Celebrating the Holidays with Adult Kids and Less Stress

I hate to sound cliché but the holidays are upon us. Yes, we are only in the first few days of October, but you know I’m right. Christmas decorations have taken over Hobby Lobby; even Target has started a small section for Christmas lights. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here […]

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What Comes Next: When Your Adult Kids Face Difficult Times

Sometimes I think back to the struggles and hard times Gene and I have had in our marriage, especially the early years. I remember feeling hopeless and helpless. I remember wondering if the situation would ever change. Then I try to remember what brought about change. Was it a piece […]

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What Comes Next: When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don’t Agree With

I wrote Love No Matter What: When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don’t Agree With after our oldest daughter launched. Katie was in her early twenties and both of us had been in process to grow our relationship and make better choices. Lots of life has happened since the book […]

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We’re Not Perfect, but We Love Each Other

“When I See Your Family I See the Perfect Family.” Recently someone said this to me. I didn’t know whether to first laugh or apologize for giving such an impression. I do not intend to give the impression that we are the perfect family. In fact, in two of my […]

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How I am Building a Lifelong Relationship with My Kids

“Without relationship you have nothing.”* This quote is from my book, Love No Matter What: When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don’t Agree With. The older I grow the more I realize its truth. Without relationship we have nothing. Relationships are the core of life. The first and most important […]

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Be Ready for the Talk

In case you missed it, last week I was thrilled to have my first op-ed published in The Christian Post. I discussed having “the talk” with your kids about sexual abuse and harassment. The key to these conversations is the condition of your relationship with your child. If your child doesn’t […]

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Just In Time for the Holidays–Another Way to be a Soft Place to Land

Last week I talked about being a soft place for my kids to land by being an encourager instead of a fixer. Over the weekend another aspect of being a soft place to land came to my mind. With the holidays fast approaching, our college and adult kids will be […]

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Am I a Soft Place to Land?

The other day I found myself saying to one of our girls, “I want to be a soft place for you kids to land.” My words have haunted me since. What did I mean by “a soft place to land”? Was I a soft place to land? I wanted to […]

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Every Day Matters

My past twelve days have been fairly uneventful. As many of you know I am recuperating from foot surgery. Doctor’s orders are to stay down as much as possible to heal as quickly as possible. I am being a good patient thanks to Gene and the girls. While I am […]

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One of the Best Parts of Releasing Your Kids

Sitting here after a tiring day of running here and there, I’m thinking what is worth writing about today? What was the best part of my day? That’s easy—talking to all three of the girls in the same day and that happened today. Yesterday I talked about the grief of […]

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