children
Children: Our most valuable natural resource.
Tips to Beat Exhaustion
Being a new mom can be really exhausting. The first few weeks can go by in a blur. It can take everything that you have got to deal with the multiple night feeds and sleep deprivation. You may even feel very unprepared to take care of your new bundle of joy!
By Shelley Wenger4 years ago in Families
Tips to Raise a Baby. Top Story - September 2021.
The truth is that babies cost a lot of money. They need a lot of things, which can make them even more expensive. The truth is that it doesn't have to feel that way. If you are smart and careful, you can raise a baby, without spending a fortune on them.
By Shelley Wenger4 years ago in Families
Little Lamb
I remember when I figured it out. I had just brushed my teeth and was absentmindedly swishing out my mouth with water. Something about feeling clean and fresh made my mind wander to the incident years before. That’s when it hit me. I spit out the water.
By Jessica Rusick4 years ago in Families
Who Needs Friends
“You're kicked out of the club for a hundred years!” I had heard David Hirrell say that to me so many times. We'd start up a club and David was always president because he was the biggest and strongest kid in the neighborhood. I would say how I felt about things, and David would kick me out.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody4 years ago in Families
Becoming Superman
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those depicted in this story. The warmth of the sun hit my skin as I walked out into the gravel area just outside my mom’s single-wide trailer. A large tree sat in the middle with a split in it just above the ground. I walked over examining the split more closley. Small black bugs covered the inside of the hole. One flew out, zooming right next to my head. I quickly backed away, terrified and disgusted.
By Leah Fisher4 years ago in Families
Not playing for the team – what is happening in kids’ soccer?
This past week has been a tough week for my boys soccer wise. This has led me to evaluate what soccer nowadays entails for my kids and whether I want to continue to pay for something which is becoming a less than satisfying experience for them and, by extension, for me. I always thought that sport was meant to be fun but I am becoming increasingly aware that this is not the case; that the value that team participation passes onto your kid is not always positive. It is about the win, but not for your kids.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Families
The joke on us
The joke was on us and at the time we didn't realize it growing up in what the world calls the boondocks ,out in the country where there's miles and miles and miles of nothing but trees surrounding you and few neighbors to call upon and being so deep in the woods that at night the trees had their own character come to life or at that time being kids with wild imaginations put that thought in our minds. As I recollect these memories living down in the boondocks had it's good moments and it's scary moments . Having 3 plus myself siblings in our home my parents found ways to keep smiles and happy times in our childhood . having two older sisters and a baby brother yes it was definitely full of surprises in our home. The second oldest sister and I were the closest because with two of our cousins we are all four in the close age range where we enjoyed being with each other . the four of us were each others childhood best friends. Where you seen one you seen the other three not too far away . That is where this story shall begin . our dads are brothers and they grew up in this place called Jumbo which I call the boondocks . generational property passed down for many many years back when the Indians had claims to this land , Our dads Great aunt which was known as a spinster lived in a one bedroom home which today still stands , that was built by her parents family for them to live in as she was a child , well if I remember correctly because she never had kids of her own she really didn't take too well with kids and preferred to be left alone , the story that has stuck with us today that we were told as kids was she passed away in her home and if you listen closely you can hear her footsteps as she walks up and down the oil top road in which we loved to play on. Maybe this is why our dads told us this to see if we would still stay out playing during the summer nights or if we would be too scared to. If you don't think this is scary imagine being 10 years old and love playing outside all hours of the night . I guess my dad and uncle had a lot of laughs back then because the four of us would grab flashlights and walk and every time we walked past the little abandoned home one of us would say something and we would all take off running as if we heard her footsteps and it seemed every time one of us would be left behind as the other three teamed up and ran as fast as they could, I remember one time I thought I was going to pee my pants trying to keep up and not be left behind because being scared in my mind I really thought the footsteps were close and real and I couldn't run fast enough.. The crazy silly things we do when we are young but to make matters worse we would all end up in our cousins bedroom and an imagination can really stir up a child's mind . the street light that was outside my cousins bedroom window would dazzle in with this extra shadow that displayed across the center of their bedroom floor in the shape of what looked like the devils fork . after running from the footsteps we would be whispering and shaking all of us scared not wanting to go to sleep but we all knew we better not wake anyone else up. That same episode happened more so than not in those days as if being scared became a game amongst the four of us . as I look back at those days I now know why I don't like scary movies.we had our own scary movie we played in during those days. my sister and I talk about our child hood quiet a bit and we just laugh about the footsteps we thought we heard because the Joke was played on us . If you look at the picture that is the one bedroom home that still stands at this time and the black oil top road that we would keep busy with our feet.
By Karen Green4 years ago in Families
