Christmas is a magical time for children, when they dream of possibilities and eagerly await opening their presents. Most families have traditions around setting up their Christmas tree and opening gifts. My family bought the tree together but my father decorated the tree in secret. After we came home from church on Christmas eve, we sang carols as we came down the stairs to a tree lit with real candles.

Before opening gifts we sang more Christmas carols and read the Christmas story in English and German. There was a pile of gifts for each person and it was your typical pandemonium as we opened gifts and shouted out look, look at what I got. As I fondly remember my childhood holidays, what I remember most are the traditions we shared as a family. There are only 2 gifts I recall from my childhood which makes me question what’s really important? READ MORE

Are you busy taking care of others, fulfilling commitments and there’s never time for yourself? You’re not alone as women are natural caretakers BUT we need to take care of ourselves too! Here are ideas to help YOU make time to enjoy this holiday season. Happy Holidays to all of you!

What’s important during the holiday season? What memories do you have from your childhood? When your children were young? You’ll quickly remember things you did with people who were special in your life, like baking cookies with grandma. Very few memories are about gifts although that’s what the media is promoting as we’re a consumer (read “consume”) driven society. READ MORE

Gingerbread houses are special in my family and it was interesting to start my handyman business, where houses take on a whole new meaning. I personally enjoy working on gingerbread houses, from mixing the batter and backing the pieces to whipping up the frosting for the kids to use in construction. With a gingerbread house I can easily see all the pieces and have fun creating something that is uniquely mine.

Our family’s gingerbread house tradition started many years ago, when my younger son was six. When his older brother started trombone lessons, Ryan decided he too must take music lessons. My best friend taught piano so off Ryan went for his weekly piano lesson … but some days he just wasn’t ready to sit still. One week he brought home our first gingerbread house, and every year since then, we’ve made at least one gingerbread house as a family. READ MORE