Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Accidental Maman
It’s all over social media. The current American obsession for all things French, from diet to shoes. Jeanne Damas is the stylish It Girl. Everyone is looking at the French girl’s plate to try to figure out how they all stay so slim. French music is showing up on TV, and French movies are being re-released.
By Jennifer Black Young7 years ago in Families
100 Things I Want To Thank My Mom For
I wrote out 100 things I want to thank my mom for. Here they are: 1. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. 2. Thank you for inspiring me. 3. Thank you for not killing me. 4. Thank you for being selfless.5. Thank you for praying for me. 6. Thank you for giving me hugs.7. Thank you for wiping my nose. 8. Thank you for giving me mercy. 9. Thank you for family devotions. 10. Thank you for having my sibling.11. Thank you for giving birth to me. 12. Thank you for paying for the bills. 13. Thank you for washing my dishes. 14. Thank you for loving me everyday. 15. Thank you for changing my diapers.16. Thank you for saying your bad puns. 17. Thank you for tucking me in at night.18. Thank you for teaching me patience. 19. Thank you for making me do chores.20. Thank you for working your 24/7 job. 21. Thank you for making photo albums. 22. Thank you for making rules to follow.23. Thank you for never giving up on me. 24. Thank you for supporting my dreams. 25. Thank you for buying me new clothes.26. Thank you for forcing me to apologize.27. Thank you for accepting my apologies. 28. Thank you for making Sunday lunches.29. Thank you for telling me to act my age. 30. Thank you for being a great role model. 31. Thank you for rocking me back to sleep. 32. Thank you for loving God more than me. 33. Thank you for caring about my wellbeing. 34. Thank you for using your time to help me. 35. Thank you for giving me second chances. 36. Thank you for buying me food and drinks. 37. Thank you for being fugal with the money. 38. Thank you for teaching me how to forgive. 39. Thank you for sometimes giving me space. 40. Thank you for loving me more than yourself. 41. Thank you for paying for me to have braces.42. Thank you for helping me when I got injured.43. Thank you for telling me what is best for me.44. Thank you for making every single meal ever.45. Thank you for forcing me ago eat vegetables. 46. Thank you for letting me eat all the ice cream.47. Thank you for helping me with my homework.48. Thank you for driving me to my friends house.49. Thank you for tying my shoes when I couldn’t.50. Thank you for sending me to boarding school. 51. Thank you for calling me out when I was lying. 52. Thank you for taking me to church on Sunday. 53. Thank you for teaching me how to make eggs. 54. Thank you for making sure I used my manners.55. Thank you for coming to my basketball games. 56. Thank you for making me do grammar classes. 57. Thank you for teaching me to be a hard worker. 58. Thank you for being the best mom in the world. 59. Thank you for finding something that I can’t find. 60. Thank you for checking up on me when I am out. 61. Thank you for teaching me how to handle money.62. Thank you for telling me wear clothes that match. 63. Thank you for letting dad buy a car for me to use. 64. Thank you for showing me what sacrificial love is.65. Thank you for teaching me to do my own laundry.66. Thank you for caring about everyone in the family. 67. Thank you for teaching me how to handle conflict.68. Thank you for admitting to me when you’re wrong. 69. Thank you for doing my laundry before I knew how.70. Thank you for letting me get a drink at a restaurant.71. Thank you for saying no to me when I didn’t need it. 72. Thank you for teaching me the importance of family.73. Thank you for teaching me how to have persistence.74. Thank you for teaching me to see the best in people. 75. Thank you for allowing me to have friends sleep over. 76. Thank you for teaching me how to respect my elders. 77. Thank you for doing your best to protect me from evil.78. Thank you for teaching me the importance of hygiene.79. Thank you for comforting me when I had a bad dream. 80. Thank you for saying hello to me when you come home. 81. Thank you for being patient when I would slam my door.82. Thank you for laughing at the occasional funny joke I say.83. Thank you for encouraging me when I do something right. 84. Thank you for making our house consistently look amazing. 85. Thank you for forgiving me even though I hurt your feelings.86. Thank you for dealing with my sin in the form of punishment. 87. Thank you for making me a cake for me every single birthday. 88. Thank you for buying the useless toys I didn’t need was a child. 89. Thank you for challenging me when I thought I knew everything. 90. Thank you for dragging me to the doctors for our yearly physicals.91. Thank you for letting us get a dog even when you didn’t want one. 92. Thank you for teaching me school from kindergarten to 12th grade.93. Thank you for not slapping me every time I ever said “That’s not fair!”94. Thank you for not saying I’m dumb when I would worry about dumb things.95. Thank you for answering my questions even when they were dumb questions. 96. Thank you for marrying dad, because if you didn’t I never would have been born. 97. Thank you for answering the phone when I’m in the next room, just because I didn’t want to get out of bed. 98. Thank you for drinking Dr Pepper while you were pregnant so I would know how good it was from birth. 99. Thank you for spending 17 years praying that I would be saved. 100. Thank you for teaching me that God is the way, the truth and the life.
