Wasn't it just yesterday that these guys were teenagers?

This is a photo from a family gathering at our home.  Our three sons are totally engaged in a competitive game of Risk.  It's pictures like this that make me smile.  The posed photos are always nice, but capturing three grown men (my sons) having fun together...that kind of picture is my favorite!  Left to right -- Matthew, husband of Marissa, father of Madelyn and Ella, and Football Special Teams Coordinator at Eastern Illinois University; Jonathan, husband of Ashley, first year dental school student at Southern Illinois University; Aaron, husband of Kristin, father of Jenna, and Veterinarian in Waukarusa, IN

Time flies!  (Whether or not you're having fun...So PURPOSE to have a good time!!)

In these times of economic stress "There seems to be an increase in the severity of child abuse cases, including shaken baby syndrome," says Amy Wicks, a spokeswoman for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome in Ogden, Utah. While this may be an extreme example of how stress is manifested, it does raise a caution for parents who are experiencing additional stress. 

Here are a few suggestions I would like to offer all moms and dads:

• The first step is to realize that there IS an increased amount of tension and stress in your family. Acknowledging that fact and facing the reality that stress has the potential to create a volatile environment can be an important step to avoiding such a situation.

I'm not sure moving is supposed to be so much fun!  Jonathan, Ashley, Matthew and I had everything out of the truck and into the apartment by noon.

Don't let the size of my load fool you.  Laundry baskets filled with hangers can be very heavy.  :)

Yes, that is me, having my teeth brushed by Jenna Ruth, one of my sweet little Grandgirls.  You might have noticed that the background is rather unusual for a bathroom.  We are in the woods camping.  What summer fun!!

And there is more... That's Madelyn Grace peering into the seed corn bag with Grandma KK.  We're pretending to help with the planting.  :)

And so that none of my Grandgirls are left out, here  is a photo of Madelyn and her  little sister Ella Jean.  Being a  grandmother is NOT  overrated.  I love it!

"Feelings can be so intoxicating they can sometimes keep teens from recognizing warning signs," (Patti Faughn, University of Illinois)

How can you help your child make good decisions about dating relationships?

• As your child is maturing and getting closer and closer to the age when she is considering dating, take advantage of opportunities to underline the characteristics that are to be valued and admired in others.

I am an orphan. Well, not really. My parents are both deceased. My father died in 1974.  My mother died in 2004. Since that time I have thought of many questions I wish I had asked them. Here are some question ideas from an article in the May issue of Real Simple magazine and some ideas of my own. If you have the opportunity, you might want to take the time to do an interview with your own parents.

Questions you might want to ask your parents:

• "Why/how did you choose your career path?" My father was a dentist. I have no idea why he decided on that occupation. That question has become even more significant to me as our youngest son prepares to enter dental school. If it's in the genes, it definitely skipped a generation.

There's a very interesting cover story in TIME magazine this week titled, Unfaithfully Yours, by Caitlin Flanagan. I was struck by many of Ms. Flanagan's points, including this one; "...marriage, a lasting covenant between a man and a woman can be a vehicle for the nurture and protection of each other...or it can be a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering on the people you supposedly love above all others, most of all on your children." I thought this was a sobering statement in light of the recent media attention on Jon and Kate Gosselin and Mark and Jenny Sanford's troubled marriages.