Category

Parenting

Jul 24
Love0
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My Spouse and I Have Children From Previous Marriages. How Do We Make It Work?

By Parenting No Comments

If you and your new spouse each have kids from previous marriages, how do you make that work? Blending a family is a gift. You’re giving both of your children the opportunity to be surrounded by love. And when you and your spouse are working together to give them a happy and peaceful life, that’s truly a blessing. Bringing two families together to create a new home is quite an undertaking. It takes time for everyone to adjust to their new normal, and sometimes that adjustment period can create challenges. In this post, we’re going to share a few important…

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Jul 17
Love0
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How to Make Space for Intimacy During the Parenting Years

By Intimacy, Parenting One Comment

Life looks different with kids than it did when you were newlyweds. When you’re raising kids, daily obligations and responsibilities can get in the way of intimacy. But that doesn’t mean you have to put intimacy on hold. There are many ways to nurture more intimacy in your marriage, even when you’re parenting. The parenting years can take a toll on you both, particularly when you’re caring for infants, toddlers, or small children. In this season, it’s especially important to focus on one another with patience, love, and understanding. Ready to learn more about cultivating more intimacy during the parenting…

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Jul 10
Love0
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Help! How Do We Prioritize Our Marriage As New Parents?

By Parenting, Time No Comments

During certain seasons of marriage, it’s more challenging to prioritize your relationship over other demands. This is especially true when you have babies or small children. When parenting requires the majority of your time, what are some ways you and your spouse can prioritize your marriage? Keep Open Communication Alive Communication is crucial in every season of marriage, and it’s especially important now. Even if you don’t have a lot of time for long conversations in this season, make as much time to communicate as you can. There’s no other way to clearly let your spouse know what you need,…

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Jul 03
Love0
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How Long Should We Wait Before We Have Kids?

By Parenting No Comments

So how long after marriage should you wait before having kids? Whether you’re newlyweds or have been married for years now, the answer depends on your unique situation. We can’t give you a definitive time frame, but we can give you and your spouse some important things to consider. Having children is a highly individual decision, and it’s one you should make carefully. Before we get started, the most important thing to keep in mind is that this decision is yours to make as a couple. No outside source can tell you the right time for you. Instead, it’s crucial…

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Sep 20
Love0
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Help! How Do We Raise Our Kids If We Can’t Agree On Spiritual Beliefs?

By Parenting No Comments

Do you and your spouse have different spiritual beliefs? If so, you might be wondering how disagreements on issues of faith will impact raising your kids. While it’s not easy to navigate through differences in beliefs, it can absolutely be done well. If you and your spouse work together as a team, it’s possible to co-parent children who are happy and secure. The key is in finding and focusing on what you have in common first. Ready to learn more? Let’s get into it. Focus on Shared Values First Even though you and your spouse have different spiritual beliefs, it’s…

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May 17
Love0
How to Nurture Your Marriage While Parenting a Child With Disabilities

How to Nurture Your Marriage While Parenting a Child With Disabilities

By Marriage, Parenting One Comment

Are you and your spouse parenting a disabled child, caring for an aging parent, or seeing to the everyday health needs of a loved one? The circumstances around being caretakers can impact your time and availability for one another. If you have a child with a disability, you want to be intentional with the time you have for your marriage. Many couples raising children with special needs have tumultuous waters to navigate. There may be seasons when you aren’t able to spend much time with one another at all. This makes it so much more important to support one another…

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Jul 20
Love0

Planning to Grow Your Family – Part 2

By Parenting One Comment

Last week, we shared Part 1 of a two-part series about some of the discussions you and your spouse should be having as you plan to grow your family. We’ll continue the series this week. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you can find it here. Here are some of the conversation points we covered last week: You and your spouse should be sharing and negotiating expectations before you have children, if at all possible Likewise, discussions on how to divide responsibilities also need to happen early Discuss how to prioritize one-on-one time with one another, even as your…

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Jul 13
Love0

Planning to Grow Your Family – Part 1

By Parenting No Comments

Are you and your spouse expecting a child? What about planning for future children? Either way, it’s going to be important for the two of you to put your heads together and start making plans for the coming changes. Adding children to your family, whether it’s your first child or your fifth, always brings change, and that’s a wonderful thing. But if you and your spouse haven’t discussed the everyday things that will inevitably shift, you need to start communicating as early as you can. Having a plan for how you’ll handle daily obligations and resolve potential conflicts will help…

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Mar 31
Love0

Five Practical and Proactive Things You Can Do At Home

By Communication, Marriage, Parenting, Relationships, Self Reflection One Comment

Dear Friends, We want to help you in some small way. Our family of four (including our college-student son who is now home from Chicago) has gone into full social-distancing mode here in Seattle to help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19. Chances are that your family is doing the same. The good news? We’re seeing a lot more of each other than we normally do. The challenge? Well, we’re seeing a lot more of each other than we normally do! So, how do you create a safe, healthy, and happy home in these difficult days? We’ll leave the medical advice…

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Sep 04
Love2

How to Cope with a Tenacious Teen

By Communication, Conflict, Parenting 7 Comments

Have you ever felt desperate trying to cope with your tenacious teen? If so, you’re not alone. Teens more than any other age group feel out of control. Deep down, they aren’t quite sure who they are and generally struggle to take possession of their own lives. Achieving a sense of identity is one of the major developmental tasks of a teenager. Somewhere between the ages of twelve and twenty adolescents are forced to choose who they are; a formidable and scary task. Because of this force to make up their minds, they are compelled to control, and can become…

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