If you have gone to the movies or watched television in the last decade or so, you may have noticed a disheartening trend in the way the modern day dad is portrayed. Often the father figure is subtly (or not so subtly) represented as detached, aloof, clueless, lazy, disorganized, selfish, clueless, foolish,absent, and uninvolved. I don’t know what kind of men the rest of you are dealing with out there, but I am grateful that the father of our six children is a stark contrast to the above stereotypes. He is the polar opposite of all of those things and more. I couldn’t have asked for a better dad for our kids and I am eternally appreciative of the father and husband he is to us. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell him thank you for all of the big and little things he does for us daily. Continue reading The Ultimate Dad – A Father’s Day Tribute
Category Archives: Marriage
Today’s Proverbs 31 Woman – A Mother’s Day Tribute
I know there are no perfect people. One of the frustrating things about blogging is that there is a tendency to present yourself and your life in such a way that if people didn’t know better they would think you were living the perfect life. Our blog is no different. We celebrate the exciting events in our life and share interesting and educational posts, but the pictures and stories are usually edited so every imperfection is wiped away.
When I decided to draft this post as part of my Mother’s Day gift to my wife, I wanted to start by clarifying that our life is messy. We have 6 kids ranging in age from 5 months to 17 years. I have a demanding job that frequently has me traveling most of the week. We home school all six children. We have bills. We have moods. There are diapers to change and teenagers with attitudes. We get irritable. We are almost always tired. We have unfulfilled goals. We struggle with allergies, headaches, and illness. We sometimes resort to junk food even though we know better. Our house is in a roller coaster state of clean and dirty. The laundry piles up. The lawn needs mowing. The eight of us frequently let each other down. We lose our tempers. We fight. We are selfish. We drive each other nuts. Our life was not always this “messy” though. Continue reading Today’s Proverbs 31 Woman – A Mother’s Day Tribute
Lucky to be in Love with My Best Friend
I have heard plenty of women talk about their spouses as if they can’t stand them. They go on and on about this or that shortcoming. They fantasize about time spent away from them. They speak about them with disrespect, disregard, and sometimes even disgust. They talk about how they wish their husband was more this or more that. They idealize other women’s husbands as so much more upright, handsome, successful, thoughtful, funny, hard-working, romantic, and witty.
I have a confession to make. I feel extremely guilty and uncomfortable when caught in the middle of one of these conversations. Continue reading Lucky to be in Love with My Best Friend
Blessed to be in Love with My Best Friend
This post is in response to my wife’s post called “Lucky to be in Love with My Best Friend“. I was a little caught off guard when I read her post today as it is not our anniversary or Valentine’s day or some other occasion when you might expect some type of romantic message from your spouse. It happens to be my 39th birthday today but that’s not really cause for such kind words from my Sweetie. So I’m not really sure what the catalyst was for her post but I do appreciate it and I hope that some day I will live up to the picture she painted. 
I confess that I felt honored but I also felt slightly embarrassed that she shared such intimate words with the world. Continue reading Blessed to be in Love with My Best Friend
Cherokee Tribune – Front Page Story Mother’s Day 2013
I was so proud of Bethany this Mother’s Day…not that I’m not always proud of her but this Mother’s Day she received a special honor. Bethany was featured on the front page of the Cherokee Tribune newspaper in an article titled “Motherhood is ultimate responsibility, mom says”. The article is still available online at this link: http://cherokeetribune.com/view/full_story/22552728/article-Motherhood-is-ultimate-responsibility–mom-says. Bethany was recommended for the article by the real-estate agent that helped us purchase our land and who is also in the process of helping us sell our current home. The article is based on a five minute conversation she had with a reporter from the Cherokee Tribune and is brief and to the point but overall did a good job of describing Bethany and our family. I thought it was cool that the Cherokee Tribune thought to do an article like this. Moms so frequently perform the hardest job on the planet day after day with no recognition from anyone. I really enjoyed seeing my wife honored this way and hope it helped her to know how much who she is and what she does is appreciated! Continue reading Cherokee Tribune – Front Page Story Mother’s Day 2013
Lesson 002 – Pleasant Words
We have officially started up “Shabbat” or the Sabbath (our day of rest). Our family refers to it as Shabbat which is the Jewish word for “rest” or “cessation”. I will probably do a “Life Lesson” on Shabbat but I have decided to focus on some memory verses/quotes regarding pleasant words for this week. Below is a list of verses that have to do with kind words or pleasant words. I am going to discuss the importance of pleasant words, review these verses and then assign one verse to each person in the family to memorize and repeat at the next Shabbat: Continue reading Lesson 002 – Pleasant Words
Margin: A foundation for happiness
I was flying home from Indianapolis last week after a hard week of work and school. I was exhausted and craving time with my family. My plane was on the final approach for Atlanta and it was already dark so all I could see were the lights of homes and businesses spreading out all the way to the horizon.
I began to think about all the people, striving to own a little more land, a little bigger house, and a nicer car. I started thinking about all the stress and anxiety that must exist just below me because of the down economy, strained relationships, hectic schedules, etc. I also wondered how much happiness, joy, contentment, and fulfillment I was flying over. I began to think about my own happiness and the goals I have set for my life and for my family. I realized that what I am craving in life is not more money or success but simply time with my family (specifically time when I am not preoccupied with financial burdens, distracted by work, or cranky from exhaustion, stress, and personal commitments). Continue reading Margin: A foundation for happiness
Character Traits (and Shabbat)
As a parent I am always looking for ways to build character in my children (and myself). My family has just started what I hope will be a tradition called Shabbat. We are not Jewish but I thought I would include the link so you can see what inspired the idea. It is our goal to not make Shabbat a legalistic event in our household but rather a time that we look forward to. We have only had a “Shabbat” a few times now but here is what we do: Continue reading Character Traits (and Shabbat)