Today my family went to a family reunion with my husband’s family. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, some they knew from the last one last August, and some who were new to them. And, being the youngest of this particular generation of cousins, they reaped a bounty – they got cool cast-off toys that the older ones had outgrown.

It was a time to reminisce about family members no longer with us, and the hope that the new generation brings. It had been a really long time since some of the family had seen each other, and commitments were made... more

Did you grow up hearing the Golden Rule? The verse that is frequently referred to as the Golden Rule is found in Luke chapter 6, verse 31 and it says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (NIV) I think that most children, even those who are not part of a church family have heard this rule. One of the purposes of learning Bible verses is so they can come into your mind when you need them. Believe me, after helping many children memorize verses to recite on AWANA club nights, I have learned many. Obviously, the children recognize these verses when I recite them as well.... more

Recently an email came around as a forward on our homeschool loop at Yahoo groups. Frequently, I just delete forwards without even looking at them, but something made me read this one. Maybe it was a little nudge from the Holy Spirit. Shannon Ethridge who is the author of Every Woman’s Battle and coauthor of Every Young Woman’s Battle wrote the article being forwarded. The article was only about the way women dress, teenager girls in particular, as that is Shannon’s focus for her books. However, as the mother of several teenage boys, I also insist that they take care in their... more

"A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17:17)

Many times our children come to us with poor social skills. These can be due to trauma, neglect, abuse, medical or mental health conditions – a variety of causes.

In my own life, with my ADD undiagnosed until adulthood, I found social settings to be my undoing. I had difficulty reading social cues (like when to shut up!), and my impulsivity manifested itself in constantly interrupting others.

When my daughter first arrived, on her very first night with two new acquaintances,... more

I woke up this morning to find that my oldest son had straightened up and swept the front entryway. Not to be outdone, Sissy wanted in, and they both set to work making my breakfast and their dad’s lunch for work.

For the rest of the day, all I had to do was mention something or ask, and it was done! Before you all besiege me with requests to open up a school or offer parenting seminars, let me say, I have no idea what spurred this on! If I had a pill or formula, I would bottle it, but I certainly have appreciated it while it’s lasted!

I had a migraine this... more

Why should my teenage daughter ask for a cinnamon roll when she can sneak one into her bedroom under her bathrobe? Then she can eat it alone in her room after everyone goes to bed and nobody will know. The trouble with little lies or little thefts is that they have a way of finding you out and growing. One little white lie can turn into a huge sin if we let it grow instead of confessing and seeking forgiveness. You see we have a house rule of “No eating in bedrooms.” We also need to brush our teeth before bed to get rid of the sugar bugs, from our treats, that like to cause... more

Well, we’ve made it through to the evening, after a few rough patches in the day!

After posting this morning, I doubled over in pain. My “monthly visitor” came for a visit, and I spent most of the next few hours under a heating pad!

After a nap, some tea, and lots of acetaminophen, I woke up refreshed! We all went out shopping for the house, and then stopped into a nice restaurant for a bit of dinner. The kids sang “Happy Anniversary” to us, and we came home.

We’ve had... more

My kids know that tomorrow is our anniversary. They aren’t exactly sure what an anniversary is, so I explained it’s like a birthday for the day Daddy and I got married. Yeah, as of tomorrow, Daddy and I will have had eighteen of those “birthdays”!

From reading this blog, you may have figured out by now that hubby and I are very traditional in our values, but pretty unconventional as far as just about everything else goes. That includes anniversaries, too. Many of our friends are “confuzzled” when they learn that we’ve taken our oldest son on most of our anniversary... more

Biological siblings have the benefit of the same gene pool, genetic wiring, yada, yada, yada. Even adopted sibs can create a bond through artificial twinning in the sense that they are, generally speaking, going through the same developmental and cognitive milestones at the same time. But how do you explain a brother and sister who are not related biologically, and are not close in age, but yet can read each so well that they know each other better than they know themselves?

Let... more

Chalk this one up the Bizarro Hall of Fame, but what are the odds that two of my children would lose a tooth ten minutes apart?

Both have been saying for days that they have wiggly teeth. Both have worked with their loose teeth, given status reports, and have generally been very aware of all things dental. At first, I thought maybe my daughter was trying to copy her older brother. As of late, “copying” has been a huge topic here at Casa Stro. When eating out, she will... more