Raising 8: A couple of sinners trying to raise saints

Michael and Lori welcome their first guest to the podcast. John Varieur, Director of the Family Counseling Center (https://www.familycounsellingcenter.com), has a conversation with them about a wide range of topics related to parenting and families. 

Lori and Michael try to record an episode before a Patriot's game. With limited time, they talk about the start of Fall and creating memories with our children around such seasons.

Michael and Lori discuss the benefits of a spa and being ahead by a few points after one game in their first head-to-head matchup of the Lavigne 10 Fantasy Football season. Afterwards, they talk about the movie Cuties and how it is a symptom of a much larger problem in society. Michael and Lori share a few things that parents can do to advocate against such media.

Michael and Lori talk about the passing of Michael's grandmother - 3 weeks after the death of her husband. Mémè Goulet did not tolerate picky eaters, which is what they go on to talk about, including some strategies for dealing with picky eaters at all stages.

Fruit flies are everywhere at the beginning of this episode (only a slight exaggeration). Lori and Michael talk about dealing with fear and anxiety with our children and as adults. They share some of their experiences and strategies.

The Lavigne 10 Fantasy Football League is about to begin their second season and Lori is the defending champion. Also, Lori and Michael talk about one of the topics she gets asked about the most: how do you keep your house clean with all those kids? 

In this episode Lori and Michael talk about the reality of death and how they discuss this topic with their children. They decided to tackle this topic due to the passing away of Michael's maternal grandfather. 

Michael can still beat his oldest son in basketball...for now. Lori and Michael talk about the domestic church and how Project Nazareth can help parents to grow a holy home through God's grace.

Grandparents are a tremendous blessing and Michael talks about his Meme and Pepe who he had a chance to visit with before recording this episode. Lori and Michael then continue their body/soul series by talking about technology and its place in their home. 

In this episode Lori and Michael do an in depth dive on homeschooling. They asked for people to submit questions on social media which served as the outline for this conversation. Some of the questions they answered: How does one get started? Which curriculum should I pick? What do I do with toddlers/infants when trying to school older children? What should my space look like? Will my kids turn out normal? And more!