So, how do we allow children to have their feelings BUT express them appropriately? This is something we are working on everyday. Recently, there seems to be a lot of screaming and whining in our family culture. We try to guide our children to express their feelings authentically but sometimes their feelings can feel like constant disagreements, or shouts of dissatisfaction, and if one of them is really wound up, personal attacks on others can start to emerge!!! I found myself awake one morning feeling like my capacity to hold space for the big feelings coming my way was not where it needed to be to be able to constructive.…

As I have grown into motherhood I have become more and more grateful for authenticity. I value it’s importance and can see the benefits of authenticity in the connection with my children. Authenticity is a form of honesty. It doesn’t mean we have to say everything we are thinking, or even feeling, if it isn’t appropriate to do so. In the context of mothering, it can mean different things at different times.  Here are some examples of authentically communicating that have helped improve the quality of connection with my children. Communicating with them dislikes or likes. Today as I was folding the 5th or 6th load of laundry on our…

Our day started out slow. I love this kind of day. We have things we need to accomplish, but time is not pressing because we have no where else to be but home, together. The weight on my shoulders feels light and I can breathe into the moments of just staring at my children’s hands, or faces, or listening to them giggle or fight (haha) and not have to rush to get somewhere to do anything.  The biggest challenge we have been facing with parenting lately seems to land on finding a confidence on how to parent while feeling overwhelmed ourselves. Overwhelmed from worry, overwhelmed from trying to manage 4 other…

Gosh, I love my kids. They are growing up fast and it pains me and brings me such joy all at the same time. When I was younger, I never saw myself as a mother, but once I knew I was pregnant with our first born son, I felt like being a mother was what I was really here to be. It was what my whole life had leaded up to and it was my purpose.  I tend to feel troubled as I look back at pictures of their younger days and wish I knew everything then, that I know now. Being a mother of four, I feel like I’ve gotten…