A Letter to Our Baby’s Birth Mother
Squish will always know the story about her birth mother and will always be free to ask questions about how it all began.
How Expectations Set Us Up for Trouble
When we look back on our early romance, we note how quick we were to trust each other, even recklessly so. We dived into the relationship with ready abandon and little thought for the risks of rejection or disappointment. Since then, our trust levels have strengthened in many areas, and declined in others, as we’ve experienced ups and downs in our relationship. It leads us to ponder: what builds trust between ...
Like Parent, Like Child
The most powerful influence on a couple is their family of origin. Good or bad, our experiences in our childhood prepared us for marriage. The young couple sitting opposite us had been married only a few years. They were experiencing some health challenges, but this is not what brought them to us; they were locked in a perpetual low-grade argument that never seemed to end. They were so ‘wired’, almost every ...
The Unsurprise
‘Shhhhh,’ I whispered. ‘Don’t spoil the surprise.’ ‘Okay.’ He whispered back, conspiratorially, as we tucked hubby’s Father’s Day present away in the storage room. ‘Remember, it’s our secret, okay? Don’t spoil the surprise.’ I continued, shutting the door. Only to hear his excited footsteps on the stairs before I’d even had time to turn around! Letting Loose ‘Don’t spoil the surprise, Daddy!’ he called out, running as fast as his little ...
Discover Your Unique Love Profile
How do you and your spouse prefer to receive love, and what makes you feel unloved? Here is a quick list to help you boost the quality of your marriage by better understanding one another. Do you know your love needs and love busters? Do the quiz below to determine your top five love needs and worst three love busters. Love Need: A behaviour or gesture which communicates love to you ...
The Science of Falling in Love
Falling in love is a common experience and a wonderful one. It sweeps us up in a euphoric passion that dominates our thoughts day and night. But is there more to it than simple emotions? Romantic love, and its impact on us, has been the subject of study for millennia. Philosophers from ancient times have mused on it, theologians have divined it and poets have waxed lyrical about it. More recently, it has become a subject of interest to scientists from the fields of psychology, sociology and neurobiology. Consequently, we ...
Five Ways to Build Trust
Managing each other's expectations in a relationship can be challenging, but here are five steps to building the trust required for a solid foundation from which you can grow together. Today we had a meeting. Sigh… The dreaded meeting! Being a couple and working together is complex. We’re both strong-willed and passionate about what we do, so it’s easy for us to slip into a mode where we single-mindedly pursue what ...
Dad-Life Hacks for Raising a Strong-Willed Child
Parenting a strong-willed child can be challenging, but with various techniques, it can be very rewarding. Channel their energy into productive activities, and communicate clearly with them to achieve mutual goals. I’ll begin by saying: I love my strong-willed child. She’s full of light, is daring, boisterous, spirited, and loud. Strong-willed children, as defined by Psychology Today, are children ‘who are stubborn and always have to get their way.’ Writing for ...
From Valentine to Valen-TIME
Quality time together is ideal to keep the spark alive in a marriage, but it needs to be bolstered by "quantity-time", making the effort to do routine things together, being comfortable in each other's company and sharing everyday moments. With Valentine’s Day approaching, couples everywhere are looking for ways to mark the day with romance. From lovestruck dating couples to couples stressed out with kids, every one of us struggles to ...
On Having the Perfect Plan for Your Children
God's wisdom and plans are greater than ours. It is tempting to chart our children's lives for them, but even better is when we let God take the wheel – directing our lives and our children's lives too. Do you already have the “perfect” plan designed for your children’s lives? As parents, I believe this is a particularly difficult area to manoeuvre. Wanting the very best for our children, we can ...
