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Our Wedding Vows, Revisited
“One thing I am sure of is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” JULIE We were recently privileged to hear these words spoken by our son, and to witness the teary, smiley, enthusiastic YES that was his now-fiancée’s response. OUR SON IS GETTING MARRIED! WE ARE GETTING A NEW DAUGHTER! Our daughter-in-law-to-be wasn’t the only one who was crying. That moment will forever rank as one of the most beautiful, emotional, joy-filled, and exciting moments we’ve ever experienced.
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Fair is Not Necessarily Equal
A classic line out of any child’s mouth is “It’s not fair!” Children use this line to cover everything from chores to birthday parties to bedtimes. It’s a comparison game, but in the end, fair isn’t necessarily equal.
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Married Couples: Are We Too Busy?
We often find our identity in what we accomplish. Our activities and responsibilities can build up until we are crushed beneath them. Are we so busy that we miss out on beauty, relationship, and belonging? Have we become ‘human doings’ rather than ‘human beings.’ It’s hard to grow our marriage if we’re too busy to BE with each other. Busy Families JANINE: If you grew up on a farm like I did, you might remember the ‘breakneck’ pace of harvest or planting time. During those busy days, both Dad and Mom were working intense hours and running on little sleep. This extraordinary pace was for the short-term and my parents knew…
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Gratitude — It’s All Around US
Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. This year our kids will all be home, from as far-away as Alaska. We love to cook and many hands in the kitchen will make for fun and feast. Our hearts are bursting with Gratitude. This is what we often refer to as the Big “G”. Gratitude is a Powerful Word
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Got G.A.M.E?
Chris: I am a golfer. I will golf anytime, any course and with almost anyone. But I am a golfer with G.A.M.E. Allow us to explain. G is for Green Jacket. In golf, the Green Jacket is awarded to the winner of the Masters. In our marriage, I think of the Green Jacket as our wedding day. While I didn’t actually wear a green jacket, I was a true winner the day Michelle said, “I do.” There are only 53 men lucky enough to wear the coveted jacket. Considering that 90-100 people compete each year over the last 83 years, there’s no wonder these jackets are so special. Similarly, when I consider that in the 3.9 billion…
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Walking Down Memory Lane
Chances are, when you met your spouse, you were already adults. As adults, we are a cumulation of the years we’ve spent living. Our spouse has most likely not known us that entire time. How intrigued are you when you hear stories of your spouse from before you met?
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Love Letters
Julie I recently rediscovered a box of love letters that my parents wrote to each other. My dad had given them to me after my mom died. My dad was drafted into the army when he and my mom were still newlyweds. There was no email, no texting, no Facetime. There was only a brief Sunday phone call and love letters Monday through Saturday. These letters were mostly about details of daily life, but they were also filled with expressions of love and longing to be together again. Their arrival was a daily reminder of their love and the commitment they had made to each other.
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30 Seconds of Passion
LARRY: When life gives you lemons (or a Covid pandemic) – make lemonade. When Covid hit, my wife Jula and I decided to turn our quarantine into a second honeymoon. We made the most of the extra time we had together by being romantic and talked about areas of our relationship that we’d actively avoided. Well …after about 6 months of this second honeymoon, life threw us a few curveballs and the proverbial ‘honeymoon wore off.’ Some months later, I had a dream where I got the idea of “30 Seconds of Passion.”
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Hibernation Is For Bears
There is so much we love about fall . . . There is so much we love about fall — the cool crisp air and vibrant colors, the sudden absence of mosquitoes and sounds of honking geese overhead. Mother Nature has given up her bounty to our enjoyment of hearty soups, stews and chilis. Fall has so much to teach us as we venture inside, to a simpler life, and return to a routine. It is a much-needed end to a crazy summer. Time to reflect and begin again.
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Co-parenting My Child
People have asked us how we work out parenting, including co-parenting a child from a previous marriage. Julie: Decisions can be harder when it’s “my family” or “your family”. When we dated, Rick said he admired my parenting skills. I was parented with little to no punishment for wrong doing or bad decisions. I expected I would raise my family the same way. This was far from what my new husband had expected.
