The Magnificent Mundane: Finding Belonging From Your Line of Survivors
All the little moments that get lost when you are busy running the race to achievement. It's within these moments where belonging waits to be found.
Crapper Canvases: Lessons Learned From Bathroom Art
This reflection of the impact my mother’s bathroom decor had on my life lessons got me reminiscing on other lessons I’ve taken from crapper canvases.
Keep your Marriage Thriving: Tips for Special Needs Parents
Let’s talk about how to keep your marriage thriving, and some tips for special needs parents. Let's face it, having a good marriage does not come easily. Add to that…
Curb the distractions: Journey Together with 2 Techniques
Do 24 hours a day seem not enough to handle it all? You aren't alone. Balancing family and business while maintaining a sense of self is challenging. Add in social…
My Husband Annoys Me Beyond Belief: Five Reasons Why I Stay Married
I’ve been in a relationship with my husband for almost twenty-five years. We bonded over deep belly laughter and amazing sex. That grew into sharing our perspective and finding out…
Just One Child? Why People’s Family Sizes Are None of Your Business
In a New Year’s quest to declutter, my husband and I decided to sell our piano that had been sitting in our house collecting dust for more than a decade.…
You Reap What You Sow: How This Phrase Affected My Mindset.
There is an old proverb that mentions the idea of you reap what you sow. If you've ever heard this growing up, how did you decern it? When I heard,…
Empowered Women Should Not Equal Disempowered Men
I would say that I got onto my own path of empowerment in my early 20's. I was a single mom with my daughter for 8 years, went to college…
Love and Kindness Go Together: A Relationship Reminder
Love and kindness go together. They really do. In my 20 years as a counselor, I've been astounded at how many people say and do the most unkind things in…
Your Kids Are Going To Leave: Stop Expecting Them To Fill Your Needs
Our children are miracles. They make us proud, frustrate and challenge us and they teach us a lot about ourselves. However, they are not ours to keep. We don't own…
Holiday Money Blues: 4 Tips to Get your Finances Back on Track
Now that the holidays are over, and the first credit card statement shows up, gulp! Did you spend more than you planned? It happens to us all! I think especially…
Let’s Gift the Gift of Being Present: 4 Tips to Enjoy the Holiday Season
Creating a list, checking it twice, sticking to a budget, making sure the kids are happy and loved. It's easy to get so wrapped up in the shopping and the…
Holiday Memories: 3 Ways to Capture Them in Your Journal
This time of year I enjoy reflecting on my holiday memories, of a time when we all gathered around the tree to open presents or sat around the table for…
Celebrating the Spirit of Christmas; with the Giving of Tzedakah!
This Christmas season, I encourage you to celebrate the spirit of giving by embracing the Jewish tradition of Tzedakah! More Faith, More Fun! Our family gets the honor of having…
How to Be Alone for the Holidays — A Survival Guide
Being alone for the holidays is hard, so here are 7 tips to make it a little easier.
Pushing Pause: The Power and Gift of Our Presence
I’m unsure where this year went. It feels like just yesterday, my kids and I were filled with much anticipation and excitement for the return of our husband and daddy…
This Isn’t A Hallmark Movie! 6 Ways to be Present, Not Perfect, During the Holidays
If you know me, you know I really love a good, sappy Hallmark movie, especially a Christmas one. During the holiday season there's little I enjoy more than snuggling up…
Going for the Win-Win: Decision Making in Relationships
We value strong, healthy relationships, but nothing can damage them more than poor decision making skills. Whether it is a spouse, sibling, long-time friend, or business partner, we want to stay close and feel connected. Going for the win-win is the solution to this problem.
A Christmas Love Story: How A Dog Became My Greatest Gift Ever
All good love stories start the same way...a brain injury and cold noses. Get some hot cocoa and a snugly blanket and let me tell you all about the Christmas…
To Give or Not to Give: Showing My Kids the Real Meaning of Christmas
I wrestle with the best way to make Christmas magical while not going overboard. Every year I struggle: To give or not to give.
Pumpkin Pie Modified; An Ode to my Uncle John and His Delicious Recipe
Pumpkin Pie recipes are right on time this month. However, let me be honest, this wasn’t the article I had planned to write for this month of Thanks. I had…
Why You Should Be Throwing a Friendsgiving and How to Do It
It’s November so Start Planning: In the last few years we have had a Friendsgiving at our house with 6 of our closest friends and it’s something that I look…
5 Natural Ways to Manage PTSD- Simple Habits for Daily Life
How to manage PTSD in a healthy and constructive way can feel impossible. There are so many unknown things happening inside our brains that it seems daunting to try and DO anything about it. I hear you. I understand.
