For the Love of Family

Welcome

Welcome! I am so glad you stopped by and am excited to begin a journey with you in the daily life of family. This blog/website has been a long time in coming. Like many things in my life, it had to simmer a bit. For the Love of Family is the fruition of personal family life experiences, and my reflection on the saying, “for the love of Pete”. Don’t know who Pete is or was, but sometimes we need to be amazed, change our thinking, or be intentional for the love of Family. The purpose of this blog is to […]

Family, For the Love of Family

Marriage Advice for Couples

At the end of our SYMBIS (Save Your Marriage Before It Starts) coaching, the couple asked, “what is your best advice for married couples”? After a short hestitation, my answer was two-fold: honor each other’s differences and make your foundation on God’s truth.It is good advice, but I keep pondering the question as my mind searches and finds other’s words of marriage wisdom.   Is spring the season of love? According to neuroscientist Helen Fischer, maybe so.  May kicks off wedding season, from now through fall, with the majority of weddings taking place in September – November. Whether anticipating marriage […]

Finances

Know Your Benefits. Change Your Future.

If you are not taking full advantage of the benefit package your employer offers you, you could be leaving money behind. And it could have detrimental effects on your future.  You owe it to yourself to know what is offered and seek to understand those offerings. The benefits offered are part of your salary – take advantage of the gift.  Benefit packages differ between employers. Offerings are dependent on size of the employer, your length of employment and possibly the ‘wait’ period before available to you as the employee.      Not meant to be all inclusive, here are the […]

Food, For the Love of Family

Nourishing Your Family Economically

During my ‘real job’ days before becoming an entrepreneur, I worked with several nutritionists.  These collegues provided much insight as well as opportunities to learn about the science of nutrition. Every year, these professionals observed National Nutrition Month, which is celebrated in March. This year, the theme is Fuel for the Future, focusing on eating for every phase of  life while protecting the environment. A beautifully and idealistic theme, yet when facing an ‘inflation crisis’ with rising food prices, how do we meet this mission? Embracing the need to feed my family well AND keep within a set food budget […]

Family, Finances, For the Love of Family

Showing Love and Appreciation for Valentine’s Day

February. The month we celebrate Valentine’s Day and the month we get to celcbrate love and show appreciation for the people in our lives. Admittedly, this is my favorite holiday. For me, it isn’t an overly assumptive romantic holiday, but a holiday to celebrate others by showing love and appreciation. Here are my top ideas for budget-friendly Valentine’s celebration: For your spouse or special friend: Cook their favorite dinner at home. Light some candles. Play favorite memory tunes. Write a love letter. Spray perfume on the envelope. Write a message on the mirror (use lipstick or dry-erase markers) Using kid-friendly […]

Family, Finances

The Beauty of Rhythm and Routine

  What if the rhythm of our life and routines created were all we needed to move forward towards our desired outcomes? Honestly, in my past, this would have been a boring proposition. After all, doesn’t a meaningful life include taking risks and being adventurous? Yet, life has taught me that my desired outcomes for this week, next month or in 2023 and beyond must be pursued with intentionality; and that intentionality includes my daily, weekly and monthly routines and/or habits which reflect the natural rhythms of life. Our world has natural rhythms: sunlight turns to dark which leads to […]

For the Love of Family, Raw Footage

The Art of Pause

Throughout my life I have always worked towards being productive and efficient; yet never able to reach my ideal of productivity and efficiency.  Nothing wrong with these strivings, unless my strivings caused unknown or unnecessary sacrifices. As I have grown older, reflected and sought wisdom from others, I have realized that practicing the art of pause is much needed, not just for me, but for everyone. P A U S E a temporary stop or rest in speech or action; a cessation of activity; a momentary hesitation Simply stated, pause is momentarily stopping. Simple, yet hard to implement. What do I […]