A Dynamic Beginning

My wife and I have been married for just about 15 years now and have been blessed with 8 wonderful children ~ 5 boys and 3 girls.

It has been placed on our hearts to write about the challenges and victories of marriage as well as raising children what we consider the right way and which has proven succesful for us. While we all must realize that every family is different, there are some common, fundamental principles which I believe can be followed to achieve successful results across the board.

This is the mission of this blog, to discuss several principles that can help families all over. Share encouraging stories as well as learn from challenges and disappontments in life.

That was just my introduction as we begin this journey....

PRINCIPLE- Have Common Ground. There must be a some common ground of beliefs that the family adheres to in order for there to be unity in the home. This is vital for the success of the family unit. I, being of a "Christian" faith, follow those guidelines in my home. It helps us all to be on the same page when there is any issue because we all are "playing by the same rule book". Imagine playing a game with a close friend and you are playing basketball and he is playing football. When you shoot the hoop in the basket, he runs with the ball to the other end and screams TOUCHDOWN because you didn't tackle him. When you come together and show each other the rules of your games there would obviously be confusion because according to each other you're playing by the rules of your game. This is what I mean in the family unit there must be some common ground. When something comes up, which there always will be, then you can look to the rules for the game of life you've decided to play. And you need all of the family members to be playing the same game otherwise there will be confusion and no common understanding can ever truly be reached. "Christianity" is my choice due to how I was raised as a child, and what rule book you decide to play by is your choice, but make sure everyone in the family is clear as to the rules each are to follow.

As always, if you have any comments feel free to post them,and you can call me at (973) 337-2881. Also, my email is info@photocollageboards.com or visit our website which will be up shortly at www.photocollageboards.com.