by Gayla | Feb 19, 2013 | attitude, Blog, boundaries, co-parenting, conflict, loyalty conflict, successful stepparenting
I’m addressing a question today I received from a reader. How do you cope as a stepmom when you’re dealing with a biological mom who is belittling to you and doesn’t want you in her children’s lives? The stepmom role becomes harder when the bio...
by Gayla | Jan 30, 2013 | attitude, Balance, Blog, conflict, Grace, stepfamily relationships, Uncategorized
It’s easy to think we must be perfect in our stepfamily interactions and make huge steps every day to strengthen our relationships. But that isn’t true. Small steps on a regular basis can result in huge dividends with your stepfamily. Here are ten easy...
by Gayla | Dec 13, 2012 | attitude, Blog, Faith, feelings, hope, perseverance, Prayer, stepfamily holiday tips, stepfamily relationships
The facebook status of my friend was heart-breaking:”After 25 years of working for the same company, my wonderful hard working amazing husband was told he does not have a job. Our world has turned upside down…” A hard situation to face at the holiday...
by Gayla | Nov 27, 2012 | attitude, Blog, feelings, stepfamily holiday tips, stepfamily relationships, stepparenting choices
I’ll never forget the first holiday season our family celebrated together. My husband and I had married in mid-October and the holidays descended upon us before we could get settled in our new surroundings. My expectations of a joyous holiday season quickly...
by Gayla | Nov 7, 2012 | attitude, Blog, co-parenting, conflict, stepfamily holiday tips
Taken from our e-book, “Unwrapping the Gift of Stepfamily Peace,” I want to share some thoughts on how to make co-parenting work. Our son, Nathan, hangs with a friend whose parents are divorced. Nathan came back from a birthday party, talking about...
by Gayla | Sep 12, 2012 | attitude, Blog, character, feelings, love, loyalty
“I don’t feel the same way toward my stepchildren as I do my biological children,” a stepmother recently admitted. “I feel guilty when I say that, but it’s the truth.” “That’s okay, ” I replied. “The...
by Gayla | Aug 15, 2012 | attitude, Balance, Blog, expectations, Prayer, stepparenting choices
Our youngest son started middle school last week as a 6th grader and has had some intimidating moments at his new school. He started off in the wrong classroom for homeroom but didn’t discover it until the teacher called roll. He left to go to the correct...
by Gayla | Jul 3, 2012 | attitude, Blog, Faith, feelings, stepfamily relationships
In browsing search terms that determine how people find my blog, I notice periods of time–such as long, summer months–when stepparents reach out for help more than others. Below are some of the recent search terms listed by stepparents. Do any of these...
by Gayla | May 2, 2012 | attitude, Blog, love, stepmother role, successful stepparenting
As I continue my stepmom stories from our Stepping with Purpose e-book, I’m including one today from Laura Petherbridge, co-author of The Smart Stepmom. I think you’ll find her story encouraging. “If I’m being totally honest there were times in...
by Gayla | Apr 24, 2012 | acceptance, attitude, Blog, Change, Faith, hope, stepfamily relationships
In honor of Mother’s Day in 2011, Heather Hetchler and I put together an e-book of encouraging stories written by stepmoms for stepmoms. We offered the book, Stepping with Purpose, to bring hope to stepmoms who often have a difficult day on Mother’s Day....
by Gayla | Feb 28, 2012 | attitude, Balance, Blog, character, feelings, love
If you watched any portion of the Academy Awards Sunday night, you must have noticed the number of women who looked unusually thin. And the media makes it worse by talking about how good these women look! I love this post by Christina Katz and am re-posting it with...
by Gayla | Feb 21, 2012 | attitude, Blog, expectations, feelings, Guilt, hope, stepfamily relationships, stepparenting choices
Do you find yourself comparing the growth of your stepfamily to your neighbor’s next door? Do you talk to your stepmom friend at work and wonder why her stepfamily seems to be having such smooth sailing while your family is stuck in the muck? My husband...