Last night, my wife Valerie [aka The Beautiful Val aka tbV] and i won the lottery. Now let me get this straight, i am not talking about the Dutch Lottery that i seem to win with alarming regularity [despite having never sent in any kind of entry or bought any ticket of any kind, but if it arrives in my email it must be true, right?] And i don't mean that time that kind old [...]
I thank God for the example I received from my parents about what being a godly, loving parent and spouse looks like. By God’s grace whether we have had a shocking or terrific upbringing we still have the responsibility to choose how we parent. However, it is easier to aim at what we want to emulate, than to just know what you don’t want to replicate. I thank God for the naivety and bliss with [...]
I have taken a long time after telling Brett that I would write this, to actually sit down and put some words together. It feels strange to ‘tell our story’ because in so many ways we just feel like a normal family. Daddy, Mommy and baby. I’ve discovered in these last few months that much to my disappointment I am not a super-mother, I am very much the typical Mom who is doing all the [...]
Let me start with a bit of context: I'm not a dad, but I have a dad and I'm an uncle to four nieces, a nephew and a bunch of my friends kids. I'm also the godfather to three girls, two of which are my nieces. I regularly have the privilege of getting to babysit (look after) my niblings (the collective term for nieces and nephews) and I know that that doesn't make me a [...]
To be a Dad I’m heading towards 50, a father to a 19yo son Dylan, and an 18yo daughter Brynn. I lost my dad this year and I miss him terribly. I seem to have done a fairly good job of fathering my kids if other people’s unsolicited comments are anything to go by. There are a good few things I regret not having done, but very few I regret doing. Here are some of [...]
Every morning for the past 8 months I have woken up and at least one thing is the same as the day before and as the day to follow... I am a dad. My wife and I received the incredible blessing of our little girl, Cori Rose Benn, at around 13:00 on Wednesday 26 February 2014. Something I have always wanted to be is a dad. Since almost as long as I can remember I [...]
Once I've fed; entertained; disciplined; played with; answered a billion and 1 questions and then finally put the kids to bed, I get to relax and watch some tv - I am exhausted. I don't do this everyday, only every so often, to give those who do a chance to enjoy their long lost freedom - I am the babysitter. I'm a firm believer in the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" [...]
To be a mom used to be something I dreamed of. From the time I was in elementary school I told people that I planned to have six kids (mostly girls with one or two boys thrown in). I regularly made and updated lists of my favorite baby names. I grew up in a home where motherhood was valued and praised and since I have two siblings who are significantly younger than me I started [...]
It's hard for me to admit this, and I have a close circle of friends who understand me and the experience I've had as a mother. I'm so grateful for these friends because being a mom has not been the most natural thing for me. My daughter is 2 years old and is a light in my life. However, no one could have prepared me for the journey of motherhood. There is so much judgment that [...]
To be a mom, I’m sure means different things to different moms. Each journey into and through motherhood is littered with moments and memories that are particular to that mom and to her journey with her children. I’m a mom of two ~ and believe me, I don’t profess to know anything at all about being the perfect mom. Actually, the longer I’m a mom, the more I realise how much I really don’t know [...]