Family Culture

7 10, 2019

The Fruit of Parenting

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-10-07T14:48:26-06:00October 7th, 2019|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

This past weekend we celebrated Trevor's 22nd birthday. While we enjoyed laughing, celebrating and reminiscing about his 22 year journey, we were also reminded of our own parenting journey and two important perspectives we have learned through the years. Parenting is process Wouldn’t it be great if you could tell your children something once and they would fully comprehend the meaning of everything in your instruction. Like, telling your kids to “play nicely” and they [...]

1 10, 2019

The Spirit of Growth

By Lis and Dave Marr|2019-10-01T11:01:10-06:00October 1st, 2019|Family Culture, Personal, Relationship|

Every other week the Howards, Shelly and Rich, and the Marrs, Lis and Dave, trade off writing a OneFamily Letter with the intent to nudge, influence, educate, support and, in small part, come alongside women and men who are hard at work in the job of life. On the whole, life can be…well, complicated. They don’t teach parenting, marriage, or being an adult in school. It is true that a small misconception of how “things [...]

17 09, 2019

How Building a Community Builds a Family

By Lis and Dave Marr|2019-09-20T09:53:42-06:00September 17th, 2019|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

What kind of impact does having a longstanding group of friends have on a growing family? Enormous. Therefore, you should be intentional and proactive in building a community of like-minded friends. It is surprising the level of influence that your community of friends can have on your life, your style of living, your parenting, the quality of your marriage and its potential longevity, the behavior of your children, your health, your sex life, your business [...]

9 09, 2019

Parenting in the Digital Age Part 3 – Tips & Tools

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-09-09T17:01:40-06:00September 9th, 2019|Family Culture, Health, Parenting|

Parenting in the Digital Age can be challenging to navigate. In the first two parts of this series, our intention was to give you an overall understanding of the issues that come with technology and help you form a clear perspective to manage it thoughtfully in your home. This week we offer 3 areas, with specific tools and resources, to consider when implementing technology strategies and plans in your home. Communication is critical and must [...]

2 09, 2019

Parenting in the Digital Age Part 2 – Healthy Perspective

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-09-02T11:05:00-06:00September 2nd, 2019|Family Culture, Health, Parenting|

In Part 1 of this series last week, we highlighted three areas that Moms and Dads should understand as they begin to formulate a strategy to parent in the Digital Age. Health Effects – Brain Development, Melatonin & Dopamine Safety Issues – Cyber Bullying, Identify Theft, Online Predators Behavior Complications – Moods, Empathy & Relationships The research and information in these areas provides you with knowledge you need to form a healthy perspective without fearing [...]

26 08, 2019

Parenting in the Digital Age – What’s a Screenager?

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-08-26T19:02:12-06:00August 26th, 2019|Family Culture, Health, Parenting|

Do you have a 4 year old that uses a tablet or 13 year old that is glued to their phone or video games? If so, you have a Screenager! In fact, a Screenager is any toddler, child, teen or adult that actively uses digital media or technology. Yep, we're all Screenagers! Over the next couple of weeks, our goal is to equip and encourage you with information that will help you to better understand [...]

12 08, 2019

Preparing for College

By Lis and Dave Marr|2019-08-12T14:24:08-06:00August 12th, 2019|Family Culture, Finances, Parenting|

College – so far, and so near. Ignoring the politics of college and the debate surrounding left or right, we’re assuming you want your children to be as prepared for life-after-home as possible. And that might include continuing with a post high school education. Even though that might be far away, you may be already saving for that event just as you are parenting for that event. There’s a reasonable debate as to what’s appropriate [...]

22 07, 2019

The Value of Youth Sports & Activities

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-07-22T16:10:08-06:00July 22nd, 2019|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

Last week was National Youth Sports Week (July 15th-21st). In our nation, we are blessed to have wonderful youth sports programs for kids that do so much more than teach children skills for playing sports. Sports teaches kids about life while providing health benefits, increased prosocial behavior, improved emotional and psychological health, increased academic performance, and overall sense of well-being. We loved watching (coaching and team mom too!) our boys play different sports as they [...]

16 07, 2019

Blended Family Identity

By Lis and Dave Marr|2019-07-16T05:11:44-06:00July 16th, 2019|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

Blended families have as much potential for individual and collective harmony and success as any other family, they just have some unique challenges to face. In this Letter, we’ll offer some perspectives on those challenges. It’s a big topic, so this Letter can’t and won’t be able to deal with the multitude of nuances that exist when two people come together, each with their own previously established lives. “But sail we must, and not drift [...]

8 07, 2019

Emotional Expression

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2019-07-08T17:02:05-06:00July 8th, 2019|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

Emotional control or self-discipline is being able to manifest the appropriate expression of our emotional state. Our ability to manage our emotional responses is a lifelong skill that can define our character positively or negatively. Anger, frustration and disappointment are a part of life as a child and as an adult. There will always be times when these difficult emotions happen, but how we respond and express ourselves is the key to emotional maturity. When [...]