Blog - Sherri Seligson

5 Smart Strategies to Engage a Distracted Learner

March 18, 2014

Well, if you are reading this post, you likely have a child who has a hard time focusing on things. Now, I first want to remind us all that EVERY child has a bit of a hard time focusing. It’s a physical thing. Their minds are developing, and they are taking in sights, sounds, and smells. They have to touch and explore everything around them. And that is good. That is how they develop and learn how the world works.

But there are some children who are diverted to a greater extent. I know. I have one. WALLPAPER distracted this child. At the age of three, he would be heading to his room, carrying some folded clothes, when suddenly he would stop and stare at the wallpaper patterns of our dining room. I used to think, “What is up with him? Is he checked out from the world?”

What I eventually came to learn is that easily distracted children are often very bright. They have a great capacity to learn. Neurologically, they are more aware of what’s around them. They can more easily take in information.

That is a good thing, and that is a challenging thing. You see, with all this data coming into their heads, they have a hard time tuning it out. So when you sit them down to go over some spelling words, they may be physically sitting, but they are mentally moving in circles with the ceiling fan, wondering how it keeps spinning in one direction and doesn’t need to be unwound. They are feeling the soft fabric of the carpet under their feet and trying to figure out how many toes they can completely embed in it. The sunlight coming through the window makes beams of light that expose all the floating dust in the air. They wonder how it defies gravity…

And amidst all this, you are asking them to spell the word “cough.”

No wonder they can’t focus! Yet we know they can work on a massive, multi-step Lego model for hours without budging from their seat.

What’s the difference between building Legos and studying math facts?

Do I really have to answer that? You know as well as I do, that building Legos (or video games or whatever other free-time activity) is MUCH more fun than schoolwork. So how do we channel that ability to focus on the fun stuff and minimize the Siren-call of the wallpaper and dust when they are doing work?

Well, here are some tips I have learned over the years that have helped “reset” my child’s brain to turn it to the task at hand.

1. Go to a room where there are minimal distractions. This is a given. How do you expect them to focus on tasks if you have some toys in the room or other children playing around them? It may be in your bedroom (that is certainly a boring place for most kids!). Explain to your child that you know that there are lots of amazing things to see and discover, but you want to show them how to “discover” interesting things about their spelling words. I’m not kidding. Make it an adventure. What is the shape of this word? Why does it sound so weird and spelled so weird (just think about the “ough” sounds and you know what I mean)? Help them to see that there are some interesting discoveries in the math or science you are covering right now.

2. Give them a few options on how they will best take in the information. If you are facing a spelling list, ask them what would be the most fun way to learn the words. Do they want to paint them? Do they want to draw pictures that describe what each word means? Do they want to spell the words out using those Lego blocks or beads or pasta shapes? For math problems, do they want to write them out on colored paper? Do they want to type the problems on a computer? Do they want to illustrate the word problems, showing Timmy and his 32 watermelons?

Get them involved in some of the learning process and they will likely get into it. They will use some of those extra-sensitive sensory paths and make them work ALONG with the task instead of pulling them away from the task.

3. Intersperse their work with movement. Y’know, never underestimate the power of jumping jacks. I’m serious. There is something about moving our bodies that cleans out our minds. If you have ever seen Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, you may remember the Mad Hatter scene. Every few minutes the Hatter would interrupt what was going on and proclaim, “Change seats! Change Seats!” Then everyone would have to stop what they were doing and change their seats. Plan a few “Change seats” activities. It gets some of the wiggles out. It creates some laughter. It helps your distracted one to fill some more of those exposed nerve endings.

4. Add music. For some reason, when we hear words set to music, we are better able to remember them. Have you ever heard a song from your high school years and realize that you can sing along with all the lyrics, even though it’s been decades? But I bet you have a hard time reciting the Preamble to the Constitution you had to memorize back in 7th grade (unless you learned that in a song, too – Thank you, Schoolhouse Rock!). Take simple melodies such as nursery rhymes and set to music the words or sentences you are studying. Have them sing their definitions to you, coming up with a melody of their own.

5. Be patient. You need to remember that your distracted learner is not being defiant. They are trying to do the task at hand. They just have to do it amidst the constant input of information coming into their heads. If one method isn’t working, wait ten minutes (jumping jack time) and come back to it. Try another way. Your patient persistence will encourage their patient persistence.

