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NOT SO PERFECT PARENT Blog |
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August 2009
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February 2008 ArchivesRiding back from Austin. Mercifully, we finally turned off Sponge Bob from the in-car DVD player. Instead, we put in some old home movies. The kids squealed when they saw Christmases past and giggled at each other watching themselves taking a bath. A wonderful way to pass the time and it beats Road Trip Bingo any day! ...Recently our family visited Nanny and Pop Pop in Austin. During our visit, I had the following conversation with my four-year-old. "I'm mad at God." "Why?" I ask "Because when I pray, he doesn't give me what I want!" "What did you ask for?" "My Teddy Bear. I miss my Teddy Bear!" "Well, God doesn't really work like that." "Why Not! If God makes us, he should also know how to make Teddy ... "Why do we start out as babies and then grow up," asked my 4-year-old. "I guess God wanted us to start out small and then get bigger," I explained. "I wish I could have been 1 and then be 8. I really want to be 8," he whined. "You'll be 8 before you know it," I replied. "But it takes a long, long time!" He moaned. "No, my precious, it goes by fast. Much too fast." Although he doesn't know it, p... Kids and the Internet is becoming a more popular choice than kids and baseball. My eight-year-old is already asking for an email address. It frightens me to think that soon they will be vulnerable to online predators. I am going to do my best to prevent my kids from joining MySpace and other networking websites. But with MySpace jumping from zero to more than 200 million members in just a few years, it will be difficult to prevent t... This is an election of historic proportions. The diversity of the candidates combined with the issues facing our country make this election particularly intriguing for American voters and, let’s not forget, soon-to-be voters. After all, just because they’re not old enough to vote doesn’t mean that kids aren’t interested in the election. But for parents, talking about politics with your kids is about as taboo as talking about the bi... Taylor Hooten, a 16 year old high school athlete was told by his high school coach that he needed to be bigger in order to compete. Like others on his team, Taylor decided to take a short cut to help him achieve his objective. Unfortunately, in his efforts to "get bigger", Taylor was unaware of the depression he would experience as a result of using steroids. On July 15, 2003, Taylor took his life. Taylor's dad, Don Hooten, used thi... “Luke, what’s your favorite color?” I asked. “Orange and sometimes green,” he replied. “What’s your favorite food?” I probed. “Fish Sticks!” he said. “Yummy!” “What’s your favorite animal?” “An armadillo.” “Armadillo? Why an Armadillo?” I inquired. “Because they like to hop.” “Armadillos like to hop?” “Of course! Don’t you like to hop?” ...Today’s Not-So-Perfect Parent segment highlights Gary Randle, a former Fort Worth Police Officer, who developed a non-profit organization called Hope Farms. Hope Farms is located in the midst of crack houses and gang activity. It‘s designed to offer a father figure to young boys who are at-risk. My favorite part of my interview with Gary Randle was when he said: “I heard an interview with Wayne Gretzky. They asked him what w... My son and I went on a Valentine Run last night. Our shopping list included: • Valentines to distribute. (There was much debate over Sponge Bob and Transformers. Sponge Bob won out.) • Flowers for Mrs. Brown “Who is Mrs. Brown?” I asked. “She’s the lunch room monitor and the recess monitor,” was his reply. “S... Most of us have two or three collecting dust in our garages. In our culture, bicycles represent recreation, not transportation. However, for the children of Ghana, Africa the bicycle offers a route to opportunity. A glimpse at a larger world through the lens of education. Martha Leeson, a teacher from Dallas Christian School, served as a missionary to Africa and witnessed many of the challenges facing the children in that region. ... Walt Disney. What a visionary! He was quoted as saying, “People should never forget, it all started with a mouse.” The truth is, it all started with a man and a dream AND a mouse. One of the highlights of my recent Disney trip was going through his museum located at Hollywood Studios. What intrigued me most about his life was his willingness to risk it all and chance the dream. He gained and lost fortunes several times as he emba... |
