family

Repost: I Married a Hooker

Warning: This blog post contains graphic descriptions of hookers, carriers, and hangers Our family has a Christmas tradition of decorating the tree together. This year we were especially excited about it because it was the baby’s first Christmas and our first Christmas in our new house. My first task was to purchase a new Christmas [...]

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The Thankful Box

Last year, my wife, KayEm, decorated an old oatmeal container, cut a hole in the top of the lid, and placed it on the counter with some Post-It Notes. “What’s that?” I asked. “It’s our thankful box,” she said. “Throughout the year, we will write down things we are thankful for, place them in this [...]

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The Nice and Naughty List

Last year, I found a website that allowed parents to place their children’s names on Santa’s Nice and Naughty Lists. I took full advantage of it. If the kids were misbehaving, I had them gather around the computer as I pulled up the Naughty List. If they did their chores and played nicely with each [...]

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The Live-in Boyfriend, The Monkey, and The Books

For much of my life, we had no TV. When we finally got one, it was a tiny black and white set with a wire hanger antenna and broken knobs. Therefore, my main form of entertainment was reading. I loved going to the comic book store with my cousin. We’d spend hours perusing the boxes [...]

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The Case Against Having Kids

As I waited for my plane in the Edmonton airport, I browsed through a few newsstands. I kept noticing an issue of Maclean’s Magazine with the headline: The Case Against Having Kids. I tried to ignore it, but the headline kept taunting me. I eventually succumbed to the allure and bought the issue. The cover [...]

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Summer Vacation 2009

When summer rolls around it’s time for family vacations. My wife, K, and I have written about our ordeal…I mean vacation. K’s accounts are in regular type and mine are italicized. * * * * A vacation at the beach. It sounded like the perfect antidote to a stressful spring. I spent hours – first [...]

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Marriage is For White People

In 2006, The Washington Post published an op-ed essay by writer Joy Jones with the provocative headline “Marriage Is for White People.” The headline didn’t reflect Jones’ views; it repeated what one of her students told her when she taught a career exploration class for a predominantly black group of sixth-graders. If you look at [...]

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12 Photo Tips for Dads

Like many dads, I am the designated family photographer. My former profession as a photographer may have something to do with that. Nevertheless, I take my job quite seriously. Photographs capture moments in time and I want to preserve those memories in the best way possible. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce [...]

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Earth Day: Water Fights

I am an advocate for water conservation because drought is a common problem in my home state of Texas and several other western states. Because of its limited availability, water has become a precious commodity in the U.S. and abroad. According to UNICEF, 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe [...]

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Wednesday Wisdom: Be a Grandparent Now

I did not enjoy my children as I wish I could have because of time absorption in earning a living. I missed some of the emotional satisfaction that I’m finding with my grandson. – From The Encyclopedia of Christian Parenting. When I first read this quote, I was struck but the author’s blunt honesty. As [...]

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Know Where You Came From

I recently started a project to chronicle our family’s history. It started as a labor of love for my children, but it has grown into something much more satisfying. My project began when I discovered that no one in our family could find any photographs of my maternal grandmother. She was a strong, determined, powerfully [...]

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12 Things That Stress Out Dads

Being a dad is hard work and stressful. According to a Yankelovich Health & Wellness study, dads are most stressed out by the following twelve items: Planning one’s financial future Job/Career Keeping family safe Worrying about children’s success Health-care costs Aggressive drivers Influence of peers on children Balancing work and family Quality of your child’s [...]

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A Rare Form of Cancer

As we prepared to leave church, our pastor asked us to wait a moment while he told a story about one of our members. It was about Blake, a brave 11-year boy who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. His family was obviously distraught by the diagnosis and was I need of comfort. [...]

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The Beagle Has Landed – Part I

A few years ago, my wife and I started a tradition to purchase Christmas gifts for each other that cost no more than $35 and must begin with a particular letter of alphabet. In 2008, the letter was D. As a joke, I told my wife that dog begins with D. Before I go any [...]

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Resolutions To Be A Better Dad in 2009

A new year is upon us and now is the time for making those New Year’s resolutions. As I was writing my 2009 resolutions, I took a few minutes to reflect on how well I did with my 2008 goals: I will go to the gym 3 times per week – I accomplished this goal [...]

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