Family

24th of July | 4th of July | Birthdays | Christmas | Dia de los Muertos | Easter | Family | Family Culture | Family Traditions | First Snowfall | Last Day of School | New Year's | St. Patrick's Day | Thanksgiving | Valentine's Day

Our Family Traditions

I come from a family rooted in tradition. Our traditions take many forms, from big family gatherings to recipes to silly little things we do year after year. Some are meaningful, some are ridiculous, and some have been around so long I’m not even sure any of us remember how they started. But I really…

Read More Our Family Traditions
Conversations with Yourself | Identity | Purpose

First time I Saw My Fat

I was nine years old when I begged my mom to throw this picture away. I thought I looked fat. That was the whole reason. It is the first photo I can remember looking at and thinking, wait, is that what I look like? She kept it anyway. I am so grateful she did. It…

Read More First time I Saw My Fat
Christmas | Extended Family | Family | Family Traditions | Marriage | Recipes

The Taggart Family Christmas Feast

My family has eaten basically the same meal every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember. And when I say the same meal, I mean THE SAME MEAL. If you have a copy of our family cookbook, you’ll already know the menu. But for those of you who don’t, let me introduce you….

Read More The Taggart Family Christmas Feast
Conversations with Your Kids | Creating a Haven | Family | Family Culture | Family Rhythms | Marriage | Raising Kids

75 Questions That Will Get Your Kids Talking

I used to think knowing my kids was automatic. I made them! Of course I know them. But our kids change constantly, and the parts that change fastest are the parts we can’t see, their fears, their friendships, what they’re proud of, what they’re quietly worried about at eleven o’clock at night. If we’re only…

Read More 75 Questions That Will Get Your Kids Talking
Conversations with Your Kids | Conversations with Your Spouse | Creating a Haven | Family | Family Culture | Family Rhythms | Marriage | Raising Kids

Creating Deeper Connections with Your Kids

Connecting with, and showing love to my kids is the most important part of parenting for me. More than anything, I want them to understand that I will always love them unconditionally – no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Countless hours of research have proven the importance of parents unconditionally loving their children. Parental…

Read More Creating Deeper Connections with Your Kids
Christmas | Recipes

Christmas Stuffed Mushrooms

I’m giving you my mom’s Christmas Stuffed Mushrooms because these deserve to escape the confines of the Taggart family cookbook. They’re filled with sausage, cream cheese and Swiss cheese and have been part of our Christmas Feast for as long as I can remember.

Read More Christmas Stuffed Mushrooms
Books | Creating a Haven

The Children’s Books We Read on Repeat: A Year on Our Shelf

Throughout my children’s childhood, at some point, I stopped keeping our children’s books in one big pile and started sorting them by season. It wasn’t really a system. I was just tired of digging past a stack of bunnies to find the one about the ghosts. But the sorting did something I didn’t expect, it…

Read More The Children’s Books We Read on Repeat: A Year on Our Shelf
Conversations with Yourself | Faith

Faith Crisis

I almost left the church ten years ago. I felt hoodwinked. Tricked. Like everything I had been taught was either a lie or, at best, only part of the story. Anyone who has been through a faith crisis knows it is not pretty. Losing a foundation you were certain about is terrifying. In 2015 I…

Read More Faith Crisis
Creating a Haven | Creativity | tiles

How a Lump of Clay Turned Into My Dream Kitchen: The Delft Tile Saga

When I looked up how much real Delft tiles cost, a little piece of my heart died. I’m talking $80 a tile. And I needed over 100 tiles for a whole backsplash. My dream kitchen priced itself right out of my budget before I’d even started. I sat with that disappointment for a while because…

Read More How a Lump of Clay Turned Into My Dream Kitchen: The Delft Tile Saga
Christmas | Extended Family | Family | Family Traditions

Christmas Traditions with My Parents and Siblings since 1979

If you’ve read anything else I’ve written about family traditions, you already know I blame my mother for all of this. I grew up in a family that LOVES a tradition. My parents were really intentional about making holidays feel special, and Christmas was the freaking Super Bowl. Our Taggart Family Christmas Party has been…

Read More Christmas Traditions with My Parents and Siblings since 1979

Abi Ayres

Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you found something worth reading, making, trying, or sharing.

Quick Links

An inbox you’ll look forward to reading