Last week Rich and Shelly talked about Success in Marriage Excellent points in there! Each marriage has an era where things are going well or where issues need attention - where a little idea can mean a lot. That little idea can compound over time into something fantastic. That was the case with us. At a time when our marriage was at a fork in the road, we discovered 2 important things that helped our relationship [...]
For nearly 32 years, we would say that most of our married life has been characterized by happiness, blessings and growing together. Yet, like all couples, there have been a few bumps in the road. The issues and challenges weren’t anything we couldn’t fix, but they did require emotional resiliency and attention on both our parts. Without this resiliency and attention, we would have ended up on the wrong side of the divorce statistics. One [...]
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. Like many others in the beginning, Jon and I were surviving the sleep deprivation and just keeping our little ones clean, fed and rested. As their little personalities developed, we realized our two girls were very different. Using the parenting techniques that came naturally to us didn’t always give us the results we wanted. Jon and I soon realized we were not on the same page with how to [...]
One of the greatest parenting joys is when your child lets you into their private world... especially during the holiday season! What is the private world? Generally speaking, it is a special place where we all hold deeper thoughts, treasured memories, and feel the most vulnerable. It is the essence of who we are. The private world is what we share with our spouse and only our most trusted and closest friends. As our children [...]
What does a thriving family look like? Certainly, there are many answers to this question, but we believe at the heart of a thriving family is a healthy marriage and effective parenting. It is an encouraging home environment where children are flourishing and everyone is feeling emotionally and spiritually fulfilled in each other's company. Our marriage and family life is definitely not “Perfect.” Yet, our home life is characterized by our efforts toward being the [...]
Finding the balance between permissive and authoritarian parenting styles can be challenging. Often times, when left unchecked, they can create behavioral issues with your children and put a strain on marriages. This typically happens when one parent is perceived as fun loving and easy going, while the other is perceived as the harsh disciplinarian. Generally speaking, your parenting style tends to be the opposite of how you were raised. See if one of these descriptions [...]
What’s the one thing I can do to… Improve my marriage? Find balance in life? Lose weight or get healthy? Get out of debt or become financially independent? Be the best mom or dad? … and the list goes on and on and on! And usually we want that one thing to be something that we can do once that is pain-free, and relatively easy that will bring immediate satisfaction and alleviate all the stress [...]
Having a healthy and thriving family begins with a health marriage. We believe that the marriage relationship should be the first priority within the family structure… even before our kids! In today’s society, there is constant pressure to put our children first above EVERYTHING else in the family environment. This misguided prioritization can ultimately lead to child-centered parenting and even divorce. Don’t get us wrong. Our children are a top priority. And just because we [...]
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. Like many others in the beginning, Jon and I were surviving the sleep deprivation and just keeping our little ones clean, fed and rested. As their little personalities developed, we realized our two girls were very different. Using the parenting techniques that came naturally to us didn’t always give us the results we wanted. Jon and I soon realized we were not on the same page with how to [...]
January 7, 2018 Dear Journal, Kash and I reached a low point in our relationship yesterday. I screamed “shut up!” at him, which shocked him, and the littles. And hours later, he repeated it and told me to shut up, which threw me into a spiral. My temper has manifested in ways I am ashamed to even document on these pages. Why do I do it? Why do I lash out? Kash mirrors my behavior [...]