Holding that first baby in my arms I felt my heart enlarged ten sizes. I was in love. A deep “I will die for you right now”, kind of love. I still feel that way about my children. Maybe too much? Hovering Codependent Parent There is the caricature of the stay-at-home mom who lives…
children
How to Make Gingerbread You Want to Eat!
Let’s face it most gingerbread is for looking not eating. If sandwiched next to a chocolate chip cookie the poor gingerbread boys will die of loneliness. How to make Gingerbread you want to eat is a whole different recipe. Building houses and vintage campers with the gingery dough gets my creative juices flowing! But eating…
10 Simple Christmas Wreaths You Can Make in An Hour
Make one of these 10 simple Christmas wreaths in less than an hour! We don’t even start to set up our Christmas Tree until after the second weekend in December. I often make the wreath for the door out of the trimmings off the Christmas tree we liberate from the national forest. This year…
What to Do When Your Spouse is Hiding Money
I remember sitting in my Al-anon group trying to get my head around my spouse hiding money. I just could not think through this on my own. Thank you to everyone who showed up that night and every Thursday night to help me process my hurts, habits and hang-ups. The Pay Check That Never Made…
How We Created a No Stress Christmas Day and You Can Too!
We saved our family Christmas Day by doing nothing. Six or seven Christmases ago we started doing “nothin’ ” for Christmas Day. It came as a revelation to my husband and I when the boys were really little. (Affiliate links provided so you can find products and we can support the blog-thank you so…
Simplest Bread Recipe Ever
The simplest bread recipe ever comes from the man section of an old stained church cook book. In fact, this simple and cheap bread was listed right after cream pies under the “Man” section of the cookbook. It calls for 2 1/4 cups of any kind of liquid, water, milk or pot liquor. I have…
Triggers: How to Exchange Your Angry Reactions for Gentle Responses
Triggers are the little things that jump under your skin and cause reactions you did not intend. An explosion of anger when you only meant to correct your child gently can send you reeling. These reactions hurt you and your beloved child. You know how the teacher will appear when the student is ready. Well,…
Vacationing with Family: A Blast or A Drag
My husband and I worked at a smallish dude ranch in Northern Colorado for many years. Several times during our tenure, a family reunion booked the whole ranch for the entire week. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa were treating the family to a vacation or the whole family pulled together and decide instead of a cruise,…
What Two Days With A U-Haul Taught Me about God
A blown engine in Amarillo on a family road trip left the boys and I stranded for a few days. Triple A showed up quickly, assuring me a quick fix. The mechanic thought different. J. C. of Gene Messer Ford brainstormed solutions, called friends in the business trying to get us a rental truck, and finally…