My five-year-old son looked at me in defiance. Ben did not like his new stepdad ruining his life—watching his TV, making rules in his house. When I didn’t jump to appease my little boy’s angst, he roared, “You love him more than you love me!” My heart gasped. At...
My husband, Robbie, gathered his army supplies and kissed his mother goodbye. He didn’t know it was their last. While he fought in Iraq, she died from heart complications. A year later, ready to grieve, Robbie discovered his father’s house empty of her belongings. To...
When I saw the uncontrollable shaking shoulders of my stepdaughter-in-law as she wept at our wedding, I knew the stepmom life was going to be harder than I thought. Since both my husband and I were widowed, I thought our situation would be less complicated, and...
It was a sunny Fourth of July weekend. Red roses and navy ribbons were the ideal backdrop for my fiancé, Robbie, and me to join in matrimony. With Robbie in his dress blues and me in my white ball gown wedding dress, we looked like royalty. It was a day of...
The first few months into my second marriage were a rude awakening. I thought I knew my new husband well: He was a dedicated Christian, a hard worker, and his children loved and respected him. All the major no-nos checked out. What more was there to know? I’ll never...