Tag: Family & Home

From a Reader: ‘One Thanksgiving at a Time’

April 1989: I was 48 years old. On the surface, I was doing quite well. But underneath the façade of my many successful family, professional, and community accomplishments was a life in turmoil. I was so empty. No matter what I had accomplished, I was always on to the next project. I suffered from the…


Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Gratitude

Ingratitude has somehow become vogue in the United States. It seems that the more we progress in technology, science, entertainment options, food and clothing accessibility, self-managing appliances, and a laundry list of other blessings, the more opportunities there are to complain rather than be thankful. Even the middle-class and some lower-class individuals and families in…


Root and Branch: The Joys and Labors of Genealogy

Norman Rockwell’s 1959 painting “Family Tree” offers viewers an entertaining and instructive look at ancestry and pedigree. A pirate who weds a Spanish beauty, a Confederate and a Union soldier, a Native American woman, a mountain man and cowboy, a starchy New England clergyman—all these progenitors lead to a modern-day couple and their smiling son….


5 Design Choices That Make Your Home Easier to Clean

Typically, we design and decorate our homes to fit our sense of style—and then those decor choices dictate our cleaning routines. We dust our open shelving weekly, and wipe down the marble countertop daily. But what if the process was reversed? What if we designed our homes to make them as easy to clean as…


Hard Times, Strong Men

A certain quote has been making the rounds on social media this past year. Its pervasiveness is an indication of its relevance. Of unknown origin, the quote reads: “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times.” It’s an accurate description of the…


Woman Shares Her Love With Sweetest, Caring Fiancé Who Has Cerebral Palsy and Hearing Impairment

A woman who fell in love with a man with hearing impairment and cerebral palsy shares their journey, from falling in love to planning their wedding, navigating the world as an interabled couple as they go. Elyse Rucker of Arkansas and her fiancé, Jason Flynn, did not just fall in love despite their differences, but…


Baby in Patriotic Onesie With Hand on Heart Becomes Boy Who Salutes During National Anthem

A baby who was once dressed in an American flag onesie and captured in a sweet photo with his hand on his heart has grown up to be a very patriotic 5-year-old. Cooper Routon of Arab, Alabama, has gone viral for an unprompted salute to the flag as the national anthem played prior to a…


This Organizing Trick Is the Quickest Way to Get Your Home Ready for Guests

Once you’ve lived in your home for a while, you start to not really see it anymore. The art on your walls, the pillows on your couch, and the clutter on your countertop become such fixtures in your space that you simply stop noticing them. But when guests come over, they’re sure to see it…


VIDEO: Woman Saved a Baby Java Sparrow Found On The Ground; Now He Visits To Sing To Her

A fellow named Dave on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, stumbled across a tiny creature crawling in the wet grass in 2019—it was a delicate, helpless baby bird. Dave looked for a nest or mother bird but could find neither. Not knowing what to do, he put the creature in his pocket to keep it…


Daughter Holds Wedding Ceremony in Dying Mom’s Hospital: ‘It Was Such a Small Gift to Give Her’

A beautiful bride who wanted her mother to be a part of her wedding day planned to have her vows held at her mother’s hospital chapel. While terminal cancer took away her mother’s life the very next day, she cherishes the precious memories that were made, and her mother’s final “Thank you,” for a lifetime….