kids need [...]
Some days I wonder why I bother. Like with those parenting ideas I have that seem very smart at the time. Most of my boys weren't interested in crafts, colouring, cutting, drawing, etc. I didn't push it. But when Owen went to kindergarten and the poor kid couldn't cut a straight line, I realized that [...]
I've been connected with Abbotsford Christian School (ACS) for a long time. My student teaching placement was in grade three at the Heritage Campus back when Steve and I were still dating. Soon after I graduated and got married, I was hired on to teach grade five for the next three years. Even after I quit [...]
Another Christmas has come and gone. The Christmas tree has deposited most of its needles on my living room floor, the advent calendar is complete, gifts have been given, and the now stale gingerbread houses are ready to be thrown out. Along with the gingerbread and dead tree, it's time to throw out my list [...]
Life is full of surprises. I never had a concrete plan for what I thought my future would look like but I can tell you I didn't imagine what my reality is. Getting married and teaching for a couple of years wasn't so farfetched. That I enjoyed teaching as much as I did was a [...]
It's the time of year when everything starts up again: school, church groups, and all those extracurricular events. In our house that includes sports, and plenty of it. But I have a love hate relationship with sports. I LOVE the competition—the thrill of sitting on the edge of my seat, watching the clock wind down or [...]
I've come to the realization that I'm one of "those" moms. Back when Caleb was little, I was absorbing everything I could from the experienced moms around me, including strangers. I wanted to know how to do this mom thing right but probably more often than not I was making careful note of what I [...]
Summer is officially here and we are finally settling into our new routine which is in fact, no routine. Who knew the adjustment could be such a difficult transition for kids, and for moms for that matter. We limped our way across the “end-of-the-year” finish line, ready for a break and ready to put our [...]
We all make assumptions. I watch my boys getting off the bus in the afternoon, one carrying Owen's backpack and the other carrying Owen, and I assume my 5-year-old was snoozing. I observe a mom pull into the parking lot, studiously avoiding eye contact with everyone, her dark hoodie pulled up over her head and [...]
