Tom and Debi
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Category Archives: Parenting
Transitions
Ask any woman who has experienced natural childbirth what transition was like and you’ll most likely get a grimace. Transitions are hard and there is usually no way around them but through. When our son was born my labor progressed … Continue reading
Growth Through Heartache
I referred to it in our last post. Today I want to share the story that took our marriage from the honeymoon stage to the next level of intimacy–growth through heartache. Tom and I wanted children. We had decided on … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Newlyweds, Parenting, Seasons of Life
Tagged heartache, Lasting Love, marriage, Miscarriage
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Five Friday Favorites – Firsts
This week we celebrated the 41st anniversary of our first date. While out to dinner tonight I told Tom if there was any day I could watch as it happened, I would love to see our first date. What did … Continue reading
Where Do You Lean? by Jason Walter
We begin my Mother’s Day Gift series by introducing you to our firstborn, Jason. He and his wife, Ashley, will celebrate their 12th anniversary on June 3rd. They have four children and live in Tennessee. _______________________ I was reading in … Continue reading
Happy False Labor Day NOT!
It was February of 1984. I was 24, Tom was 29. We were expecting our second baby any day. I was 10 days past my due date, when the familiar labor pains began. I was ready to meet my baby. … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Diapers, Toddlers & Romance, Oh My, Difficulty, Keeping It Real, Parenting
Tagged C-Section, False Labor, Happy False Labor Day, Life gives you lemons make lemonade
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Vintage Post – I’m Exhausted Part II
This is Part 2 of our series titled, Diapers, Toddlers & Romance, Oh My, where we are talking about how to keep the home fires burning in the midst of raising a family. Yesterday we began by talking about the element of … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Conflict, Diapers, Toddlers & Romance, Oh My, Encouraging Your Spouse, Keeping It Real, Parenting, Seasons of Life
Tagged Parenting, Romance when you are exhausted
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Vintage Post – I’m Exhausted Part I
It’s amazing how much energy is required to raise a family, yet with each baby that’s born time doesn’t slow down. It marches on whether you’re in step or not. How can a couple continue to make the most of … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Diapers, Toddlers & Romance, Oh My, Keeping It Real, Parenting, Seasons of Life
Tagged Parenting, Romance when you are exhausted
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Decades of Marriage – The Second Ten Years
You’ve just celebrated your 10th wedding anniversary. Congratulations! Many couples don’t make it this far, so you must have learned some degree of communication skills to get you to this point. You are to be commended. Just about the time … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Growing Strong Marriages, Parenting, Seasons of Life
Tagged Decades of Marriage, Raising Teens
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Decades Of Marriage – The First Ten Years
A decade is a long time–ten years, to be exact and much happens in this span of time. Just consider the past ten years of your life? Where were you in 2006? How have you changed? How has your marriage … Continue reading
Are You Free To Do This In Your Home?
It is greatly needed in every home, yet oftentimes life gets so serious that months can go by and we haven’t even thought about it much less found a reason to do it. But we encourage you to find venues … Continue reading
Posted in Blog Love, Christian Marriage, humor, Parenting, Seasons of Life
Tagged Banned From Chick-Fil-A, Flu Parody, Free To Laugh, humor, Jordan Watts, laughter
2 Comments
Full Hearts With Empty Arms
March was a whirlwind of a month for us, and it’s taken me until now to recover. I was away from home for 27 days helping my daughter get ready for her 4th baby to come, and helping our son … Continue reading
When You’re Not Living Your Happily Ever After
Face it. Most of us married with rose-colored glasses on. We expected our love would carry us through whatever storms life sent our way. But.life.is.hard. Tom and I married when I was only 19 and he was 24. I moved … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Christian Marriage, Conflict, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Parenting, Seasons of Life, The Gospel & Marriage, Troubled Marriage
Tagged Natalie Grant, No Happily Ever After, Troubled Marriage, When I Leave The Room
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Tired But Happy
It’s a week before Christmas, and our house is busy, busy, busy–wiping noses, changing diapers, playing crash, coloring, blowing bubbles and such. All 6 of our grandchildren are here through Christmas–yea! We have gingerbread houses to decorate, cookies to bake, … Continue reading
‘Twas A Christmas To Remember
I’ve written the following poem for your enjoyment, but in addition, we believe it displays a possible reason many who read our blog struggle to romance their spouse in big and special ways. However, romance is much more than the … Continue reading
Happy Hour
This week’s Happy Hour special comes from a blog I just discovered. The writer, Lisa-Jo Baker, knows how to tell a story so well that you won’t want the post to end. This particular one is the perfect follow-up to … Continue reading
Posted in A Fragrant Aroma, A Marriage Flight, Blog Love, Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Encouraging Your Spouse, Growing Strong Marriages, Happy Hour, Parenting, Seasons of Life, Showing Honor
Tagged Huffington Post, Lisa-Jo Baker, Minivan, Real Love, Romance
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25+ Ways To Bless Your Spouse When You’re Expecting
There is nothing that changes the dynamic of your marriage so quickly as hearing these two words: We’re pregnant! Within days the morning sickness (or all day sickness, in some cases) kicks in and the wife is taken out of her … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, communication, Diapers, Toddlers & Romance, Oh My, Encouraging Your Spouse, Growing Strong Marriages, Husbands, Newlyweds, Parenting, Priorities, Roles In Marriage, Seasons of Life, Showing Honor, The Gospel & Marriage, Wives
Tagged Christ, Fruit of the Holy Spirit, God, Holy Spirit, Lord, marriage, Marriage and Pregnancy, Pregnancy, We're Expecting, Wife
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Weeping For Boston
The following is our son, Jason’s, third guest post. He is becoming so popular we may just have to keep him as our Thursday feature. Today’s post is sobering to say the least–it had this Mama crying, as it very … Continue reading
Oh Happy Day
Friday I was working in the kitchen when I heard a knock on the front door. I opened the door only to find my two granddaughter’s Bristol (5) and Willow (3) standing there all alone with big smiles on their … Continue reading
What Weddings Can Help Us See
Today we have the privilege of witnessing the vows of our life-long friends’ daughter. It is a day to celebrate, because on this day her parents will receive the reward from their years of investment in her life. As he … Continue reading
The Romantic Vineyard 