Navigating a new family

Navigating a new family

It takes courage to walk into a ready-made family and love someone else’s children…and someone else’s husband. You see, I married a widower with two…


Helping your kids when the home is splintered

Half of all children in the United States will witness the ending of a parent’s marriage. Of this half, close to 50% will also see the breakup of a…


Two funerals and a wedding: 3 principles of grief in a stepfamily

It was a sunny Fourth of July weekend. Red roses and navy ribbons were the ideal backdrop for my fiancé, Robbie, and me to join in matrimony. With…


Stepmom: The place between rock and hard

When I saw the uncontrollable shaking shoulders of my stepdaughter-in-law as she wept at our wedding, I knew the stepmom life was going to be harder…


Life isn’t television

I have twins, Aspen & Annalise. Pictured here on their 12th birthday and 1st birthday.