This blog is about our shaken, stirred, and blended home that we are trying to keep from ever being served to our four children as “on the rocks.”

Sure, the road in front of that home is sometimes rocky, paved with ex-spouses who are often less than helpful, but as soon as our children walk through the front door, the blended mix of warmth, love, respect, and genuine care for each each other is what makes our home a safe haven that the kids have come to rely on over the past year or so.

I hope that this blog can somehow serve as a useful tool to anyone who is trying to blend a family, especially if you happen to be from different countries as well. We have found that cultural differences play a not insignificant role in many of our arguments. So, in addition to the typical blended family stresses of vacation provisions, moving school districts, and transitioning kids to other houses at different times in different parts of town, we have some very fundamental differences in how we look at the world in general. Luckily, we love each other as much as we love ourselves, and, knowing that love can always overcome any differences, we just like to think of ourselves as your typical blended family – on steroids.