Planning Summer Fun At the end of each school year, I ask my sons what they want to do for the summer. I ask them (separately) what they really want to do with their time off from school. Learn more about that planning process here. Their list generally includes a …

Summer Fun & How to End Empty Promises Through Planning Read more »

What makes a truly happy marriage? Is it lots of money? Vacations? Cute wardrobe? Perfect kids? Lots of sex? A happy marriage may have all of these things, but it may not. Lots of people with little money have a happy marriage. And some families NEVER get a vacation and …

The Key Ingredients: What Makes a Truly Happy Marriage? Read more »

Spenders & Savers I’m a saver and my husband is a spender. He still pays off debt and pays the bills, but he enjoys spending money, whereas I enjoy watching it grow in the bank. As I’m sure you can imagine, this difference has caused conflict over the years. We’ve …

Navigating Conflict: Strategies for Effective Communication in Marriage Read more »

Building a Strong Foundation: Communication in Newlywed Marriages When I was a newlywed, I thought our communication would always be great – like it was when we were dating. I thought it would all be hearts and flowers and he would listen like the man of my dreams that he …

Communication in Newlywed Marriages Read more »

The power of a story My husband loves to tell the story of when he first came to visit me at my house when we started dating. At the time I was living with my parents at home. I told him to “make a left at the (local) church, come …

Family Stories: What to do When You Don’t Agree Read more »

Disenchanted When we get married we are filled with joyful anticipation. We imagine this ideal life with the person we just pledged to love forever. Maybe your “happily ever after” means you do things together, or he helps out around the house. Perhaps your dream involves each of you doing …

What to do when marriage isn’t what you thought it would be Read more »

Ah, the perfect husband Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? He knows and responds to our every need. The perfect husband listens and remembers what we say. He puts our needs above his own. He picks up his socks and closes the toilet seat. This man also cleans the kitchen and keeps …

How to Find the Perfect Husband Read more »

You Need a Proofreader! Have you ever written a paper or document for work and just wished you had someone to polish it up a bit? Someone who could perform editing for grammar, usage, and punctuation? I mean, who really remembers all those rules from English class all those years …

Announcing: Proofreading & Editing Service Read more »

His hobby…and my hobby My husband has a hobby. Actually, he has two. He loves hunting and ham radio. He learns about each of them, watches YouTube videos about them, attends conferences, and generally spends his free time learning to be better at these things. I like to sew and …

How to support your husband’s hobby Read more »

Imagine this: Janet spends all day at school terrified about talking with other kids. She just knows they will hate her. Her preoccupation with (potentially) being disliked makes her withdraw and avoid other classmates…even ones who would genuinely like her. None of us would want this for our kids. Yet …

Understanding Teens with Social Anxiety: A Guide for Parents Read more »