And you need to know that the most important thing you can do for your distracted learner is to remind them that you love them. They need to know that YOU know they are smart. That YOU are on their side and like a sports coach, you want them to succeed!

I hope this helps you as you persevere. It is a marathon, not a sprint. You can do this! I am cheering YOU on! And feel free to let me know how I can pray for you or encourage you in the comments below.

~Sherri

An Easy Way to Mark and Identify Hand-Me-Downs

March 13, 2014

If you have children, it is a given that laundry is a big part of your week. I know it has been for us. Of course, as the kids got older, I began to have them take on some laundry chores to help.

Yes, it builds skills and teaches them a good work ethic, but it also helps me out!

Well, one of the problems we have had is identifying whose clothing item belongs to whom. (Sorry, after 21 years of teaching grammar to my kids, I just have to use the “who” and “whom” correctly – it sounds so formal, and you guys know I am not a very formal person!)

Anyway…I had read about so many strategies to remember who gets which clothing item: sewing on colored tags (lots of work), sticking with certain wardrobe colors for each child (not happening), different brands for each child (DEFINITELY not happening), just make mental note as to who gets what (Now you’re just being crazy!).

None of these methods seemed doable to me. We have three boys and a girl. When the oldest outgrew something, it went straight into the drawer of the next boy, then the next, and so on. And when the youngest boy outgrew his clothes, I am not ashamed to say that some of those items ended up in our daughter’s drawers (maybe with some lace added).

I was not about to sew and re-sew different colored ribbon tags, and I knew my mind couldn’t keep track of which child had which shirt, so I needed an easy, inexpensive method of marking their clothes in a way that I could alter the markings as the items passed down from child to child.

Enter my secret weapon:

Yes, a simple Sharpie marker. I mark a single black dot on the tags of my oldest son’s clothes (even the toes of the socks). Then when an item gets passed down to the next child, I add a second dot. The third child has three dots on his tags, and the fourth child has four dots. No re-sewing or elaborate buying plans necessary!

I keep another marker in the laundry room to re-mark any tags that become faded, but that is all I do. No step-by-step program. No expensive materials. Just dots on the tags. And if my third son gets a new shirt for a birthday or Christmas, I just put three dots straight onto the tag. Everyone will know it is his. For shirts that have no tags, I try to find a hidden spot on the inside seams (unless it’s a white shirt). And that’s it. It takes care of 99% of our problems.

No more comments like, “You are wearing my shirt again!” or “Mom, all my shorts are missing!”

So with the sorting out of the way, we can get down to business and defeat the Huns finish folding the laundry.

I hope this is helpful to you – or at least a bit entertaining. Have a great day!

What Separates Man from Animals?

March 11, 2014

Recently I was asked by a student, “What is the difference in God’s eyes between a person and an animal?” This is a very good question. Many animals are quite smart. Some can see further than humans while others can see things beyond the color spectrum of visible light. Some animals run faster, hear better, fight better, are stronger and can better endure challenging living conditions. So what sets people apart from animals in a special way?

Well, I do not claim to be a theologian, but I decided to approach this question from a scientific angle. I began discussing dolphins…

People love dolphins. They have that constant smile and seem to spend entire days playing and frolicking in the ocean, never being a menace to anyone (unless you’re a smelt). They are also quite intelligent: they have been shown to solve puzzles, seem to have a social structure within their pods, and can communicate using echolocation.

So what makes them different from us in God’s eyes? Their intelligence and communicative abilities may even rival some people, so intelligence cannot be a major factor.

Having worked with them for years, I would propose one of the noticeable, observable differences is that dolphins do not have morals. You see, we know they feel emotions; they can be happy, sad, and even angry. I have known some dolphins to pout, facing the corner of their tank because they popped a beach ball and we didn’t have any more. Honestly, working with them was almost good preparation for being a parent!

However, dolphins do not have an understanding of what is right or for that matter, what is true. Yet, man continually struggles with this idea. People have an innate need to seek the truth. They look for some framework under which they should behave. They are always discussing what is right and wrong – what should be done and what shouldn’t be done. What is the right way we should treat household pets; what is the right way we should care for children; what is the right way we should take care of our world; what is the right way we should behave towards others. We are always looking for what is proper.

I’ve heard Christians say that everyone is created with a Jesus-shaped hole in their heart, and they are seeking to fill that void in their lives, looking for what is True. Even among non-Christians, all people have this concept that there is at least some kind of right and wrong in the world.

