Relationships & Family

"I Carry Hope With Me"

admin — Mon, 01 Jan 2001 08:21:00 -0600

For more than 40 years, I have studied some of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. Much of that time I lived among the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, East Africa, observing them for hours, filling notebooks with accounts of their behavior. More recently, alarmed by the harm we have inflicted on the natural world, I have turned my energies to the protection of wildlife and the environment.

Mother and Daughter Reunite After 38 Years

batch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:05:08 -0500

A German mother was reunited with her long-lost daughter last week, seeing the child for the first time since the Communist secret police had taken her baby away in 1971.

Petra Hoffmann, who is now 55, gave birth to a daughter when she was only 16. Because the child's father was considered a dissident who had been jailed for speaking out against the hardline government, the Stasi secret police came to claim the child.

It's Still a Wonderful Life

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:16:50 -0600

We see it on television every Christmas: a movie that continues to be a favorite from generation to generation.

And as It's A Wonderful Life nears its climax, there's a scene that always gives me a shiver. Because I know the story behind it.

Toddler Helps Deliver Brother

batch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:05:06 -0600

According to gnn.com, when Bobbye Favazza went into labor at home, she called her mother saying she felt the baby coming. She had been expecting to deliver via cesarean section a few weeks later, which is why she was caught off guard.

Her mother immediately called the paramedics, and while Favazza was waiting for them to arrive, she found that she had a very good chance of giving birth in her own home. In what proved to be an inspirational story, her 2-year-old son Jeremiha helped deliver the baby.

A Double Healing

jbloustein — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:46:36 -0500

"Bonnie, help me!” I bolted upright in bed, the words ringing in my ears.

I turned over and looked at the clock through bleary eyes. It read 2:00 a.m. Beside me, my husband slept soundly. I must have been dreaming…I thought.

I certainly knew the voice that had cried out for my help. It was my ex-husband, Owen.

No man had caused me more pain than Owen had before our divorce. Eight years later I couldn’t think of him without resentment. But the words I heard had been so clear, so desperate. Bonnie, help me!

Blended Family Traditions

batch — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:05:09 -0500

This month, some families are observing not one but two special celebrations: Passover and Easter.

Injured Soldier Given a Dream Home with Help of Volunteers

batch — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:05:07 -0600

When Corporal Visnu Gonzalez returned home from Iraq five years ago, he was paralyzed from the chest down due to a sniper's bullet.

CBS reports that since then, he'd been in and out of hospitals, without really being able to settle down.

This recently changed when the non-profit organization Homes for Our Troops heard about Gonzalez' story and wanted to help. They recruited volunteers to help build Gonzalez his dream house that he would be able to fully function in.

Stepdad

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:39:52 -0500

Our wedding was at our minister's house. A small group of friends crowded into the living room. All of them had told me they were happy for me because I'd finally found the woman of my dreams.

We made our vows and I fumbled for the ring to put on Kathy's finger. I almost dropped it because all I could think of was the boy standing next to me, Kathy's seven-year-old son, Jonathan.

How Do They Do It?

jbloustein — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:39:55 -0500

My husband had been out of town less than a day when Olivia came down with the stomach flu.

My first thought was, “Oh no—not when Phil is away!” I know there are armies of strong women out there who can clean up six vomiting kids without even mentioning to their husbands that they are having a rough day, but I am not one of them.

When stomach flu hits our house, I holler for my husband like a toddler calling for her mommy.