Why I No Longer Hate the Easter Bunny

by | Mar 30, 2015 | Trends

The Easter Bunny and I have a love/hate relationship. As a mother of young children, I’ve struggled with how much swimming I should be doing against the cultural tide of Easter as a pastel-colored, candy holiday. I’ve wrestled with potentially diminishing Christ and...

Have Courage and Be Kind (A Cinderella Story)

by | Mar 22, 2015 | Trends

I took my daughter Jasmine to the new Disney Cinderella movie this past weekend. While I’ve seen the original many times as a child, I was excited to see this new spin on an old story. What I did not realize was that although it included the traditional love story...

Six Fun Spring Break “Staycation” Ideas

by | Mar 9, 2015 | Trends

If you aren’t one of the lucky ones who get to escape Minnesota’s long winter over spring break to visit someplace exotic, there are still many great opportunities to spend time with your family and create lasting memories. Skip jet-lag and foreign-food tummy troubles...

5 Books to Read this Winter

by | Feb 23, 2015 | Trends

You might have seen the list of 26 Books to Read in 2015 – I filled mine out in January – but I wanted to also share some of the books I’ve been loving lately, in case you’re looking for something but don’t want to get overwhelmed by 26 books. Here’s a list of...

Valentine Family Fun Night

by | Feb 12, 2015 | Trends

Valentine’s Day is on Saturday and oops, you forgot to get your babysitter lined up. Or perhaps a babysitter isn’t really in the budget for you this year. Why not have a family Valentine’s party and save the real date for a time when you can use those two-for-one...

Fifty Shades of Control

by | Feb 5, 2015 | Trends

I read the first book of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy two years ago. There, I’ve said it! I know admitting this will raise some eyebrows. When I joined the Bridging the Gap (BTG) writing team almost three years ago, I learned that one of our goals is to write...