After Ivonne’s parents passed away, both she and her two younger brothers lived with their aging grandmother who struggled to care for them. In the summer of 2014, the children were brought to live at a government-run children’s home.
Ever since our kids were little, we’ve put them to bed asking two questions, “Who did you see being kind today?”
I looked out the plane window as we ducked under Cancun’s clouds and saw the ocean meeting a dense green sea of jungle, like two competing stories going head to head. It seemed fitting.
I laughed out loud at the sound my 3-year old son made as he blew out his birthday candles, spitting across his cookie cake. He had just turned three and we were celebrating at a park with friends and family.
Have you seen the new IKEA Christmas commercial? If not, check it out and have some Kleenex ready. Kids are asked to write two letters – one to Santa and one to their parents.
The world is full of breathtaking beauty. A quick scroll through an Instagram feed reveals image after image of posed perfection – carefully selected photos, cropped and filtered to present an enviable image. But, sometimes, true beauty can’t be captured within the confines of social media. It’s an inner quality – elusive, quiet and unfading.
The room was completely silent as Heidi demonstrated how to thread a needle. It was the first day of sewing lessons. A group of 16 children were gathered around Heidi, listening carefully to each word, committing her instructions to memory.
Next month marks five years since our firstborn girl broke into the world on a quiet December evening, turning our lives upside down in the best way possible.
A cloud of colorful dust was rising from the crowd that was forming a conga line just outside the palapa hut.
If we knew everything was going to be alright tomorrow, would we take that adventurous leap more confidently today?