Family Bonding

Yesterday I shared how our family enjoys going to a pumpkin patch each year to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween, and kick off the holiday season with a day of family bonding in the great outdoors. I am sure that some may feel that going to a pumpkin patch might not be for them, if their family is not into carving pumpkins into the traditional scary Jack-o-lanterns that decorate the doorsteps and front yards of those who celebrate Halloween. There are, however, many other things that you can do with pumpkins, besides carving faces into them. Pumpkins are considered a 'superstar' food, and it is high time that they got the recognition that they deserve. Not just for pie fillings anymore, more and… [more]

Now that we are officially into October, I suppose it is about time to seriously start thinking about the holiday season, and for our family the holiday season begins with Halloween. It used to be that the beginning of fall season signified the downfall of our family. My adopted stepson had so many unresolved emotional issues that the holiday season was simply too much for him to bare, and he would begin to systematically destroy absolutely everything that he could to ensure the terrible, tense, and stress filled holidays that he felt he deserved. It wasn't only until a few years ago, after a few hearts to hearts and some emotional breakthroughs for him, that he was able to allow himself to enjoy the holiday… [more]

With summer vacation just around the corner, Friday being the last day of school here, I have begun to brainstorm ideas for some good summer bonding between my adopted stepson and myself. Our relationship has come a long way over the years, and with him turning sixteen at the end of this year, I know that our time for making summer memories is limited. Soon he will be involved in his own little life, and hanging out with mom isn’t going to be high on the priority list. Usually during the summer, I take the boys on a vacation, just the three of us. It gives us some extra time to ourselves, Dad some nice quiet time… [more]

Today was the first warm day that we have had in quite some time. We were hit with a long spell of cold air, strong winds, as well as lots and lots of rain, and today it finally cleared up and actually felt like spring. It was nice to be able to actually get out of the house and be outside in the sunshine, instead of being cooped up inside the house! Although it has been quite cold, all the rain has made the grass in our yard shoot up like you would not believe, and with the lawn mower breaking at the end of last season, well our backyard has been affectionately referred to as ‘the jungle’ for quite… [more]

While one on one bonding is an important aspect of creating strong emotional connections between you and your adopted stepchild, it is important to have family time for everyone to be able to bond as a family unit as well. Families often divide up, with one parent taking care of one child, and the other parent taking charge of another child. While this gives the parents a bit of a break only having to deal with one child at a time, instead of being in charge of all of them at once, it can be easy for the parents to get stuck in a rut with the adults always taking charge of the same child, leaving little chance for the… [more]

As I am getting ready to head out to the food store to pick up something for dinner tonight, as well as to stock up the refrigerator, which is looking rather, bare, it got me thinking of how much I enjoy dinner time. I had the flu, or some sort of bug this weekend, complete with fever and all, which made me not hungry at all, in fact I stayed in bed sleeping almost the entire weekend, getting out of bed for no more than ten minutes at a time. I ended up missing out on all of the meals, too sick to eat, and it bummed me out. I enjoy having everyone around the table at the end of the day… [more]

Lately I have been in quite the rut. Nothing has gone right, whenever I have attempted to complete anything, even down to getting online! My internet connection keeps going down, and tomorrow I am going to have either my husband, or my genius teenager take a look at everything and see if they can rectify whatever the problem is, so I can stop getting frustrated, and start getting online every time I attempt to sign in! With nothing going right, and everything being such a chore to get done, I have resigned myself to hiding in the house. With yet another snow storm hitting the area, school was closed for two days this week, as well as my husband having to… [more]

Today was a trying day for the entire family, well okay, at least for the adults. My husband is having health issues and was in a lot of pain today, but went into work regardless, what a trooper! He hobbled out of the house early this morning grunting, and grumbling to himself, with each step, but to his credit he still went to work, and stayed the entire day. And while his day was filled with physical pain, mine was an emotional pain in the butt. Everything in which I tried to accomplish today was like swimming uphill. Even the break that I decided to give myself and go to the mall for… [more]

1. That they are loved by their adoptive stepparent 2. That they are loved by both of their biological parents 3. That they did not cause their non-custodial parent to abandon them 4. That they are an accepted and valued member of the family 5. That the adoptive stepparent does not love them less, or think less of them because they are adopted 6. That it is okay for them to love their adoptive stepparent 7. That it is okay for them to love the biological parent who is not in their life 8. That it is okay for them to miss and/or think about their missing biological parent 9. That it is okay for them to talk about their missing biological parent 10. That it is… [more]

And the Dallas Cowboys win, 34-6, with a score like that, how could today possibly be a bad day? While life in general has continued to dump on our family left and right, in any and every way imaginable, we have handled it well, pulling together and drawing on the strength of each other, as well as leaning on each other and doing our best to pick up the slack when one member of the family is in need of some hiding from the world. It has been wonderful to see everyone pull together as one unit, as well as actually function as one unit. This can be a rarity for families, especially when the family is dealing with members whom have… [more]