By Andrew Sprott7 years ago in Families
Hello, Welcome to Grief
Hello all! I want to start writing a chain of articles dealing with how we handle grief and bereavement in this crazy world today; it's an inevitable fact that as humans we will all die eventually. I'm sorry to be blunt, but it's just something that we will all have to deal with. When I was 20 years old, I was thrown into this select group of kids who have lost a parent before they're old enough to rent a car. No one tells you what it's going to be like after one or more of your parents leaves the planet, but if I can drive one thing home, it's that through death there is life. Death is a natural game changer in our lives, and there is truth in that through death there is rebirth, so I would like introduce myself by sharing my experience with death.
By Megan Beers7 years ago in Families
6 Tips for Less Stress Parenting
Are the kids driving you bonkers? Do you feel stressed out all the time and in need of some help? Whether you are a new parent, or you have a toddler, school age, or teenager, parenting can be hard, especially if the other parent isn’t able to be involved. Let’s take a closer look at what stress can do to you and tips to help relieve some of it too.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
Love, Hugs, and Last Chances
When I lost my 14-year-old son to a tragic accident, I was plunged into a world of utter darkness. The light had gone out in my world. Everything moved in slow motion, and I would only hear the sounding of my heart trying to stop beating. The pain was so unbearable, I thought for sure I would not live until morning.
By Pattie Warner-lee7 years ago in Families
Seven Ways to Teach Children More About the Environment
It is essential to teach children about the environment, so that they will want to protect it from the dangers of pollution that harm the air, soil and water. Parents and teachers can help children to learn more about the environment in a variety of ways.
By Mikkie Mills7 years ago in Families
Hide-And-Seek
Paige was our youngest daughter. Youngest of three, in fact. Julie and Michelle were in their early 20s and in college, starting at life. Kenan would be so proud. He used to say, “Thank the Lord for my beautiful black girls.” We buried him on Julie’s 21st birthday. The honor guard sounded their rifles, each shot shaking my insides. Then, they took the neatly-folded flag in white gloves and walked uniformly to me, and handed me the fabric for which Kenan had fought and died. And it was everything I could do, not to crumble. I had to be strong for my daughters.
By David McKelly7 years ago in Families
3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Family
Am I Ready to Start a Family? There are some things in life that take major planning, and starting a family falls into this category. The number one concern that most people have when talking about this subject matter is money. Do they make enough money to support a family? I am sure that everyone knows that it is expensive to have children. The next thing would be the time management that is required to have a work-life balance in this economy. A child or children will need to feel secure and confident that their needs are going to be taken care of; this is a part of the equation. Let your mind take flight with the simple question being, are you ready to start a family? These are simple yes and no questions that you can answer.
By Mikkie Mills7 years ago in Families
What to Do When Your Child's Pet Dies
“Our dog Chloe was really old for a dog, and couldn’t do that much stuff anymore. She couldn’t see or hear, so someone came to our house and put her to sleep. I felt really, really sad, because she was a good, behaving dog. I started crying. The whole family was sad because they loved her. I still miss her,” says nine-year-old Audrey Jones. There’s no doubt having a pet is a special part of childhood. Pets bring joy and fun to a household. So how do you handle it when that pet dies?
By Kerrie McLoughlin7 years ago in Families
Stocking Up On Meals Before (and After) Baby’s Arrival
Let’s get real here. Once your baby arrives, you won’t have time for basic hygiene, let alone cooking. Babies are on their own time schedule, which means when you’re ready to prepare a fabulous five-course meal, your crying bundle of joy is ready to be held nonstop. And who wants to spend Baby’s future college fund on take-out? Besides, the goal is to lose the baby weight, not to pack on more pounds eating pizza day and night just because it’s a quick fix.
By Kerrie McLoughlin7 years ago in Families
