Meli's world

I find so many of the lessons God teaches me come through parenting. The week before last, I encountered one of those situations as a mom that made me feel like Momma bear ready to protect her cubs at all cost. My son Emmanuel, has been dealing with a difficult kid all year long. I found that it seemed like no matter what, it was difficult for my son to get along with this boy. He told me stories of this boy being rude, calling others names, and making fun of anything my son did including him getting new glasses. Our response as parent, was always for Emmanuel to choose kindness and respond with an encouragement for the kid to remind him he could do better. Emmanuel was slowly losing his patience.  And I couldn't understand why they budded heads so much when they were once friends in 1st grade. I didn't address any of these stories with my son's teacher until the day he came home telling me the other boy kicked him. That same day an email went out to my son's te...

This past weekend, we decided to take the kids to watch Peanuts. I grew up reading Charlie Brown comics in the Sunday paper and loved all the TV Holiday specials so much. I thought it would be a great day for our kids to gain appreciation for these old classic characters. And Emeli thinks Snoopy is just the cutest dog ever, so they were just as thrilled. We, as parents, are very selective with what movies we support at the box office and what  we allow our kids to watch, but with a "G" rating and good reviews it sounded like something that would really just be innocent fun cartoons. We didn't know what to expect as far as the story line, but as someone who lives in a cartoon world in my own head, I was pleasantly surprised there were no villains. Besides a red airplane that Snoopy daydreams and writes about. The main story line was Charlie Brown's "inadequacy". He always felt he was just ackward, with no real talent, or anything to make him stand ou...

Emmanuel, Manny, Manolo.... You turned 7 yesterday and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital in your preemie clothes that we now have on a teddy bear. It seems you were always determined to do things your way, coming into this world 5 weeks before your due date. We were not expecting you so early! Yet instantly you gave me courage and made me brave enough to have the c section I never wanted. None of the fears mattered at the moment. Only having you here safely in my arms. When you were first given to me, and I placed my eyes on you, I discovered love. I was forever changed by seeing your face, feeling your tiny 5 pound body, and being your mother. It has been the biggest blessing and privilege God has given me. Everyday, my thoughts, my actions, involve you and your wellbeing.  I know most people thought we were too young, but dad and I were convinced we wanted children. I prayed everyday I’d ge...

I just came back yesterday from taking two weeks off my job. I had enough Paid time off accrued now that I have been there over 6 years and it was the first time I took this much time off. I planned it specifically to have my son's winter break from school off as well. 2 weeks of being home and enjoying the family.We didn't have a specific trip planned, we weren't going out of state or out of the country or on a cruise. We were just going to take it day by day and enjoy the time to focus on family.   It started out with a trip to Lego Land. Its not more than 4 hours away, and I had discount tickets though my employer benefits. It was awesome. All the rides were targeted to kids ages 3-12 but as adults we were able to get on and enjoy their excitement. A few roller coasters but nothing too extreme. The lines were short. The crowds weren't too bad. And the prices for food and souvenirs were inexpensive in comparison to Disney or Universal theme parks. We had an a...

This afternoon as I checked Emmanuel's agenda and his graded work, I came across his spelling test. I was so proud to see 100% and a sticker across the top that read perfect, but my attention was also drawn to the bottom of the paper where the teacher made a smiley face and a heart. Emmanuel had written his teacher a note on the bottom of the paper that read "you're a great teacher"! -- and my heart smiled. Emmanuel up until now has been the type of kid who has no problem reading or writing. He excels in spelling and almost always gets 100% on his spelling test. He didn't need to write this for the teacher to give him a better grade, nor did he tell her this in front of the class to be teacher's pet or get recognition. When I questioned him about it, he told me how his class of 18 boys was being rowdy that day and barely listening to his teacher. He thought she was having a rough day and could use something to cheer her up. And that's where the less...