Ep. 109 How To Create A Strong, Close & Loving Family

Ep. 109 How to create a strong, close and loving family with Lauren Condie & Lisa Minnick

If one of your goals in life is to create a strong family, today’s episode is full of inspiration!

We’re interviewing Lauren Condie and Lisa Minnick, a mom and daughter duo Laura has known since childhood. Their family has always been an example of closeness, love, and strength.

We chatted about:

Their two secrets to a happy, loving family
How to find flexibility in family relationships
Keeping things light and fun
How to stay close even when the kids move out
Their best advice for loving each other no matter what

Listen below or on iTunes & choose Episode 109

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Links Mentioned:

StrengthsFinder: The awesome book Lauren and Lisa used to help focus on their family members’ strengths instead of weaknesses.
Phat Smash It: The place where you can let off some steam by smashing things. Located in American Fork Utah, but there might be other places near you.
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Two Secrets To A Happy, Loving Family

Create Family Traditions
- The key is to have flexibility and be willing to adapt and adjust as your family grows and changes.
Learn the different personalities in your family and know how to work WITH those personalities
- Lauren and Lisa have loved using the book, StrengthsFinder to help pick out their family members’ strengths and to be more understanding of each other.
- It’s so important to remember that people are more important than our opinions.
  1. Lauren said, “We respectfully talk about hard things and have hard decisions. It’s not that we sweep things under the rug, but at the end of the day we always know our people come before opinions.”

Ultimately it’s about figuring out what works for your family and having flexibility along the way.

A Few Ways to Keep Things Light and Fun When It Comes to Family Relationships

Work hard, play hard
- Know when to pitch in and really help each other out and then make plenty of time to really play together.
Don’t take yourself too seriously and be able to laugh at yourself
- Lauren and Lisa’s family created a family quote book, a little family journal that helps them remember all the funny moments. They love reading this and laughing all over again!
Do spontaneous kind gestures for each other on good things that come up or if a family member is having a hard time
- Taking cookies to a sibling when they’re struggling
- Planning a thoughtful activity for them
- Serving each other

Finding Balance in Your Family

Balance is key when working with your family, especially when you have married kids and in-laws.
Planning is essential.
Be willing and able to say no to other opportunities that come up so that you can focus on your family.
Support your spouse’s hobbies and interests.

How to Stay Close as a Family

Experiment and figure out what works for your family. Here are some fun ideas that Lauren and Lisa’s family do:

Family book club
Communicate well with each other
- They have Saturday lunches together and there’s a rule for NO PHONES at meal time
  - They’ve even come up with a fun rule. If someone brings out a phone during meal time, they have to either buy the dinner or do the dishes!
- Start a family newsletter and ask each other great questions
And of course keeping in touch using Marco Polo, FaceTime, and group chats. It’s fun to do these whenever, but even better if you can have a set day of the week or month where you connect.

How to Love Your Family No Matter What

No judgment
- Know that you have each other’s backs, like you’re a line of defense or each other’s biggest cheerleaders.
- This allows everyone to feel like they can be themselves and that allows for comfort and safety.
Remember how important they are to you and treat them like that!
- “I would prefer to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.” - Lisa Minnick
  - Meaning that it’s so important to strengthen those family relationships so that you can give 100% of yourself to them.