Yet intelligent animals, such as dolphins (especially males), have been known to attack a young calf within their own group. Dolphins have been observed tormenting other animals for play, not considering that these actions may be wrong, not questioning the results of their behavior. Yes, there are some cases of dolphins protecting swimmers from sharks. That is a natural instinct that they have to protect the younger and weaker individuals living in their pods. They are mentally “wired” to protect their own, and sometimes will extend that protective behavior to fight off the bad guys from others, too. But I don’t believe it is altruistic.

Dolphins develop deep bonds within their pods. They care for and protect one another. They have been known to care for and protect human trainers with whom they work in marine aquariums, too. This bonding instinct and protective behavior helps their pods to survive in the wild.

But on the flip side, dolphins have been observed killing fish just so they can throw them around for play. Young males often will gang up on other animals and will hit them around.

When I worked in an aquarium, we had dolphins living in the same large tank as sharks. The dolphins had their own area in a separate, connected tank where they could sleep and play, away from all the fish, and they also were allowed into the tank from time to time to have more swimming space and be in a more natural environment. But sometimes, they would gang up on a shark, corralling it to the bottom of the tank for fun. You see, sharks don’t have swim bladders like other fish, so they have a harder time controlling their buoyancy, or their ability to stay at one place in the water column. The dolphins loved watching the sharks slowly float back up in the water column after they pushed them down.

Now that sounds like innocent play, but it kind-of scared the sharks (who are often not as vicious as the television shows depict!) and sometimes left severe bruises which was dangerous for their health. The dolphins did not worry that they may be harming the sharks.

Yet, don’t blame the dolphins. They do not have an ability to know that a behavior can be a “wrong” behavior. There is no moral compass from which they can work. And this is the same situation for all of the other “intelligent” animals on Earth.

Humans have an innate understanding that there is a right and a wrong in the world and it comes from the fact that we have a soul designed to have a relationship with our Creator.

This is a tangible observation we can make that separates people from animals.

Now don’t get me wrong. I still love dolphins! But when we impute on them human characteristics we begin to forget that God created people in His image to give Him glory.

And we can do this by studying, caring for and being amazed by His creation!

Keep It Up, Moms!

March 7, 2014

I love gardening metaphors. They really help us understand some of the challenges we face as parents. You know…our home is the garden; we are the gardeners tending it; the fruit coming out of the garden is our children; the fertilizer is..well, you can’t take metaphors too far. I’ll have to think on that one.

But thinking about this comparison, I realize that it is hard work to have a successful garden. It takes daily effort to produce a beautiful, healthy bounty.

And think about the gardeners (that’s us parents). They weed, hoe, water, fertilize, prune. Sometimes our backs hurt from bending over. We get dirt under our fingernails and thorns in our hands.

With all this work, we would like to see a little encouraging results. Yet that takes time.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Parents have a lifetime of work to bring up their children. Children need our continuous devotion in order to thrive. If you are a parent, you automatically are given this role of gardener.

And it is easy to spot other “gardeners” around us. They have those telltale signs of sun on their faces, dirty hands…diaper bags on their shoulders, spit-up on their sleeves. We can knowingly pass each other and “get” their struggles.

Feeling weary? I am here to tell you that it is so worth it. Keep it up. As a fellow “gardener” whose plantings have almost fully matured (my youngest of four is now 18), I can tell you it is worth the work. It is worth the daily weeding, the late-night conversations, the driving around the city to find that perfect dress for the formal dance.

I can see you as you go by, and I know how you are feeling. But I tip my gardening hat to you, moms. Keep it up. You are producing a bountiful crop, and you will enjoy the blessings that come with it!

Everything Is Upheld by God

March 4, 2014

I have been studying more about the history of science, lately. It amazes me that the more we discover about our world and our universe, the more we reveal the magnificence of our God. He is everpresent.

That means that at any given moment in time, He sees the edges of the universe and holds together the atoms of our bodies. Simultaneously! And it is even amazing to say “at any given moment in time,” because He is not held by time. God was before time and will be after time has ended. That is why He called himself “I Am” in the Bible.

Present tense.

He is never in the past or the future because time cannot measure or restrict His existence.

