❤️ OUR FAMILY PARENTING STORY
A Deeper Look at the Heart Behind Family Life Parenting with Purpose
From Canada to Germany — a journey of faith, family, and building a connected home together.This is the journey of our family parenting story that shaped our family—and the heart behind everything we share.
☀️ About Us — How Our Family Parenting Story Began...
We’re Blair and Robin—parents of six, educators, and a family learning every day what it means to build a strong, faith-centered home in a busy and often overwhelming world. This is our family parenting story.
We’re passionate about intentional parenting—helping families grow stronger through connection, consistency, and faith.
If you’ve ever felt unsure, stretched thin, or like you’re figuring parenting out as you go—you’re not alone.
We’ve been there too.
What we’ve learned—both in our work and in our own home—is this:
We believe strong
families aren’t built through pressure or perfection.
They’re built in the everyday—through presence, consistency, and intentional connections.
If you’re longing for that same sense of connection and peace in your home, prayer is something you might not have considered. You can begin with our free 31-day family prayer calendar — a simple way to pray intentionally over your family each day.
Our Story
Our family parenting story really began in a small apartment in Ottawa.
We had a map of Germany taped to the door, with red pins marking cities we had never been to — each one representing possibility, risk, and a step into the unknown.
We moved with big goals: to teach internationally, pursue football in Europe, and to embrace the adventure of experiencing Europe's history, walking through it and truly living it.
But not long after, we stepped into something far more meaningful — parenthood.
It was also the beginning of our international life — far from extended family, removed from familiar rhythms and traditions, and without a built-in support system.
And that’s where our real journey began.
It was one of those scorching summer days. We were visiting friends, and despite my white pants and lack of a change of clothes, we jumped right in. We splashed, laughed, and forgot about everything else. Sometimes, the best memories come when you stop worrying about all of your scheduled plans, embrace spontaneity and just jump in and take the time to enjoy having fun together.I Thought I Was Doing Everything Right...So Why Did Parenting Feel So Hard?
Parenting stretches us beyond what we think we can handle. There have been quiet prayers in the night:
"Lord, help me not to mess up… not with these little hearts You’ve entrusted to me."
We’ve learned that children don’t need perfect parents—they need parents who depend on God, model humility, and live with grace. Even our mistakes become opportunities to teach forgiveness, trust, and love.
Looking back, I realize I was desperate to do everything “right.”
From the outside, it may have looked like we had everything in place—parenting classes, books, and support groups.
But inside, there was doubt. Comparison. Exhaustion.
I found myself quietly comparing—wondering why my child didn’t seem to be at the same place as others. I questioned myself more than I’d like to admit.
Was I doing something wrong?
Why did this feel harder than I expected?
I felt tired.
I felt alone.
I felt frustrated.
Some days just felt long, messy, and nothing like what I thought parenting would look like.
It was in that messy, exhausting, overwhelming space that I realized something had to change.
A Turning Point
Eventually, I stepped back from everything—completely.
It was a dramatic step, but it was one I needed to take.
I had to create space to hear my own voice again.
To step away from the constant noise of opinions, comparisons, and expectations.
Somewhere along the way, I had started comparing my child to everyone else—
and I realised I wasn’t truly seeing her anymore.
And I started asking:
✨ What kind of parent do I actually want to be?
That search led me to a book by Dr. Sears on attachment parenting—and for the first time, something just clicked.
It felt
natural.
It felt connected.
It felt right for our family.
We began to slow down, listen more, focus on building a vision for the kind of home we wanted, and on ways on how to build stronger family relationships.
Small changes began to reshape our home—not just in our children, but also in us.
We became more present.
More confident.
More at peace.
Not because everything became easier—but because our direction became clearer.
A snapshot moment from our family parenting story: This was my second youngest’s first ride — his smile says it all. I still love experiencing their “firsts” like they’re mine… even on our fifth child, the joy never fades.Letting Go of Comparison
One of the hardest parts of that season was the quiet pressure—and sometimes judgment—between parents.
Everyone
seemed to have a method.
An opinion.
A “right way.”
But we’ve come to see it differently:
Every
parent is different.
Every child is different.
And instead of comparing, we need space to say:
👉 This is hard.
👉 I’m
learning.
👉 I’m
finding what works for my family.
Because there isn’t just one way to raise a child well.
A Hard Season
My husband and I have always been a strong team, like so many couples navigating life together — but like every family, we've walked through seasons that have tested us.
But over time, we walked through a season that deeply stretched us.
For several years, he faced depression — and it changed the rhythm of our family life in ways we didn’t expect.
Parenting
felt heavier.
Daily life felt harder.
