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From Susan Merrill

The Blog

Marriage

Honeymoon Disaster

I thought you would enjoy this story from my friend Lauren Dungy…. What do you remember most about your wedding day? Do the things that went wrong still bring the biggest smiles even now? Did everything go perfectly? Or are the things that didn’t go just right the very things you remember most, and the things that make you laugh even today? Well, my wedding was everything I had hoped it would be. Unfortunately, the journey to our honeymoon destination was not! Tony and I got married in Pittsburgh, but I did not want to spend my wedding night in my hometown. I wanted a romantic evening in an enchanting city, not the Steel City. So after the ceremony and reception, we caught an evening flight to San Francisco. Since there were no direct flights, we arrived pretty late. Then the key broke off in the door of the car that one of Tony’s friends had loaned us. And to top the evening off, the power went out in our hotel. Things were not going as I expected. Now I can look back and smile at our “not what I expected” start. I can also let it remind me about the danger of …

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Parenting

Raising a Cinderella

Cinderella… she was ever hopeful, beautiful, and selfless. She was kind and generous. In stark contrast to Cinderella, her step-sisters were callous, selfish, and lazy. In today’s world, they’d probably have their own credit cards – without a spending limit, use social media as a means for cyber-bullying and believe fame (of any kind) to be the ultimate standard for success. When my daughter was about two years old, she was obsessed with Cinderella and all of the princesses. The Cinderella movie graced our TV practically every evening while I made dinner. It was during one of these nights that I began watching the movie more analytically. I was thinking about what a friend of a friend shared with me. Newly single, she explained how hopeless she felt about dating. “I just wish I could find that prince charming. I’m pretty sure they don’t exist anymore.” My thought is this: Maybe Prince Charming doesn’t exist but neither does sweet kind Cinderella; OR maybe Prince Charming does exist. In which case, he might come to find if you became more like the Cinderella he is searching for. I know it seems like a brutal thought, but I see it everywhere now. …

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Parenting

What I Should have Taught My Daughter: Part 2

When she has a Fender Bender Last night I answered my phone and heard nothing but sobs – I hate those calls. It was my daughter and after what seemed like minutes (but was really seconds) I heard, “Mom, I just got in an accident.” Here’s the story: My daughter went to the mall and parked in the parking garage. By the time she left, it was night and dark. She was talking on her phone as she slowly exited the last level of the garage.. It was a weekday night so the garage was pretty empty. As she was coming down the ramp, she passed a big pickup truck and BOOM…someone backed into her. He was backing out from the space on the other side of the pickup so he didn’t see her coming. Now, my teenage daughter has never had an accident, so she was very rattled. She jumped out of her car. A gentleman in his 50’s jumped out of his car. She immediately said “I am so sorry!” and he said, “No I am so sorry. Are you ok?” Fortunately, they were both fine. As they started looking at the cars he said, “Well I think …

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Encouragement

Music… For Good

At iMOM.com (I work for iMOM) we have a music monitor because, well, there is a lot of bad music out there for kids. And moms need to know about it. So here is a really good music story. It is the story about how music can be used “For Good.” Julia is a senior, and as a 4-year chorus member at Plant High School she is allowed a solo number in the Senior Showcase. Julia had never sung a solo and needed some help. She got it, and closed the show to a tearful, standing ovation. You see, Plant High School has 250 chorus members and four different levels. Julia is the only member to spend four years at the same level. Not a sad thing for Julia, she loved it. She got to know every class as they moved through the program. She got to perform with every beginning chorus for four years and even learned not to wave at her crush, Will, while on stage. So at the Senior Showcase, Julia was featured – by her side, supporting her vocally, two fellow seniors, singing back up are all her crushes from each of her four years, a …

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Parenting

What I Should Have Taught My Daughter:Part 1

When Someone Asks Her Out on A Date It was Friday night, football game. There was a big game that night. I arrived a little late so my daughter went ahead of me. As I round the corner of the concession stand, a group of my friends animatedly grab me and say, ” Susan, where’s _____ (insert name of any of my daughters because I can’t tell everything!)?” I say, “Well, she’s somewhere here.” They say, “So and so, brought her son to the game and he is asking her to homecoming. Where is she?” Well my first thought was, “Oh my goodness. She is going to die.” My daughter is a cautious type that really does not like to be the center of attention. At this point she was only two months into her freshman year of high school and not at all comfortable with the big new world of high school. While most girls would probably like an audience of thousands when asked to a big dance, my daughter is a little more private. Knowing she would be uncomfortable I immediately texted “where are you??? She was hiding up in the stands and, yes, the young man had …

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Parenting

How Much Love

I read this quote, and it was convicting and liberating at the same time… “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.” Mother Teresa Convicting – because I don’t know that in my multi-tasking madness I put enough love into what I am doing. Liberating – because I can’t do it all, but if I do what I can with love it will count more. Today I am going to serve dinner with a little more love =)

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Parenting

Clyde Christensen – Adopted at Birth

My name is Clyde Christensen. I am a husband, a father of three terrific daughters, and I’m an NFL football coach. I don’t know of anyone whose life has been more blessed than mine. I have a great passion and appreciation for the role and benefits which a family (or team of any kind) can have on one’s life. As I look at our own family, and as I look forward and dream of our daughters going on and living fruitful, Godly lives, I see them raising families of their own. But as often as I look forward, I also can’t help but look back and think of how easily my life and thus generations to follow could have been snuffed out before it ever got started. I can’t help but think of a 15-year-old, unwed, pregnant teen who made a courageous decision not to abort her child, but instead gave him a chance at life that over 50 million children since have not had. That child was me. I have never met my birth mother, but I am so grateful for her courage to have her child when it wasn’t and still isn’t to this day the choice of …

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Parenting

Social Networking – Why and What You Need to Know

Social networking is the Internet phenomenon of the decade. It is transforming the way the next generation communicates. Don’t be left behind! It is so important for moms to be in the know before their children begin using new technology or communication tools. Unfortunately, technology is getting away from us – we are too busy to keep up. Several times my children learned how to use a new communication tool before I had even heard of it. They learned it from friends. That puts moms at a distinct disadvantage! It makes it difficult to teach them the correct/responsible/safe way to use something if our kids are already more experienced with it and have already enjoyed using it without parental guidance, and sometimes even consent. Social Networking: why you need to know about it from Family First on Vimeo. Social Networking: what you need to know from Family First on Vimeo.

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Encouragement

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A – do you love it as much as we do? 3 days in a row for me. Blame it on my growing son! Watch comedian Tim Hawkins and laugh at his tribute to CFA.

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