Coffee Time Reflections with Silvia Escobar

Last week I gave some suggestions for summer activities for families with kids. Today I’d like to dive into a few things we can do as adults to enjoy the summer. Remember to put them on the calendar and respect those days. Don’t be too quick to cancel them. They have the potential of bringing you… Continue reading Summer Ideas for Adults

When our six kids were younger and at home, we would sit together as the end of a school year came and talked about what we wanted to do in the summer. I would write everyone’s ideas and from there we started with the most mentioned and worked our way down to the least likely… Continue reading Getting ready for summer fun

In raising our six children, we learned many things. Sometimes we learned just in time to put them into practice and sometimes as a result of making mistakes. Among them, there are three things that we were very intentional about implementing. 1. Mutual Respect: There is a belief that is often used as an excuse… Continue reading 3 Aspects of a healthy family

This is the third and final part about The Baggage We Bring to Our Relationships. The first week I shared about the importance of identifying the baggage we carry from our past. Last week I talked about recognizing the role our baggage plays in how we see things and how we react. And today I… Continue reading The baggage we bring to our relationships (part 3 of 3)

Last week I wrote about the baggage we bring into our relationships. The first step I mentioned that is necessary for getting rid of or managing our baggage is identifying it. The next step for today is recognizing the part it plays in the way we see things and our reactions. Have you ever overreacted… Continue reading The baggage we bring to our relationships (part 2 of 3)

In our relationships, we all lug around baggage—a collection of past experiences, traumas, and assumptions that color our perceptions and reactions. This baggage often goes unrecognized until it begins to weigh heavily on the dynamics of our relationships. When my spouse, Arturo, and I encountered rough waters in our marriage, we initially failed to acknowledge… Continue reading The baggage we bring to our relationships (part 1 of 3)

I was in a fitting room the other day and witnessed an interesting scenario; a grandmother, her daughter and the granddaughter, three stalls down from me. There was no one else there, so their voices carried clearly across the room. The grandmother was helping the child try clothes on while the mom went back and… Continue reading 3 Things I’ve learned as a grandparent

When our children were young, Fridays were dedicated to family nights. However, as they grew older and their schedules filled with sports and extracurricular activities, flexibility became essential. Amidst the chaos of daily routines, family time often felt like a chore rather than a joy. Our days blurred together, leaving little room for fun unless… Continue reading Some thoughts on Family Nights

As a child, I rebelled against routine, equating it with boredom and an unexciting life. Despite my resistance, I had routines, whether intentional or not—a common trait among humans. However, I’ve come to realize that intentional routines are key to success in various aspects of life, including exercise, finances, and parenting. Consistency, rather than sporadic… Continue reading How do you get unstuck?

When we were raising our six kids, I did a lot of reading regarding parenting. Like most parents, I was desperate to get it right. While there were some things that worked, some things that didn’t and some things I would definitely not do now, one of my favorites was helping them use language that… Continue reading Helping our kids distinguish between facts and opinions