Really Listening

People know when you are not really listening. Even subconsciously, they pick up on it. Some give up, but others keep trying. Have you ever been in a conversation where the other person just keeps talking? They may be saying the same thing over and over again or flit around from one subject to another. [...]

Everyone Wants to be Heard

Everyone has a need to be acknowledged, heard, and understood. Seems pretty obvious. But it is amazing to me how little we do that for each other. Before I had children, I remember standing in line at the grocery store. Ahead of me in line was a mom and her two young children. Her daughter was saying, “Mommy [...]

Vacationing with Kids

John and I were having a discussion about what we enjoyed about the trips we took as kids. For me, it was riding my bike around a new campground – so fun and independent. Riding up to the camp store, even if I wasn’t going to buy anything, swimming in the new pools, climbing on [...]

Trip Out West – The Sum-Up

I asked everyone their favorite parts of the trip, what they would have rather skipped, and what they would like to do again: Jade’s favorite parts were climbing the rocks at Yosemite, wakeboarding in Yuma, and the bus tour in San Francisco. Rawhide in Phoenix was fun, too. She wouldn’t recommend Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, [...]

Trip Out West – Day 16

Day 16 – Back Home Got up at 3:30 this morning to catch the flight back home. Little things just seemed to go wrong today… ·         Miscommunication on packing and trying to get out of the room on time. Tension! ·         John left his hat in the hotel room and ran back for it while [...]