{full}

{full}, originally uploaded by ~paula~.

After reading Justin Lyon's post this morning from his trip to Haiti, my heart feels so blessed. Blessed to be mom especially and to do the best job I know to do today.

Continuing from my other post about parenting. There are several things that your kids know that you need to be aware of.

*Realize that your kids want to please you.
*Make sure your kids feel like they hold a respected place in the home.
*Tune in to their priorities - what's most important to them.
*Know their peers. You cannot afford to be passive and uninformed here.
*Consider the pressures that are pulling at your kids and offer to help.
*Figure out what your child is passionate about and encourage it.
*Finally, look for potential - that vein of gold you can see peeking though their abilities.

I spent some time, just me and the kids, at the zoo on Tuesday. I really treasure these times. We talked about so many different things. I think it's so fun to talk about what they want to be when they grow up. Mr.J wants to be a doctor but is leaning toward a vet right now. Mr.S wants to be an army man so he can protect me (sigh) and a farmer. Ms.T, of course, wants to be Strawberry Shortcake. We'll see about that one!