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“This Is How We Grow” Book Giveaway, Book Club, & More!

We have some exciting things happening with my recently released bestselling memoir, This is How We Grow, and I’d like to share them with you!   GoodReads Giveaway! First, we’ve…

5 Skills of Overcoming…Depression, Grief, PPD, Hormones, Stress, etc., etc.

    It’s important for all of us to learn the skills of overcoming–because life will test us. We will struggle and fall and have to learn to get back…

Beyond “Happiness”: 10 Ways to Increase Joy

We all want to “be happy,” don’t we? We want to feel well, have good times, and enjoy life. Certainly, happiness is a good thing. We may feel happy when…

Discovering Self-Worth: Why is it so hard to Love Ourselves?

Why is it so hard? I’ve given a lot of thought to this question over the years, because the number one issue I see in my psychology practice is a…

Parenting Success Skills: Inspire Kids to “Grow” w/ Family Goal-Setting

No, it’s not usual for me to post three days in a row, but today I simply had to share our New Year’s tradition: family goal-setting. I started doing New…

What I’ve Learned About Personal Growth from a Decade of New Year’s Themes

I know. I just posted yesterday. But one “resolution” I actually made for myself this New Year is to post when I feel like it and write about whatever is…

New Year’s Goal-Setting: 5 Steps to Personal Growth Success

New Year’s is one of the busiest times for goal-setting–for envisioning a new path, for choosing to grow. And if you’re choosing to grow, you’ve come to the right place;…

Give the Gift of Hope

If there is one thing we all need during the holidays and all year long it is hope. Hope in today. Hope in tomorrow. Hope in days to come.  …

“Be of Good Cheer”: 12 Ways to Become More Cheerful

Are you a naturally cheerful person? Sadly, I am not. If I don’t work on it, I can be grumpy, complaining, critical, and downright negative. But, for all who are…

6 Ways to Create a More Peaceful Christmas Holiday

It seems like it gets worse every year–the busyness of the holidays, that is. Between holiday parties and concerts, kids activities, sports and recitals, and holiday decorating, shopping, and food…

The Art of Living Gratefully

I’ve been practicing gratitude for quite some time now. I started a gratitude journal back when I was first married, I’ve studied countless books and research articles on gratitude, and…

“This Is How We Grow” Print Book Birthday Sale! Today Only!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Hibbert! In honor of Dr. Hibbert’s birthday, we’re having a 24-hour sale on the This Is How We Grow print book, November 22nd only! Thinking of holiday…

My New Book is a #1 Amazon Bestseller!

I wasn’t going to write today, but I can’t help myself. You see, as of yesterday, I am a published author, and since I started writing this post, I learned…

“This Is How We Grow” Blog Hop 2013: 10 Ways I “Choose to Grow” Each Day

This Is How We Grow Blog Hop 2013: 10 Ways I Choose to Grow Each Day My family and I have been through our share of rough times. In 2007,…

Invitation: Join My “This is How We Grow” Blog Hop!

  An Invitation to YOU! Join my This Is How We Grow Blog Hop! (in honor of my new book, by the same name!) Theme: “I choose to grow.”  …

Antidepressant? Or Not? 12 Facts on Depression & Medication

As I often tell clients who are depressed or anxious and considering taking a psychotropic medication, “When you need it, you need it.” What I mean is, if medication is…

Relationship Rescue: “The Reconsideration Exercise”

Relationships can be exhausting, especially when we lose sight of the person we really love. We can get so entrenched in our feelings, our position, our hurt, that we fail…

Practicing Patience: 20 Ways to Be More Patient Today

“Patience is a virtue,” it’s been said, and certainly it’s true. When we live with patience, we experience greater peace, joy, and love. We notice and embrace the beautiful parts…

The Value of Authenticity: 5 Ways to Get “Real”

Whenever I post something on Facebook or my blog about how I am really doing, I’m always surprised by the comments I receive. Like the time I posted about staying…

“This is How We Grow”: Understanding The Seasons of Personal Growth

As you may know, I have just finished writing my first book–a memoir about the four years after my sister and brother-in-law died, we inherited our nephews, I had a…

Introducing my “This is How We Grow”© Personal Growth Group! Join Today!

