The Loving House

You may have noticed I have made some changes to the blog. Feel free to explore ;) I have added some new information. I have to say I'm feeling pretty proud of myself figuring out how to do all this technology stuff (lol) I'm especially proud of my tabs ^up there^ yay for organizing!

I've been thinking a lot about child rearing lately. I was at a playground the other day and overheard a grandma (I think) tell her grand daughter "you are not more special than anyone else" because she had fallen from a very high place and wouldn't stop crying. I didn't witness the fall but I saw where she was sitting before she fell. (about 7 feet up) Now I am not a confrontational person and I'm not one to undermine a person's authority in front of their charge but it took everything in me not to go give that lady a piece of my mind. Really the only things that kept me sitting down were my charges talking to me. Another lady who happened to see the fall then walked up and told the woman she should take the child to a Dr because the fall was quite far. I didn't listen anymore because I already was feeling bad for eavesdropping. ::embarrassed::

My problem with that situation was this child was hurt, obviously hurt and instead of nurturing this woman chose to belittle her. I know there is a fine line to walk to keep children balanced and not have a princess complex but seriously. I hope my children think they are the most special people in the world because they are to me. I have seen so many grown people make horrible mistakes because they are not sure if they have any value. And yes some of them were very spoiled as children. So where is the line? To me possessions should not be made too important (and gifts are very strongly my love language) Children should be encouraged, loved, protected. Home should be a safe place where you always know that even when you make mistakes you are still accepted. There should always be consequences for bad decisions so the child doesn't think they are always going to be bailed out but the consequence should never be a removal of love. My kids are 4 and 5 so I'm no expert but I pray every day that this will be how I raise my children. I hope my house is what they think of always as "The Loving House"

How do you think you raise a kid that is not spoiled but doesn't have to spend their life in therapy?

A Happy Marriage Is A Long Conversation That Always Seems Too Short

Ok, so I know it's kind of overly obvious to blog about your love around valentines day. But I figure I waited until after valentines so I'm doing pretty good.

I say a lot that Jose is my best friend and he is. There is no one I feel more at home with. No one I would rather bum around with and no one I would rather go through rough times with.

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip"

                                                                              ~Jonathan Carroll

I think that statement is funny but in reality I don't really think it's love that doesn't laugh when you trip. Love is the making sure you are ok before they laugh and then laughing with you (not at you). Everyone trips especially in relation to love but when you have made a decision to love no matter how you feel; and learn to laugh together about the tripping that sometimes occurs. That is a pretty good start. I'm not going to preach about marriage because honestly most of you that read this know way more about marriage than I do. But I've been feeling all mushy about love and the guy I choose to do life with so I wanted to say something about it...(besides this is MY blog...I can talk about whatever I want ha ha ha)

I will leave you with this 

"Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions."

~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery

"The true measure of loving...is to love without measure"

~ Bernard of Clairvaux

"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life for which the first was made."

 ~ Robert Browning

What are some of your favorite quotes/sayings about love? (I love quotes lol)   

Thoughts on writing

Growing up in my house life was always a competition. I blame it on my sister. She wanted to do everything better than me. (I hear it is a second born tendency. I don't know.) Anyway like I was saying everything was a competition with her.

 So when it came to writing I didn't try to compete.

 I hated signing the same card as her because I would write something along the lines of "Happy Birthday, I love you!" She would write "Because of you I have breath in my lungs, you make the sun seem brighter, music seems more melodious and the air feels purer. Thank you for everything you do and are. I love you Happy birthday"

 I could have sworn she was meant to work for a greeting card company because the stuff she came up with was really, really sappy. And I couldn't compete so I didn't, I continued my course of action and eventually stopped going in on cards with her. I would buy those really sappy cards and write "this card says it all". I assumed writing was the problem but I've recently discovered that wasn't it. The book "The Five Love Languages" talks about what was happening there. She shows love with her words. That is how she is wired. That is so not me.

Imagine my surprise when I discover I like writing. I mean I guess it makes sense I am a girl and we have like 20,000 words a day that we need to speak. Writing is like speaking...so no wonder there are so many female bloggers! So if you have been following my blog you probably noticed the slight change that I don't only talk about Peru anymore. I will still be offering updates on our progress but I will be spending more time talking about other things too. I have given myself a goal to blog at least once a week this year. Your comments on here and face to face are encouraging and I appreciate them so don't stop!

And now a question. What are you doing for valentines day?

Do you have any traditions that you would like to share?