Our observational tools of the microscope and the telescope give great testimony to His big-ness. We are only beginning to see the complexities of the microscopic (and sub-microscopic), and we are still discovering the immensity of our universe as we send out bigger and bigger rocket-powered telescopes.

Oh, yes, it is an understatement to say my God is big. I cannot even begin to understand what “big” means!

THIS drives me to study our world. THIS drives me to learn more about my God!

The Importance of Encouraging our Children

February 28, 2014

I remember several years ago having a conversation with one of my children about doing his schoolwork. He said, “Mom, I’m not smart enough to do this.”

Mentally, I took off my “Teacher” hat and put on a “Cheerleader” hat.

“Of course you are smart enough. It just takes practice and some more time. Here, why don’t you read the question to me?”

My little 7-year-old slowly sounded out the words of a question which asked about a story he just read. I noticed that some of the words were a bit challenging for him. It took him so long to figure them out that he lost track of what the question was asking.

“I just can’t do it,” he said. “I don’t know what they want. I’m not good at school.”

Well, here we were. I had hit a common spot in each of my children’s education. It seems that every year, in at least a few subjects they hit a snag and feel completely unable. That is my cue to start the cheerleading.

You see, as our children grow and develop, they face new challenges all the time. Remember when they were starting to walk? They would stand up against the couch and slowly pull their hands away, wobbling and teetering while watching you. Then they would take a step and fall. Immediately, they would look to you to see what your reaction was. Were you scared? Were you rushing to grab them? Or were you smiling and encouraging them? I quickly learned as a young mom that the scared face almost always caused them to cry, but a smile and an assuring “You’re OK” helped them to regain the confidence to try again. They were looking to me for clues about how to react. They were looking to me with those big, sweet eyes that seemed to ask me, “Now what? Is this a big deal or is it OK?”

And they look to me all the time as they grow up. Sometimes they ask for reassurance and other times they just read how I respond to get a clue as to how they should be responding. We have a powerful opportunity to speak encouragement into our children’s lives throughout their growing up years.

We need to be cheerleaders throughout their lives, because as they take the next new step and fall, they look to us for that encouragement – for that “You’re OK. I’m still smiling. You can do it!”

So I began to talk with my 7-year-old about the story he just read. Then we discussed the newer words in the questions together. After that, he was able to answer them. And he felt better.

This is yet another reason moms have such an amazing job. Along with nurturing, feeding, training, referee-ing, and a whole host of other “-ings,” we have the privilege to do cheerleading. We are there to let our children know we believe in their abilities – they can do it.

That is one of the reasons why, when the big football players are interviewed after making an amazing play, one of the first things they say is “Thanks, Mom!”

You are so much more than a person who cooks and grocery shops. You are so much more than the one who changes diapers and does the laundry. You are even more than the one who considers a field and buys it.

You are an encourager, a supporter, a cheerleader, building your children up one activity at a time so they can face the world, firm in their abilities and knowing that you are behind them!

Keep it up! You are doing an amazing job!

When I Get a “Homeschool Cramp”

February 24, 2014

I have several friends who can say they have run in a marathon. No, I am not included in their ranks. I consider it an accomplishment if I can make it to two miles.

But I admire them. It is an impressive thing to do. Running over 26 miles takes months of training and a strict nutritional regimen.

And I have seen that whenever you undertake a really challenging task like that, there are going to be times when things don’t go smoothly. You hit roadblocks. Like shin splints or sickness. Sometimes, it makes you want to stop and give up.

It’s the same thing with homeschooling. We are often looking at two decades of selfless work.

We are in this for the long haul. Sometimes I get homeschool shin splints. The enthusiasm isn’t there, and I feel like I can’t make it through the day as easily. It takes a little longer to teach that lesson. I have to stop the academics to deal with character issues.

I hit roadblocks. You know. Like when the washing machine blows up and leaks soapy water all over the place…….No more school today.

How about when the stomach virus hits. I don’t know why it seems to always hit one child at a time. The first gets it, then throws up everywhere for a day or two. The following day he feels better, but the next child has it. And it takes out my family one-by-one, making a two-day sickness drag out to over a week or more. As the first child is taken down, I feel like the king before the great battle in the Lord of the Rings:

Right?? Bring it on!

But I begin wondering why we decided to do this whole homeschooling thing in the first place. Is it really worth it? It certainly isn’t easy.

