It’s no wonder I’m a bit stir crazy. The kids missed an entire week of school last week due to snow/ice, inclement weather and impassable streets. For the most part, I’ve been home bound, with four kids, a dog and a cat for about 10 days now. The only exceptions were when Peter wasn’t working [...]

We were at our wits end. Dinner time with our four children had become a less than enjoyable experience that often ended with kids arguing, lots of complaining about the food, and Peter and I becoming exasperated. Over the last few months we’ve implemented some changes that are making a big difference. I actually believe [...]

If you don’t know the answer to that question, now is probably a good time to check the privacy setting of your teen’s Facebook account. But first, here’s the back story.
Last night Peter was viewing our teen’s Facebook page and noticed a comment from one of her friends. He didn’t know this friend so he [...]

It’s Christmas Eve. For weeks (or days or hours) some of us have been making preparations for the holidays. Christmas is many things to many people. Among other things, it’s a season to celebrate with family and friends.
And there’s the rub for people in the midst of divorce. Family, friends and traditions change. Drastically.
For the [...]

UPDATE 7/19/09 5:43 p.m.
Since my original post, thanks to the many comments here and elsewhere, I’ve learned that the issue is not with Facebook. The culprit is a third-party app developer – likely the quiz app. Nonetheless, changing the settings as described below, is still a good idea for most people.
Today is Sunday. Since Thursday, [...]

For the last few years, I’ve spent time observing the culture of Orthodontic Arts because we have three children in varying stages of orthodontia. These folks know their customers.
You may think “patients” would be a more appropriate term, but I disagree. For you see, the customers at Orthodontic Arts, the people who do the actual [...]

There’s just something about the girlfriends of life. Watch and see if you agree with author of The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan.

And to my own girlfriends – those who welcomed me into a new town 20 years ago this month, and those who came along afterwards, thank you. We’ve played cards together and board games, [...]

(This post is part of a group writing project from Robert Hruzek.)
Times were tough. Hannah was two years old and Morgan was only two weeks old when my ex-husband and I separated in what I will describe as the most difficult period of my life. Life as I had known it came to a screeching [...]

Sometimes I feel like Sunday mornings, just before church, are the hardest times on our family. It’s crazy really! We get up every week day in time for school and work but somehow Sunday mornings are the day when we’re most likely to be short-tempered with one another (mostly I’m short-tempered). The following video really [...]

Blessing
On Monday I talked with someone about a book I had read more than 10 years ago. “The Blessing” by Gary Smalley and John Trent, PhD, is based on the Old Testament practice of first-born sons receiving the blessing from their fathers. Of course, many of today’s sons and daughters have never experienced such blessing [...]