Family Foundations
God’s Plans and Family Planning
Interview by Anne Marie Stroud. Originally published in Family Foundations. FF: Tell us a little about how your husband Colin and you met and started out on your journey of marriage. Despite only living only an hour and a half apart, Colin and I did not meet until we were both in Florida, attending college.…
Read MoreNFP Brought Down a Wall Between Us
Written by Teaching Couple Mitchell and Chelsea Duplantis. Originally published in Family Foundations. Chelsea: I started taking the birth control pill when I was in high school. All of my friends were on it and I was also beginning to date, so I thought it was a smart idea. I was loosely raised Catholic, but…
Read MoreOvercoming Postpartum Challenges: Coaching May Be a Solution
Written by By Melissa Gorley. Adapted from a Family Foundations article by Melissa Gorley. The postpartum season is one of joys and challenges. The joy of holding that precious baby makes all the hard work worth it, but there are also challenges including charting the return to normal menstrual cycles. Coupled with a renewed respect…
Read MoreThree Generations of Postpartum Perspective
Written by Mike Manhart. Originally published in Family Foundations in 2022. Our home currently shelters three generations and is providing an interesting “grandparent” perspective on postpartum. Our youngest daughter had her first child in September and her husband was deployed 10 days later. Since then, she’s been staying with us, and it has provided a…
Read MoreThe Hardest Job You’ll Ever Love
Written by Katie Zulanas. Originally published in Family Foundations in 2022. Oh, how true that is! Whether it refers to parenthood, or marriage, or another vocation, our life’s work, sincerely pursued, inevitably runs into suffering and sacrifice. Your true vocation will be the hardest job you’ll ever love—and despite that–it is worth it! Postpartum is…
Read MorePreparing for Postpartum
Written by Monica Mattuissi. Originally published in Family Foundations in 2022. Recently, when praying the Rosary, I was meditating on the second joyful mystery of the Visitation, when Mary makes a journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth. I was struck by Mary’s eagerness to visit her pregnant cousin Elizabeth, as any woman who has been…
Read MoreHumanity- The Crown of Creation
Written by Melissa Gorley In our postpartum season with each of our first two children, I wanted to use cloth diapers. They are more economical in the long run; less waste is better for the environment. My mom used them. I tried … but the laundering! I was a busy young mom, struggling with breastfeeding…
Read MoreOur Family’s Journey with NFP
Originally Published in Family Foundations. Milton and Sandra Garcia share this witness talk with thecouples they teach in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Sandra is a bilingual FSI Coach as well. Sandra: We started as friends, members of the same youth group of our parish. Friendship turned into love and after about two years of dating, we…
Read MoreBetter Marriage Because of NFP
Originally Published in Family Foundations Colleen: I attended Catholic schools which is where I heard about the Church’s teaching against contraception and that there was something called NFP. I didn’t really understand either, but knowing the teaching laid the foundation for my moral conscience. TJ: I went to public schools but was raised in a…
Read MoreThe Fruits of CCL in Hawaii
Written by Anne Marie Williams You are no doubt aware that the Couple to Couple League method often leads naturally to family growth. But embracing the method’s emphasis on service and self-gift regularly yields fruitfulness, growth, and evangelization far beyond users’ immediate families, impacting whole communities and future generations. Here, is the first of a…
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