I do have a place of encouragement to turn to. It is a simple manila folder we keep in our file cabinet. We made it when we started homeschooling (before the days of laptops or home computers). It is titled “Why We Homeschool,” and it contains a list of the reasons we felt called to homeschool in the first place.

In it, we also place articles we have torn out of magazines that showcase successful homeschooled students and their accomplishments (Yay! Someone else made it to the finish line!!). We add printed blog posts of encouragement.

If I read a Bible verse that is especially encouraging to me, I will write it on a piece of paper and put it in this file, too. Then when I have an unusually difficult day (or week!), or I just feel like I need to regain my perspective, I can open this file and get filled with encouragement.

We all have reasons we began this homeschooling journey. We just need to remind ourselves sometimes. I encourage those of you who are educating your children at home to have a place to remind yourself why you began this marathon. Then you have a place to go to re-gain your perspective of why you are doing this. You can massage that cramped math muscle and go over that lesson with your kids yet again. You realize that reaching the finish line is worthwhile. So you keep on running…

Keep running. I am cheering you on!!

Subs for an Army

February 19, 2014

I know it is a little early for picnic recipes, and many of you are still hunkered down in cold weather, but things are beginning to warm up down here, and I wanted to share with you a technique I use to feed a bunch of people. It’s easy. It’s inexpensive. And everyone loves it!

We have four children in our family – three of them are boys – and once they hit those teenage years, I had quite a challenge keeping them fed. In fact, if we couldn’t find one of our sons, it was very likely we would find the lower half of him sticking out of the refrigerator or the pantry. If you have boys, you might want to stop putting money in a college fund and instead save for their teen food consumption. I’m just sayin’…

Well, whether you are having guests for lunch or you are packing a “light snack” for your son and his friends, this is an easy, delicious, and inexpensive way to do it.

I recently found these amazing ciabatta rolls at the local WalMart grocery (not a super center, just a grocery; but the super centers may carry them as well). They are so delicious. For subs, I particularly like the onion and poppy seed rolls. I buy two packs which will make 12 individual subs.

First, lay out a bunch of paper towels on your work surface and separate the buns. If you keep them lined up, they will be easier to fill.

Now for the condiments. You can certainly add what you like here, but I spread a thin layer of real mayonnaise on one side of the buns and then add my “secret ingredient” on the other side. A while ago, I was introduced to this delicious submarine sandwich dressing. Well, I usually don’t like to buy pre-made dressings because they always have ingredients that I cannot pronounce, and they are pretty expensive. So I saved the container and figured out how to make my own.

One half cup each of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano and salt plus 1/4 tsp pepper. Shake well and drizzle on bread.

Now add the fillings. I like to use turkey and swiss cheese or roast beef and provolone. Then a slice of tomato and lettuce. It feels like you are dealing cards on game night!

Once all the fillings are doled out, close the sandwiches and wrap them up. I like to use aluminum foil because it holds together well and keeps the moisture inside. If you don’t want your food to touch the foil, you can place a sandwich on a piece of paper towel first. But before we wrap them up, here’s one more look at this yumminess!

Gorgeous!

Now wrap them up, and they are ready to bring on a picnic or wherever your day takes you. Carry them in a cooler so they will stay fresh.

One more look!

No, really. How are things going?

February 17, 2014

It doesn’t take much to get a homeschool mother stressed. In fact, I believe that most of us are only a few pointed questions away from tears… if folks only know where to probe. We struggle with fears that our children are missing things. We are concerned that there are academic gaps. We constantly strive to build our relationships with them and then feel that our pattern of bonding needs to change as puberty hits.

These are not concerns that are exclusive to homeschooling mamas. All mothers deal with this. But this time of year, homeschoolers tend to hit that big stress of academics. We assess how well we have been working through that new curriculum, and we are concerned that we are a “bit” behind.

Oh, yes, I have been there many times, too.

There was always something inside me that made me feel like we had to finish a book by the end of the year or I have failed (even though I can remember several times in my public school and college experience that we didn’t complete the whole book!).

This time of year, I tend to look at where my kids are in their learning. Are they getting it? There always seems to be one or two subjects that we just cannot move through. Every year, I keep trying to FIX this. I troll the curriculum fairs and look over catalogs, seeking that amazing curriculum that should be called “Fix-my-broken-speller-in-a-box” or “Build-a-math-genius-in-10-easy-steps”.

Nope. They don’t exist. Believe me, I looked!

