500 Fridays Newsletter - 3.5 min read Season: The Full Fall (1 of 12) 5 Big Mistakes We Made Power-decade parents are very much slaves to the intense present of their current lives. On occasion, they pause and dream about their family's future too. It was no different for me and my wife when we were in your stage of parenting. What you never have moments for when raising young kids is time to reflect. That doesn't arrive until your kids get their own car keys and you have more margin. I often...
9 days ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 4 min read Season: The Long Summers (11 of 11) The Building of Character My girls loved to play dress up when they were little. In our home, we have a wild room we call the "skit closet" and inside we keep a staggering amount of old play clothes. We have costumes from when my mom was a young girl, dance outfits from my sister's era, and of course plenty of Disney dresses from when my girls were younger. We have 3 generations of dress-up clothes in our closet and every...
16 days ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Long Summers (9 of 11) Farming Facts I come from a farming family. My great-grandfather purchased our family farm and his son, my grandfather, expanded it even more. I think it's the farming legacy of my family that instilled in me the value of long-term investments. There is an old wise farm saying that has resonated with me for years... The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. Said...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (7 of 11) Defeating Discouragement Let's be honest: Everyday life as a power-decade parent is tough. You provide for physical needs.You slow down for emotional needs.You create fun and memorable moments.You attempt to bring calm to the total chaos. And yet, your kids give practically zero demonstration that they are "getting it." Rare are the signals that maturity, gratitude, or change is happening at all. It's enough to make a mom...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (5 of 11) Where Does It Come From? At various times during our power-decade of parenting, my wife or I said one of the following statements to our kids. Somewhere between 3-13, our kids heard us say these and dozens of other statements a lot like it... "Hey, sweetie, I want you to go to the window and order the snow cone by yourself this time." "Buddy, it's time for you to hop out of the car and head to the soccer tryout for your...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (5 of 11) 👶🏼Wait, You're Pregnant? It was exactly 21 years ago this week when my wife and I found out some surprising news. It was the summer of 2004 and our oldest daughter was 6 months old at the time. My wife walked in with a baby in one hand and a positive pregnancy test in the other. I couldn't believe it. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but little did we know she was already 2 months along with our son. We had 7 months to...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (2 of 11) 7 Years Today's story starts 10 years ago when my two daughters were sharing a bedroom. It began as a functional choice for us, two sisters in one room. It wasn't without friction but they managed well. They were still young with normal 9 and 5-year-old challenges. But 5 years into sharing a room together, those words could not be said. It was ROUGH. Drama every single week.Frustrations over each small issue.Teen and...
2 months ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 1 min read Season: The Long Summers (2 of 11) Stories Shape Futures Kids gravitate towards great stories. So many of them follow “The Heroes Journey.” Classics like Moana or Toy Story are legendary kids movies because of how well they accomplish this. Stories in the lives of your kids, end up shaping and molding them. Stories capture the mind and heart. They are big and powerful.They create awe and wonder.They generate hopes and dreams. Stories aren't only fantasy....
3 months ago • 1 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Long Summers (1 of 11) A Volume of Words Repetition. It's how all people learn new things. Handwriting. Presenting. Cooking. Tying shoes. Throwing a ball. In families, the repetition of words matters ... a lot. They help form the thoughts and emotions that everyone carries in the back recesses of their minds. Repetition leaves life-long grooves. As a parent there will be words that you say without much intention on a frequent basis. They can be...
3 months ago • 1 min read