And walking through that season — while raising young children, supporting a husband through depression, living in a foreign country far from family, and navigating a constantly changing community — often felt overwhelming, especially as our support system slowly fell apart around us.
During these seasons I often felt deeply alone.
Even with
faith.
Even knowing God was present.
I still struggled.
What Held Us Together
Looking back, I can see that it wasn’t just strength that carried us.
It was faith—lived out in very real, everyday ways.
It was
quiet moments of prayer when I had nothing left.
Simple, honest words: “God, help me today.”
And it wasn’t just my prayers.
My mother was faithfully praying for our family every single day.
I didn’t always see it in the moment—but looking back, I can see how those prayers held us together in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time.
Returning to Awana after a break also became an anchor for our family.
It helped
realign us.
It reminded us of what mattered.
It brought truth and rhythm back into our home.
And slowly, over time, we began to come through that season.
Not
perfectly.
But stronger.
More grounded.
More intentional.
If you’d like to bring more intentional prayer into your own daily family life, and you'd like to know how to pray for your family, you can download our 31 prayers for your family monthly calendar to guide, encourage and give you an anchor each day.
Our Experience
Our perspective isn’t just something we’ve studied—it’s something we’ve lived.
For over 20 years, we’ve worked with children, teenagers, and families across classrooms, international schools, sports environments and camps—supporting and teaching over 4,000 children from infancy through young adulthood.
We have also invested in children’s faith development through church-based leadership and discipleship programs, including Awana, Sunday School, and Vacation Bible School (VBS)—helping children grow in faith, character, and community in practical, engaging ways.
Alongside this, our involvement with The Salvation Army and our local church, IBC, has allowed us to support families through children’s ministry, mentorship, and ongoing community engagement.
We’ve also raised six children of our own through different stages, challenges, and transitions—which has probably been our greatest classroom of all.
Living internationally has shown us something clearly:
No matter the culture, children thrive on the same core things—
connection, guidance, consistency, and a foundation of faith.
This is the heart of our family parenting story.
The years pass quickly, but each stage has its own beauty. These moments — baking messes, birthday candles, bedtime giggles — are the heartbeats of home.Our Approach
We believe parenting is not just about managing behaviour—it’s about shaping the heart.
We want to understand what truly matters to each child, what worries them, and what they genuinely desire. We also hope to guide them toward developing a heart for God, which can serve as a moral compass in their lives.
Children are shaped not just by words, but by what they experience every day: what is modelled, repeated, and lived out in the home. They also have their own agency, choosing which values and behaviours to embrace as they grow.
That’s why we focus on intentional guidance—offering clarity, consistency, and trust—while listening to each child’s heart and helping them become the person God designed them to be.
This is how we live out our family parenting story each day.
Marko loves his daddy in that tender, wholehearted way children do - always reaching for his shoes, always wanting to follow where he goes. A Remindier that little eyes are always watching, little hearts always learning. Our children don't simply listen to our words: they trace the paths we walk, step by step, letting our lives teach them what matters most.🙏 Our Faith
For us, faith isn’t something separate from family life—it’s what shapes it.
It shows up in the everyday:
In
conversations.
In routines.
In how we respond when things don’t go as planned (which happens more often
than we’d like to admit).
We’ve held closely to this truth:
“...These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up...”
Not as something formal or forced,
but as a way of living.
Some of our most meaningful conversations about faith haven’t been planned—
they’ve happened in the middle of everyday life.
In the ordinary moments—
sitting at home, walking through the day, ending and beginning again—
We’ve tried to walk alongside our children,
talking, guiding, and pointing them toward God in natural, everyday ways.
Not perfectly.
But consistently.
Because faith isn’t just something we teach.
It’s something we live.
Our Mission
Family Life Parenting with Purpose exists to support and encourage families who want to:
- Build Stronger Relationships,
- Create Meaningful Family Routines,
- Grow in Faith and Character,
- Parent with Greater Clarity and Confidence, and
- Develop Steadfast trust in God through every season with the power of Prayer
We’re here to offer parenting encouragement, practical guidance, and support for families who want something deeper than just getting through the day.
Because parenting is not just about today—
it’s about building a strong and lasting family for future generations.
🏡 Start Where You Are
You don’t need a perfect system to build a strong, connected family.
You just need a place to begin.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure, we’ve created a simple first step.
Our free 31-day family prayer calendar is designed to help you to know: 'What to Pray for Your Family' to build intentional, faith-filled rhythms in your home—one day at a time.
✨ Explore More Topics That Encourage & Inspire ✨
💌 We're Preparing Something Special... 💌
We're creating simple, faith-filled resources to support your family life.
If you’d like gentle weekly encouragement, we’d love to share it with you.
Keep Encouraged,
Stay Inspired,
Grow alongside other families walking this journey of faith.
