The launch. Sending our precious kids off - whether to college or the military, a new job, or any other adventure, is a huge milestone in our parenting journey. Just the mention of the launch can put a lump in a mom's throat and a knot in her stomach, no matter how old her kids are. Funny how our children can drive us crazy all day long, but the simple mention of them ever leaving us can turn us into a puddle of emotions in a heartbeat.And really: the whole idea of launching our kids
Parenting and Family
Coffee Date: Back to School, My Son is Going to College, and I-could-use-a-hug-Edition.
Aloha Friends!Man, did summer fly by or what!?And how are you? Refreshed? Worn out? Ready for a new season ahead? I want to hear, so please don't forget to make it to the bottom and leave me a little update! (That's part of the deal with coffee dates! )I'm excited to catch up on things...So grab a seat (and your favorite beverage!) and let's dive in! First, let's get the painful exciting part over with: By the time this goes live I will be in California, getting Josiah
Helping Our Kids Through Lonely Seasons
I'll never forget a certain car ride when my boys were much younger. One of my sons was asking me a series of questions that I honestly wasn't following well. Obviously I wasn't giving him very good responses, because finally, with a very teary voice he just blurted out: "I guess I just wanted some advice on how to make friends, but never mind!"Oh...my heart. We've all been lonely at one time or another. And we can all agree loneliness is brutal. Yet there is one thing that may be
Swanson Boys: Homeschool Updates, and Books they’ve been Loving
I don't know about you, but my boys go back to school tomorrow. (Tomorrow!!)I hope you enjoyed the last post about Homeschooling High School. (I remember being so nervous about the idea of homeschooling high school, but it has turned out to be a blast!)As promised, I am back today to give some quick updates on the homeschool curriculum my boys are using this year, and also to share some of the books they've been enjoying.^^My 4, yesterday -- at a Hawaiian Rodeo! :) I'm
On Homeschooling High School
Homeschooling High School....I am so happy to be sharing an awesome post by Jen McDonald today. I've been meaning to put some words together to share a homeschool post for a while now, and when I came across this post I was like "She said it better than I could!" I wanted to highlight all over my computer screen. :) I think you'll enjoy this! Quick note -- Curriculum updates? Every year I do try to do a curriculum update for my family, (though I don't think I got to that last
Five Ways to Build Bridges When There is Distance in Your Marriage
Recently, my husband and I were running some errands in downtown Honolulu. It was just the two of us, and we were enjoying a little time away from our rowdy boys. But we were both distracted: Dave was getting many calls from the hospital, and thinking about the work waiting for him there…I was going over my mental to-do list, and calculating where and when I needed to pick up our boys.Suddenly, just as we neared a corner where we waited to cross the street, the scene brought me back in
The “Instagram Five”: Helping Teens Use Social Media with Integrity.
Our family has had more than our fair share of roundtables on the topic of social media. It's not an easy topic, and whether or not your family is on social media, we can all agree it's complicated. Social media is still so new, relatively speaking. We know a lot about it. But not everything. We especially do not know what the long-term implications of social media use are.We do know that the average teenager spends a LOT of their day on social media. This article from the Washington
A Conversation about Home.
My first morning back from my 5-week trip to California, I did an Instagram/Facebook post sharing the morning view from my living room in Hawaii...^^ deck reconstruction (still) in progress... ;)Along with the photo, I shared this caption:When we are on the mainland, the conversation never fails to come up: Should we consider moving? There are so many pro's to that idea: we'd be closer to family, lower cost of living, so many more opportunities for kids and school and travel
