The single most important part of any relationship is???? You guessed it COMMUNICATION! We all communicate, but do we really communicate well? Jena and I struggle with communication in various areas of our relationship from unspoken expectations to making communication a priority when apart. In this podcast, Jena and Luke chat through 4 common areas that they and many other couples struggle in. They share the challenges and also how to better communication and improving your relationship in the process.

Podcast available on iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud. Thanks for listening!

What do you do when your child continues to be singled out by the “perceived” mean girls? What do you do when you later discover your other child is the mean girl? Things aren’t always as they seem.... In this podcast Jena and Luke talk about a recent few experiences with their daughters and the sibling rivalry that exists.

Sex, everyone's favorite subject to talk about! Or not… In this podcast Jena and Luke pull back the sheets, No pun intended ;), on the importance of sex in a marriage and how they've adjusted throughout their's, most notably after having kids.

They talk about the importance of knowing your spouse's love language, why you must make sex a priority, the deep connection that sex brings to a marriage, and making adjustments as your life and family change. You're not going to want to miss this one!

Podcast available on iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud. Thanks for listening!

At some point we all go through ups and downs of marriage, the dark days. Some last months, some years. It's not a matter of if they happen, it's when. Too often we just give up or wait for the other person to change. Mix in kids and the dark days become even harder.

In this podcast Jena and I talk through our dark days, actually months, that we went through shortly after Presley was born and Jena started staying at home with two kids under two and a traveling husband. She was on an island to say the least. We talk through how we got through it and why you should to!

I bet you have a friend, out of your group of friends, that you feel more connected to? A deeper connection to this person, without even trying.

What if I told you the same was true with our kids? That we naturally connect with some more than others. For me it's our middle daughter, we just naturally connect. Doesn't mean that I don't like, or love, my other girls any less. But what happens when I start sacrificing time with the other girls without even knowing it? it's something that we all have to be conscious of, because if we don't it can really impact our kids confidence and relationships with us.

In the latest Madhouse Parents Podcast Jena and Luke dive into how we're managing this in our home. It's a good one! Plus as usual share some straight madness from the James house!

What’s the greatest investment we can make in our kids? How can we inspire our kids to grow? To become the little leaders we hope they grow into? To overcome challenges? To constantly seek growth opportunities? Through us! As parents we I must invest in ourselves. Those investments are deposits into our children. #leadbyexample

How often do we cast judgement on someone before we truly understand them? Almost always, right? We're all guilty of it! Far too often we gear up to unload on someone and tell them why they're wrong and why we're right! Seems to be the norm in today's world. It's almost like we seek out these opportunities to make ourselves feel better, more important, you're either with me or against me! BUT what actually happens is we drive a wedge further between us AND put ourselves in a terrible mindset. This mindset then takes hold of all aspects of our life and we find ourselves in a downward spiral. It pours over into our social life, professional life, and family life. Destroying relationships along the way. Compassion, compassion is the key AND we have to find it! In the latest Madhouse Parents Podcast, Jena and Luke break down why we must break this cycle by leading with compassion. Available in iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud. Thanks for listening and sharing!

Recently I heard someone mention how anxiety has increased in kids over the last several years, so I did some reach and confirmed those comments. Then I started to wonder why? Has anxiety increased in adults too? How can we as parents manage this in our kids? What’s considered anxiety anyway? Luke dives into this topic and breaks down our impact as parents.

Are you a passionate person and parent? Proud of what you stand for and stand against? Active in sharing that message? Want to have an impact? That's what this country was founded on, freedom of speech and belief. When we are passionate it's really easy to want to pass our beliefs and share what we stand for. We're vocal with our friends, family, on social media and take pride in these beliefs.

That's great and I encourage you to continue this, but don't let it distract you from parenting the fundamentals! It seems we're so focused on our own agenda and getting our point heard that we lose track of what's important and what those important values are that need to be taught to our children. Manners, respect, responsibility, love, and on and on... Sure exposing our kids to different cultures is important, but so is teaching them to hold the door open for the person behind them at the store.

Guess what,when the fundamentals aren't taught what do you think happens? Kids become solely focused on themselves. Lack true empathy. Lack social awareness. Lack the communication skills to have a conversation with someone with different beliefs.

In this podcast Jena and Luke dive share our thoughts and what we're doing with our kids to teach the fundamentals first!

Raise your hand if you struggle with discipline? 🙋‍♂️ Just when you feel like you've gotten it down, your kid rolls her eyes and kinda laughs when sent to her room. 😡 Enter punch in the gut feeling…. Or you dish out a punishment and completely blank on it until your "punished" child reminds you the following day. "Dad, I thought I couldn't have treats this weekend?!?" Been there? Haven't we all…. That special feeling when taking stuff away and sending the kids to their room becomes a daily occurrence... How do we break out of this funk? Jena and I dive into how we're dealing with this very same #parentingchallenge in episode #19 of Madhouse Parents Podcast "Effective discipline, what we’re learning from our mistakes” Available on iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud.