Today we welcome to the world and our family, Mr. Stone Richard Larsen.
May you be a man of solid character who loves God and people with all of your heart.
Cheers.
Building Trust with Children
I want to be a great parent to my children, and I love when I come across ideas and thoughts from other sources that relate to parenting.
Right now I’m reading The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey, and one of the first things he talks about in his book is “Being credible: to yourself and others.” He argues (and I completely agree with him) that people will base their trust in you by your credibility. In a nutshell, what you say is what you mean. It seems obvious, right? Well, Covey gets to the heart of what this really means, and even gets into parenting.
Here’s what he says…
A Good, Belly Laugh
Sometimes you just have to enjoy a good laugh. I’m thankful for amazing technology to be able to capture some of our favorite moments as parents. More on technology and ‘enjoying moments’ later…
For now, I hope you enjoy hearing my son laugh half as much as I do…
Involving Your Children
As a new parent I have quickly realized that by involving my son in whatever I’m doing will take at least double the amount of time that it normally takes. BUT, I love how my son learns when I involve him in what I am doing.
I believe that one of the main roles of parenting (if not the main role) is instructing our children, and one of the best ways that I can instruct my son is simply by letting him observe and be involved with what I am already doing.
Transfer to WordPress
I have recently transferred this blog to WordPress from Blogger. If you’re subscribed to my blog via RSS, you might not see many changes, but if you click through to my actual From Boy To Man blog, then you’ll notice that the site is very different from what it used to be.
Right now the design is nothing to get excited about (I’ll slowly work on this as I go), but the ‘guts’ to WordPress, especially the premium theme that I’m using, are wonderful. I have complete control over the look of the site (I’ve had to learn a little CSS, HTML, and PHP in order to customize some things), and the ‘backend’ (the administrative panel – where I actually compose blog posts, pages, etc.) is very intuitive and easy to use. If you’re interested in using WordpPress for your own blog, keep reading and I might be able to help you out.
OK, now I’m excited to begin posting more regularly on this blog, simply because I really like working with WordPress.
If you’re wondering what I’ve been up to personally, here’s a few updates…
Taking Inventory of My Life
I often try to take inventory of my life. Not because I’m unhappy, or depressed, but because I think it’s a healthy practice – to step back and look at where I’m at, where I’m going, and where I’ve come from.
One of the best ways I have continued to learn about myself has been by keeping a journal. Not only does it help me consider what is happening in my life currently, but it helps me realize where I have come from and what things I have thought in the past. Continue reading “Taking Inventory of My Life”
Raising Children: A Blessing to Others
My wife and I are constantly talking about parenting and what we can do better as parents to our son. Ultimately, we want our children to grow up as responsible adults that have impeccable character. This is a challenge for me, as some of the best parenting happens as our children observe us as adults.
One day my wife Jocelyn said something that was profound: “Children are a blessing. It’s our job as parents to make sure they are a blessing to others.” It’s true that children are a blessing, but often we see them as gifts from above that we aren’t to tamper with. I believe nothing is further from the truth. As parents, we have the responsibility to help shape them into responsible and like-able people. I really want other people to like my kids!
Here a few ways that we are hoping to make our child a blessing to others: Continue reading “Raising Children: A Blessing to Others”
How to clean your garage, and get other things done, too
One of my goals today is to get my garage cleaned out enough so my wife can park her car in it. Since it’s a high of 9 degrees and snowing, I figured that’s a good way to serve her.
As I looked at my garage, I was instantly overwhelmed and had that feeling of, “I have no stinking idea where to start.” After a few minutes (probably more like 15) of milling around my garage, looking at things and wondering what I should do with them, I found myself doing what I do often – nothing. I was thinking about doing something, and was planning on doing something, but nothing was getting done. I was trying to make sure that I was doing it exactly right (I think that’s my excuse).
Training up a 9 month old
My wife is a genius. Really. I love the way she thinks through things, especially how to raise up our son and possible future children.
Howard is now 9 months old, almost 10. He’s now crawling and getting into a lot of stuff. We actually walked into his room this morning and saw his first mess. He opened cupboards and pulled out every book and thing inside those cupboards. I wondered if that was really my son that did that. Continue reading “Training up a 9 month old”
Social Maturity & Infants
My wife and I are the types that really, really love our son, but we definitely remember what life was like before having an infant. Infants are needy.
At 6 months old, our son is exploring the world around him. He wants to grab everything, touch everything, taste everything. He notices that things around him exist. All of that stops when his needs aren’t being met. Whether he’s hungry, tired, has gas, or has an itch on his foot (we can’t tell what he needs all the time!), he lets us know that something is wrong by crying. There’s nothing wrong with our son letting us know that something isn’t right – but what he never notices are the needs of others around him.
Continue reading “Social Maturity & Infants”