Happy Independence Day Friends, I hope that this finds you celebrating with family and friends today! In the picture, you’ll see me with a beautiful friend, frolicking at the St. Paul Rodeo – one of my favorite ways to celebrate our country.  We’ll be taking the week off from podcasting and re-airing a fabulous interview […]

Friends, This past week, I had the pleasure of training forty early childhood professionals in my new curriculum, Cards for Connection©. Cards for Connection© is a two-day certification program. Forty Early Head Start Teachers, Healthy Family Nurse Home Visitors, Parent Advocates, Parent Educators and Mental Health Consultants linked arms with me to learn interventions that […]

Friends, It’s been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks – holy moly! Between graduation and family being in town, I find myself overwhelmed and delighted all at the same time. If you didn’t see the letter to my daughter or the newsletter on finding joy, you should check those out for context. I’ve had family in town […]

Hi Friends, As I mentioned in last week’s post, these past few weeks embody joy and celebration for our family. So, in lieu of our typical newsletter, I hope you’ll join me in sharing joy. Whether you’re a parent or professional (or both!) reading this newsletter, joy, and celebration are an important part of our journey. If […]

Hi Friends, If you’re not in the mood for sappy accolades and nostalgia, keep scrolling… “Every child deserves at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about them.” Urie Bronfrenbrenner This year has been coined, The Year of Sophia. Why? Because my daughter, Sophia, graduates from high school in just 4 days! The “why” is […]

Hi Friends, I hope you all enjoyed the long Memorial Weekend. With whom did you spend time? I had a great balance of kitchen nook friends and front porch friends, not too many BBQ friends. If you missed last week’s newsletter about creating your village, you can find it here. It’s been an interesting exercise for […]

Hi Friends, Imagine a house. A sweet little house, that’s just yours. Imagine your house has a beautiful front porch with a swing and rocking chairs. Outside the porch, there’s a yard and a little garden. And your yard is surrounded by a little white fence. Your house has limited space inside. You have an […]

Hi Friends, It’s Mother’s Day and I’m sitting at a rodeo. If you’ve been a subscriber for long, you know my son has had some hard-fought battles by participating in this sport. This weekend, it means a 5 hour drive to rural Oregon. Don’t get me wrong, like most of you, I would do anything […]

Hi Friends, Wow. This newsletter is going to be short and sweet because it has been a week! And because it’s important to celebrate when things are going well! And, if I’m honest, I’m celebrating my senior this year and it’s the weekend of prom. We are BUS-Y!  First, thank you to all of you […]

Hi Friends, I hope you’re doing well and enjoying some sunshine this early spring. For those of us in Oregon, we had a beautiful weekend, saw the sun, and felt its warmth for the first time in months! So there was a reason to celebrate, for sure! Sunshine was just what the doctors ordered for the spring […]