What does personal growth look like for you? I asked this on my facebook page yesterday, and here are some of the answers I received: “Personal growth looks like, not…

“These are my Strengths!” & “This is My Lame-O List!”: How to Embrace Strengths & Weaknesses

We all have our strengths. For instance, I’m good at: 1) writing and public-speaking, 2) talking with my kids and listening to those in need. I’m also good at 3)…

Parenting Success Skills Top 10: #2 The #1 Rule of Parenting–Consistency

If you ask me, “What is the number one rule of parenting?” I will say, “Consistency.” So, why is it #2 on my Top 10 Parenting Success Skills? Well, as…

Parenting Success Skills Top 10: #1 Do Your Own ‘Work’ First

I’ve always said the number one rule of parenting is consistency. And, I still believe that’s true. But, as important as it is to be consistent, there’s one thing even…

Stress Management: 15 Proven Ways to Stress Less (& Smile More!)

Stress Management: 15 Proven Ways to Stress Less (& Smile More!) I’m no stranger to stress. I’ve got a busy life, with six kids, after all!   At least, that’s…

“The Burnout Cure”: Q & A with Author, Julie de Azevedo Hanks, MSW, LCSW

Ever feel burned out? I know I do (more often than I care to admit!). And, I know my friends do. And, I know my clients do. In fact, in…

LET Your Heart DESIRE.

“It is our actions and desires that cause us to become something, whether a true friend, a gifted teacher, or one who has qualified for eternal life.” ~Dallin H. Oaks…

The Positive Psychology of Flourishing! What Is It? & Am I Doing It?

I aspire to live as the crow flies. “Crows fly in sweeping circular arcs across the apron of the sky, using all the available space from horizon to horizon before…

Daily Mindfulness: 6 Ways to Put More “Being” into What You’re “Doing”

“Are you a human being or a human doing?” I love this question. Since I am a doer by nature, this question reminds me there is more to life than…

In Praise of Fathers: 10 Research-Based Ways Dads Impact Kids for the Better

I specialize in working with mothers. I also happen to be a mother. But I’ve always held a deep respect for fathers. I am, of course, the daughter of a…

Summer Self-Improvement: 25 Inspirational Ideas

Summer is here. Again. And that means warmer weather, time at the pool or beach, visiting family and friends, and, for many, changing schedules, travel plans, and time off.  …

How to Get Your Needs Met: 4 Tips on Asking & Receiving

Some time back in graduate school I realized that if I don’t ask for help when I need it, it might never come. Like so many women, I’d spent the…

“Mommy Fails” & Mother’s Day: 3 Messages Every Mom Needs to Hear

Why does Mother’s Day always make me think of all I’m not doing right as a Mother? Every year I try to avoid it, but I can’t escape. The images…

PSI Blog Hop 2013–Moving Beyond Shame: The Ultimate Power of Support and Time

Today, as part of the Postpartum Support International (PSI) Blog Hop 2013, I am happy to host a guest post by colleague and friend, Laura DiVenti. Laura has an incredible…

PSI Blog Hop 2013–16 Things I’d Like My Postpartum Self To Know, 16 Years & 6 Kids Later

It’s cliché, I know, but I certainly wasn’t expecting postpartum depression (PPD). Newly graduated from college and recently married, I couldn’t wait to start a family, to finally become a…

FEEL: How to Cope with Powerful Emotions (plus video)

Powerful emotions can be scary. Grief, anger, sadness, pain, fear, can feel intense, overwhelming, and out of control. We fear feeling powerful emotions because we believe they will overtake us;…

Invitation: PSI Blog Hop-Maternal Mental Health Recovery & Coping

An Invitation to YOU! Postpartum Support International’s 2013 First Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month Blog Hop! Theme: Recovery and Coping Skills   I have been affiliated with Postpartum Support International…

Hearts Breaking in a Broken World: 7 Ways to Heal from Tragedy Together

I remember when the earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. A postpartum mom still in the midst of my own life’s traumas, I got my kids off to school, then…

Why I Feel Like a Loser Mom, & How I Know I’m Really Not

I won’t lie. It’s been a rough week. A perfect storm of trying to meet a deadline for two book proposals while kids were having all kinds of issues, husband…

“Fear Does Not Prevent BAD; It Prevents GOOD.” How to Not Let Fear Get the Better of YOU!

Fear prevents good. That’s what I’ve learned. It’s an inhibitor. It stops us in our tracks. It keeps us from doing the things that might be really good for us….