But after several years of the assessment/stress/fix cycle, I have realized that my frame of mind was out of whack. I keep falling into the trap where I think I have to pump information into my children who then can pump that information back out on a standardized test and will become brain surgeons because of it.

Is that what I really want? No. I am homeschooling them for many reasons, and one of the main ones is so that I can help my children to gain wisdom and understanding as they learn facts and figures.

This is why I need perspective. I need to be in the Word, daily, to be reminded why I am doing this. My goal is not to raise children to become smart people. (Of course, I wouldn’t object if that happened as a side effect!). No, really. My goal is to train up my children in wisdom – God’s wisdom. So, as they are learning facts and figures, they are doing it with gentle, daily encouragement as we instill in them the wisdom of our Creator.

Albert Einstein said, “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” One of the amazing things about homeschooling is that we have the ability to stop and assess where we are and where we are going on a regular basis. We can then stop if necessary to work on weaknesses. We can even change course and switch to a new curriculum if necessary.

(Yes, I give you permission to do this. Stop using something if it isn’t working for you or your child, even if it is the curriculum that everyone else is using. Homeschoolers aren’t “bandwagon” people anyway. We do things differently from the crowd so our unique children get a tailored education.)

It takes longer to explain academic facts with world view and with character training. As we read that literature book, we do not just want them to fill in blanks on a worksheet about what they just read. We want them to think about the characters in the story; what they discovered; the consequences of their actions. While learning math facts, we want our children to understand the importance of working diligently; how math can be seen in nature; how God is a God of order.

So what if we don’t make it all the way through the book. So what if our children are struggling with something. That is part of growing up. We have the awesome ability to take the time to deal with those struggles and fill our children up with the wisdom of God.

Trust me, the knowledge will come. But if it comes without understanding and wisdom, what good is it? Take the time to impart these things to your children. Pray for wisdom as you teach.

And know that by doing this, you can say that things are DEFINITELY going well.

The One Best Thing Parents Can Do for Their Children – and it doesn’t cost anything!

February 11, 2014

In preparing for a workshop for an upcoming conference, I have been spending time in the Bible, looking for parenting, children, and marriage encouragement. We all want to know how to be the best parents. We love our children from the moment they are placed into our arms. Our entire lives are changed at that moment, now having to consider the needs of a new life.

So we read books – learning about scheduling, nutrition, and educational stimulation. As they grow, we try to figure out the best ways to discipline and train them. We seek information on when to begin music lessons, sports, math tutoring. We just want them to thrive as well-adjusted, well-educated individuals (and as Christians, we of course want them to know the Lord!).

However, did you know that the one best thing you can do for your children doesn’t directly involve them?

When you and your spouse build your marriage, you are benefiting your children in a way that nothing else can compare. Children need to see you working together, laughing together, even crying together. They need to know that you are for each other. Now, that doesn’t mean that you two have to go around the house singing “It’s a Small World” all day (sorry, now you probably have that melody in your head).

What I mean is, they need to see you go through your days as a team. When one of you is struggling, the other should be there to encourage you on. When there is a disagreement between you both, your children need to hear you work it out. And if they hear you “discussing” things in a loud manner, they need to see you work to reconcile. You may even need to come to them, asking for forgiveness for your behavior as you worked things out.

Let’s face it. Living together as a family can be stressful and hard. Water pipes break. Kids cry (all night sometimes). Bank accounts empty. But if you and your spouse are in this race together, your children will have the comfort and peace, knowing that you are committed to each other, willing to go through any trials that may come. They need to see you bringing your concerns before the Lord, too. They need to know Who you go to when things get difficult!

You see, you don’t have to paint a false picture for your children that life is a fairy tale. That will actually do them harm, because once they get out on their own, they will quickly see that it isn’t, and they will struggle. But if you show them how to live in the midst of life’s challenges, you will exhibit to them what to expect in a marriage relationship. You will provide them the security they need to see: their parents love them and are committed to them and to each other. You are showing them beautiful glimpses of their Heavenly Father as you walk through your days.

So as you plan your family calendar, make sure to purpose some “Mommy and Daddy” time. Let your children know that you need to be together alone sometimes. Make a point to go on dates together – even if it’s just for coffee on the back porch.

Let your children cringe when they see you kiss or hug each other. They may be wincing on the outside, but they are being filled up on the inside!