It’s her eyes and innocent face that first grab your heart. At least they grabbed mine. Annika, a delicate young girl, has been unwittingly handed into virtual slavery by her homeless father.  She faces a bleak future of sweatshop labor and sex-for-sale .  She seems precious, blameless, so undeserving of this hell, but life is cheap for an...

Life as a single mom, though difficult, can be empowering.  It was something I didn’t choose but because I was left with no choice, my two children and I moved forward to grasp what life had to offer. I didn’t change overnight, but I grew with each new step. We haven’t arrived; our scars are deep. It is because of our scars that we are...

A few days ago, we were having a rough day here at La Maison McKenna.We were in a car wreck and then the very next day my daughter Elodie came down with a cold and an ear infection. Everything was all out of whack, including my attitude. Which meant that my heart was out of whack. Jered and I decided that it would be a good idea to go to this...

When tragedy hits and life changes it’s easy to play The Blame Game.   When couples separate, emotions and tension can run very high.  The Blame Game can be a game of who was the worst, who did what, and what am I going to get out of it now. If this game continues, it destroys us.  It keeps us in a vicious cycle of anger and bitterness. We...

Warmth. Safety. Comfort. Acceptance.  These are some words that come to mind when I think of the word “home”.  The Random House Dictionary defines it like this: home (hom), -n.  l. a place of residence. A place of residence - that definition certainly seems misplaced.  It sounds sterile and cold, impersonal and generic, more like the...

Don’t worry about record-breaking gas prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates prices to be $3.79 a gallon this summer, less than in 2008. That’s good news for families considering reviving the tradition of a road trip vacation, one of the best experiences parents and kids can share, says Michael DiLorenzo, author of Adventures...

Being a work-at-home mom certainly has its challenges, especially when it comes to time management. You want a healthy balance between spending time with family and working towards your professional goals. Unfortunately, in today’s society we are bombarded with messages that tell us in order to be successful you must work your fingers to the bones,...