Before I share my column, I just have to give thanks to my heavenly Father today for the precious gift of these two men. First, my dad, Neil Allen… That photo is from 1969. I was about a year old. I am so blessed to have always had a loving, strong, faithful father actively involved [...]

*I’ve gotten a little behind on sharing my columns on my blog. Here is the one from June 1st…with pictures!* My heart has been aching from missing my grandmother Honey this week. Because we’re coming upon what was arguably her favorite day of the year—the first Sunday in June. I think she liked it better [...]

For the most part, I’m happy it’s springtime. I love seeing the colorful flowers dancing beneath blue skies when I open my windows each morning. I love the kids playing outdoors for hours, and wearing short sleeves and flip-flops again. Though we’ve had a couple of 85-degree days that were a little too hot and [...]

You’ve probably heard the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” And that is fine and dandy advice for tackling a behemoth when one encroaches into our lives. But what do you do when you’re faced with a parade of thick-hided pachyderms, like Mowgli in Disney’s “The Jungle Book” when [...]

Let’s face it – kids aren’t cheap. According to 2009 figures from the Department of Agriculture, middle-income Americans can expect to spend $286,050 to raise a child from infancy through age 17. That’s including a 3 percent rate of inflation but doesn’t include college tuition. So my friends who have four children can truly say [...]