blog
“Ik ben bang”
“Ik ben bang,” my Oma whispered to me. Her hands were shaking and her watery eyes were looking deep into mine. “Ik ben bang,” she said again. “I’m scared.” “It’s okay, Oma. You are okay. I’m with you. Don’t be scared.” She didn’t know who I was. My aunt had tried to...
Jar of Kindness
My kids are doing my head in, and I know I'm not the only one. When my girls are misbehaving we do time-out, we confiscate stuff and when we are super tired, we yell. Unfortunately, most of the disciplines strategies in my home focus on correcting bad behaviour. I...
Bake off?
In mid-November, my husband and I took our girls to Ikea to grab some things my sister needed us to send her overseas. It was meant to be a quick in-and-out trip, but just before we hit the registers, there was a massive Christmas display. I was drawn to the twinkling...
Pool Nanna
We have a pool in our backyard. It was one of the top priorities for Leigh when we searched for a home 13 years ago. Must have a pool. And oh, he has certainly made good use of it. He’s like a fish. Last year, he swam in it every month of the year. And it’s not even...
Not Giving Up
A couple of weeks ago I went to work with a splitting headache and sat through a staff meeting while it pounded away and I felt like throwing up. At the end of the meeting, when everyone else had left the boardroom, my boss asked me if he could pray over the headache....
Love Thy Neighbour
For the first five years of our married life, my husband and I pretty much ignored our neighbours. We knew the names of the elderly couple over the back because their ivy spilled over into our yard and occasionally Leigh climbed a ladder and hacked it back. But other...
