It’s Christmas and this year is one of those “fun” years when finances are tight and every penny is budgeted. Neat. I faced this same dilemma last year. As someone who loves to buy [...]
Sometimes we experience what we consider to be a great moment in parenting. Have you had one recently? You might have felt it after designing the ultimate family getaway on a shoestring budget. [...]
Is there anything better than a kid fresh off of a mission experience? They're so full of gratitude and introspection and deep spiritual thoughts. It's wonderful... ...until it wears off. Which [...]
You made it! Summer is FINALLY upon us. Welcome to the smell of driveway campfires and fresh cut lawn. Before you know it, you may even be hearing ice cream trucks playing that one song [...]
My son didn't want to talk about it. That didn't mean I was fine with that, though. The text message I'd received about what had happened in our neighborhood really set me off. Now I was driving [...]
Last night my kids came home to tell me about a friend whose parents had just bought them a brand new car. Then we all laughed really hard. Our family reality is that this kind of gift will not [...]
There are some things that I'm just not good at. I once had to ask my father-in-law for help changing my wiper blades. Not "Dad, can you spare a twelve-gauge crescent wrench so I can [...]
Imagine you're about to have amnesia in the next five minutes. FUH-GET 'BOUT IT! No, really. Give it a shot. It'll make sense in a moment. Pretend that for some strange reason every memory of [...]
I read an article on interviewing a wife of three years about the biggest lessons she’s learning in marriage. She said that sometimes you have to carry each other, and how it seems to work out [...]
Many years ago I resolved against setting New Year’s resolutions. Though I know not everyone feels the same, for me they seem like desperate declarations made at midnight while sitting on my [...]