What Dancing with My Husband Taught Me
I used to be the girl who was afraid of dancing. I was afraid to be in front of other people and worried about what they might think. Picture this:…
Embracing Gen Z: Learning to Relate Across the Generations
Allow me to be brutally honest. I struggle understanding adolescents and the young culture of today. It is more than not understanding their eye rolls or deep sighs upon, yet again,…
I’m Still No Expert At This! 23 Thoughts About Relationships and Marriage
This month my husband and I are celebrating 23 years of being together. You’d think that after 23 years of doing something we’d be experts by now, but—we are not.…
Three Ways to Deal with Rejection and Live a Healthy Life
No matter what form it comes in, rejection carries side effects that can throw us off track. Rejection can take away precious moments with loved ones, distract us from doing…
A Letter to the Mama Who Didn’t Cry at School Drop Off
Dear Mama, I see you. Talking with your mama friends about your kiddos starting school this year. Them telling you how much they cried and didn’t know what to do…
Exposing the Myths About Life Insurance and Why Women Are Under-Insured
September is LIFE INSURANCE awareness month. You may have seen some of the #LIAM2019 posts on social media or on a poster at the store. It's a whole month dedicated…
Stop the Meal Plan Mayhem! 3 Ways to Make Meal Planning Do-able Even With a Busy Schedule
Raise your hand if you have a busy schedule and you find it challenging to get healthy meals on the table every night—especially ones your kids will actually eat! My…
The First Time Kindergarten Mama: A New Season in Motherhood
My daughter started Kindergarten this year and it really caught this Kindergarten Mama off guard. Not the typical feeling of how much I will miss her or how hard it…
What Happened to the Fairy Tale? Embracing the Reality of Marriage
This year my husband and I celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary. That's 9 years of some hard work, let me tell ya. I'm not here to tell you about…
Family care and protection insurance concept
Life Insurance: A Necessary Conversation
Shh, Let's Not Talk About "That. . ." Life Insurance. Nobody likes to talk about life insurance. It reminds us of our mortality and that we won’t always be around…
The Art of Commitment- Lessons in Digging Deep
Glasses clinked together as cheers resounded throughout the room. Cake was cut, ice cream served as the committed couple were celebrated. Giggles bubbled forth around the table. Children and adults…
The Benefits of Scheduling Your Daily Life Uncovered
Why I Began to Schedule I was never taught the benefits of scheduling my days. No one ever mentioned that there was even such a need. And so I grew…
Show Up – Lessons in Showing Up For Yourself and Others
As the end of summer approaches, I have started hearing stories about heading back to college. It has reminded me of a lesson that I learned in college, but I…
Young woman and man studying for a test or an exam. Tutor books with friends. Young students campus helps friend catching up and learning. People, learning, education and school concept.
Dave Ramsey is WRONG: Learn a New Way of Doing Things
...well...not entirely. But, if he was the only one I continued to learn from in balancing my budget, then I would have lost an opportunity to grow in my ability…
Tips for the Sandwich Generation: Caregiving for Ailing Parents While Raising Kids
Many of us are caring for our parents as they get to an age where their health begins to fail or they are diagnosed with a chronic illness. In addition…
The Secret to Doing It All: Don’t! And Five tips to help you look like you Do!
People often ask me how I “do it all” or how I “keep it all together," and I’m just going to be honest from the start and tell you my…
My Reactive Behavior Almost Ruined My Marriage: What I’ve Learned
It's really hard to bring awareness to the parts of yourself that you don't like, especially when you hurt those you love the most.
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned: Healing after Having a Baby at Twenty-Three Weeks
We are coming up on five years since having a baby at twenty-three weeks gestation. Every year, my processing takes off another layer from the pain of that situation. My…
My Sister; Lessons She Has Taught Me Growing Up
"Sisters are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly" -Unknown My Inspiration My younger sister Osmara was born with Bilateral Microtia,…
Summer Fun: 3 Family Friendly Fun Summer Activities
Summer is here in full swing! Our family is at first very excited for pool days, beach trips, warm sun, lots of grilling, and deck time. The sun stays out…
5 Ways to Utilize Social Media
During the summer months, there is an urge to change things up. Spend more time outside. Go on vacation. Experience longer conversations with loved ones. Catch up on reading. But…
Important Things To Consider Before Full-Time RV’ing
Have you ever considered downsizing what you own and full-time RV’ing with your family? There are some pretty amazing benefits of downsizing what you own. You will be able to…
6 Tips for Traveling with Young Children- Be Prepared, Bring the Fun!
No doubt, traveling with young children can be stressful and even overwhelming. However, over the last few times we have traveled, I have found a few tips that truly helped…
The Evolution of my (S)Heroes
Every kid wants a hero. Someone who is bigger, stronger, and more powerful, who will defeat the bad guy, and inspire them to be more. Often it is quoted that…
Military Wife Life: Tools to Survive the Constant Transition of His Career
The same day I chose this blog topic, I received a “heads up” that my husband’s name was at the top of a list for a deployment next year. He…
How I Conquered Mount Laundsuvius: Practical Laundry Tips For The Overwhelmed Mama
Mom life is laundry life, right? For the seven years I’ve been a mom, I have had a constant pile of laundry that needs to be washed, folded and put…
Surviving May: Advice from the Mother of a Graduate
May is always a busy month. Add to the mix a child in high school and May is just crazy. Make that child a senior and the month is insane.…
Family Fitness Outside: My Five Favorite and Easy Denver Area Hikes
Admittedly, I don’t do this enough with my own kids, but I am still a huge proponent of getting out into nature and experiencing our beautiful state of Colorado! And…
Ten Confessions of a Boy Mom- Defecting at it’s finest
I've made a list of my ten confessions as a boy mom, but I think it is important to note that I grew up in a family of all boys,…
Hey, I know you! New Phase…Same Family
Hello! It started innocently enough. We were two 19-year-old college freshman, and we only had eyes for each other. And, we had it badly. We could talk for hours about…
I No Longer Show Up For My Family
This one shift has helped me love those around me better. I am able to accept the humanity of those around me and allow that they are doing their best.