Well with approximately six more weeks of school left for the 2005-2006 school year. We need to get our summer guidelines in place.

That means we need to review our summer safety rules and our house hold chore charts. We also need to re-establish our rules for curfew and boundaries to our children of various age ranges. All of this should be clearly posted some where in your home.

Posting all the rules and guidelines will help save time and energy when there is a dispute. It will also allow you to ask your child if he or she has read the chart and if they understand it or have any questions about it.

This year I added one more rule to our family guidelines.... more

Well even with our safety rules all set in place and posted. Someone didn't pay close enough attention. We had our first bike accident and everyone scrambled for the emergency kit.

Angela hardly ever gets hurt but when she does. She does it well. She took off on her bike to fast. That was her first mistake. The bike slid on the rocks and gravel next to the road. She went flying off of the bike. She scraped both knees, her wrist, her ankle and her shoulder.

Daddy was the first one to her. He swooped her up in his arms and headed toward the house. After checking her out to make sure there was no broken bones and the bleeding areas were just minor scrapes and scratches.... more

There is nothing more fun than summertime and baseball. Getting all the kids out on the field and matching them up with a baseball glove, ball and bat.

The game it's self teaches so many things. First of which is team work. The child learns to go up to bat. Hit the ball and run to first base. Trying to make it safely there. As the other team works together to catch the ball and toss it to the first baseman to tag the batter out.

When the first player is safe on first then another one of his team mates comes up to bat. He... more

It is often said that Children learn what they live. I am here to say loud and clear. Yes, they do. My friend teaches a kindergarten class along with a wonderful teacher named Ms. Kudra.

Ms. Kudra is about the best kindergarten teacher I have ever met. Both my middle daughter and my baby girl both had the privilege of having her for their teacher.

I believe she has since retired. But I hope my grandsons will have someone just as wonderful as she was.

The things that children say could shock the socks off most parents if the teacher would just repeat them to each parent.

April had just turned 5 and we did a crash course over the summer to teach her... more

Trampolines. Are they fun? Yes. Are they safe? Good Question.

As summer gets closer you will see trampolines popping up all over your neighborhood. It is one of the new fun things to do in our area. However, depending on good nutrition and the physical health of a lot of children, this is one activity that I would recommend caution on.

When purchasing a trampoline try and find one with the safety sides included. They are about fifty dollars more than the regular buy, but well worth it in safety factor in the end.

Understand that if neighborhood children play on the trampoline you are liable for any injuries caused. Your home insurance will consider your thought... more

Ok get ready for this. I am going to play devil's advocate. Sometimes when you adopt, you have no idea of what you are getting yourself into.

We have all heard some horrible adoption stories - where other children have been harmed by the adoptive child, how the child set fires, killed animals and tortured them, so on and so forth.

Like I said back in one of my own past posts, I think my middle daughter could be a poster child for why child abuse should be legal. Or why abortion is a good alternative to child birth. (giggle) Sad as it may seem there are children who act like they have been spawned by the devil himself.

So what if Ricky was this type of child? What... more

When we lived down state, my home was always full of the neighborhood kids. One of the boys I just adored. He came from a troubled home and without his grandma they would have ended up in foster care.

So he and his sisters hung out at our house with my kids a lot.

This morning I got a phone call. It was him on the line. He said "Shar" and his voice broke. He was in tears. The nurse took the phone and explained that he and two others were out in his car and they were doing fish tails. The cops clocked them at 80 mph. R.J. was driving and the car flipped.

R.J. was pretty beat up by the accident and so was the girl in the front next to him. But Cory (my neighbor's... more

As you may have already heard. Michigan will be trying the Adoptive Parents of Ricky Holland for his murder. Other charges may follow such as child abuse.

Wow......If murder does not qualify as child abuse what does?

It has taken them this long just to decide that there is enough evidence to try them. Somehow I think this time allocation was un-necessary.

I wonder how many calls to protective services were made on this family prior to Ricky's death, if any at all.

I wonder if Ricky's teachers or friends noticed anything strange about Ricky or any bruises prior to his death?

I sit and wonder what a child could do to anger an adult so much that the... more

If you have a child who does not like to read. I think maybe a change in reading materials may help out and encourage your child to soak into a good book for the summer.

Recently they brought to film one of the best books in a series of several books called The Cronicals of Narnia. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was just released on video. It is like the fourth book in the collection but it may be a good way to inspire your child to read the set.

Another wonderful set of books to stir the imagination of a young reader is the Harry Potter collection.

There is a lot of controversy over the Harry Potter Collection in the Christian Society. However, I find the... more

Today's world is not such a friendly place for a child who has not excelled in school or sports. It seems like we are always looking for something we can do better than everyone else. That will help define us in life.

I wonder back to a time that it was ok just to be who I was. I didn't have to run faster, hit harder or sing better than anyone else. I just had to do my best and that was good enough.

I think we often get caught up in the rush of what is popular and we lose sight of what is most important.

As a parent I have tried to let my kids define who they are. Then with all that is in me I have tried to encourage them to do what they are best at. I want them... more