Elves teach kids about kindness
Have you heard of the Elf on the Shelf? We have one living with us. He magically arrived one day back when my kids (now teenagers) were toddlers. His name is Carl. The kids knew never to touch Carl or he would lose his ability to fly back to the North Pole each night and
My season with Tom
For everything there is a season. I’m saying goodbye to my dear friend, Tom, today. Tom was 86 and had cancer and a whole host of other health problems, yet I was shocked to learn he was gone. He lived a good, full life and I know what he is seeing now is too magnificent
Catching kindness in the act
My fourth grade son, Ben, told me his teacher pretends to vomit anytime the kids start bickering with each other in his class. Isn’t that hysterical? Instead of yelling or raining down punishment, the teacher just walks over and pretends to gag. The kids immediately realize what they’re doing and are distracted enough to let
Hope will see us through
Some days a girl just doesn’t want to get out of bed. That was me Thursday and Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Luckily it’s Monday and the world seems a bit more bearable. I am a big believer in doing acts of kindness to get myself out of a funk, so I dug deep in
Snowstorm brings kindness upon kindness
I feel sorry for people who live in warm climates. They never get to experience the incredible kindness that comes in the middle of a massive snowstorm. Over Thanksgiving weekend, my family drove from Aberdeen, S.D., to Moorhead, MN., for my husband’s basketball game. A friend let us stay at her house while she was
The OG Santa
I never thought it would happen. Christmas pictures with Santa back where it all began! Fifteen years ago, we were living in Fargo, ND with just one baby. Our daughter Jordan was 10 months old. It was her first time meeting Santa and she found him at West Acres Mall. The following year, she brought
Mashed potatoes and kindness matter
I grew up with a second family. The Balkanskys took me in when I was in eighth grade and they still haven’t let me go. I traveled with them on vacations and rolled my eyes like a belligerent teenager when they gave me unsolicited advice. Without fail, I always knew they loved me. I was
