Autumn Cramer Kia Kaha

Divorce and combining two families is something that could be very difficult for one to go through. However, I want to talk about how there are blessings and miracles through some of these hardships. I want to share a story from one of my best friends. She comes from a combined family, and the way she talks about her family you never would’ve known they were anything but blood. I know that everything happens for a reason. We may not know the reasoning behind everything, but we can find joy in our trials. My friend’s mom passed away when she was seven years old. Her mom left behind my friend and her two younger brothers. Her father shortly after we married a woman who had three kids and had gone through a divorce. What once was two families of five, now became one family of eight. This was not something that was easy for my friend. She had to learn how to love her new siblings. The first few years were very hard, but her family was able to build their relationships upon understanding an...

There is truly no one way to parent a child. Both the husband and the wide will have different techniques or ideas about how to parent. Every child needs to be parented differently. This may seem like a lose-lose situation. It would be so easy to just google “how to be a good parent” and expect all the answers to fall in your lap… but instead you’ll find so many different views. For examples here are the top 10 most famous parenting quotes on Google: “Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.” –Carl Jung “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” –Anne Frank “If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent.” –Bette Davis “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” –Frederick Douglass “One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.” –Jane Goodall “The best w...

  In my home my dad is often heard saying, “happy wife, happy life.” That is the kind of husband my dad it is. I often wish they had one for my dad too, because he deserves to be happy too. We tend to not give fathers the credit they deserve for all that they do. Before I go into a more personal perspective let me discuss a few points talked about in an article “The Involved Father” by Glenn T Staton. The author focuses solely on the impact that fathers have on their children, because a father can not be replaced or replicated by anyone else. The article addresses 7 main points: Father’s Parent Different: There is a reason why a baby can tell the difference between mom and dad, it’s because as parents they have differences. This helps the children learn how to interact with different people & personalities from the start. Seeing the different parenting techniques will allow the children to deal with life with a broader perspective. Father’s Play Different: We have all seen a f...

  Whenever you ask someone what is the key to a successful relationship they always say, “COMMUNICATION” and they would not be wrong. However, to simply say that it is just communication would be a stretch. What does communication even mean? I communicate with people all the time and don't have a strong relationship with everyone I have ever talked to. That is why just communicating is not enough to have a successful relationship with those around us and especially our family members. If we dig a bit deeper we will actually find that the KEY to communication does not involve any words at all, rather it all begins by being a good listener. Let me share a few quotes that I feel illustrate this concept better than my own words can: “The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”-Unknown “If you think communication is all talk, you haven’t been listening.” -Ashley Brilliant “Be as passionate about listening as you are about being heard.”-Brene...

  We have all heard the saying “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” yet I don’t think we really sit back and separate the two. It is important to take time to think about those things that could have “killed you” and then also how they have made you “stronger.” As a family unit we all go through so many experiences that sometimes we forget to stop and analyze a little bit deeper as to how our family’s ups and downs have affected us individually and as a whole. Let us first address these things that could “kill” our family. These are the crises that happen that act as stressors in the family. A crisis can be big or small, here is a list of common ones: death of child or spouse, getting a divorce, physical or sexual abuse, handicapped family member, chronic illness, a spouse has an affair, drug or alcohol abuse, and so many others. All of these crises can arise at any time in a family. At one point or the other a family will have to go through one or multiple crises. Persona...

            I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a topic that can be a bit controversial and also very sensitive to some people. I usually try to make my blogs relatable to all people, but today I want to discuss how sex is often seen as a taboo topic from the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints. Before I start let me make this VERY clear, the doctrine and teachings of the prophets and apostles has always been presented correctly. However, as individual members we have created a culture that makes talking freely about things like sex, pornography , or masturbation almost impossible.  Many people have complained to me that there is not enough proper teachings in the church about these topics, however, I would like to argue that there is endless information given by the leaders of the church. It is us who choose not to seek the right information and teach it properly. Why would this be an issue? It is importa...

  I am not a blogger. I have never been good and writing down how I feel. Nor do I think being vulnerable to strangers. I keep a personal journal from time to time, but I usually don’t broadcast my thoughts and experiences in a super public setting. I know what I have to say does have value and can help people, but I am not one to take time out of my life to share my story with others. I tend to be one of those people that has a very close, tight knit circle of people in my life and don’t care too much about what other people outside of that circle may think of me. Now, I am setting myself up to sound like a total jerk right? Well I promise you that I am not. I love serving people, making conversation with strangers, and having deep discussions with people. I love connecting with people and seeing others succeed. However, I know that I sometimes care too much. I can give 110%, while the other person is only giving me 50%, and yet I still feel like there’s more I could be doing. Tha...