Crazy Cool Family

Not long into our parenting journey, we realized we had no idea what we were doing. It seemed we were doing more damage than good. So, we started reading lots of parenting books. Can anyone relate? We believe God showed us a very clear path to raising kids who love Jesus, love their parents, and love each other…so we wrote a book as the cornerstone to our CCF ministry. We want everyone to love and...

Are you looking forward to the holidays with family?  What do you do if you aren't? We can help!  The holidays are right around the corner. We all want the ideal family holiday experience, but it doesn’t always happen the way we picture it in our mind. No matter the family dynamic, (whether there are healthy relationships or challenging ones) in this episode we will share tips to help ma...

When you think of creating your best family, what are the first things that come to mind? So go the relationships in your family, so goes your family. And that is why we created the Family Dashboard—a simple tool showing all the relationships in your family on one diagram. In this episode we explain how you can use this dashboard to assess your family.  Build your own Family Dashboa...

To celebrate Halloween or not, that is the question. We stopped focusing on the negative, fearful side of a holiday and turned our focus on all that God said was good. In this episode, we share our take on halloween and our experience with our 7 kids.  Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!

In this episode, Don and Suzanne go over examples that will help you understand how siblings can and should be best friends. Tune into the episode to learn new ways for your kids to get along AND click the link below to join Basecamp!  When this podcast was recorded, Basecamp was not created quite yet, but now we have a 100% FREE resource for you to utilize! Check it out below and start the R...

We’ve officially launched! Have you seen our new website?! We’re so excited to share a few of the many changes that are happening! Here are a few things we’ve introduced! The updated branding and new resources on crazycoolfamily.com Our updated Crazy Cool Family book The Family Dashboard And two new digital courses! Relational Discipline Siblings as Best Friends This week, we’re highlighting our R...

This week on the podcast, we are sharing some exciting news about what will be available next week! Tune in to learn more details and to get an exclusive discount for next week! Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!

We have some exciting things to share with you guys! Tune into this episode to learn more about what's to come for our ministry! Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!

Calling ALL New Parents! We've got a podcast just for you! This week, Madeline takes over the podcast and interviews Suzanne about advice she would give to new parents. Listen to Suzanne’s unique perspective regarding what she’s learned in her 30+ years of parenting. Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!

In this week’s podcast, we continue our discussion of Setting Grade Expectations. This time Macy chimes in with some amazing insight. As a perfectionist in regard to her schoolwork, she shares what she learned about not allowing grades to define her identity. Listen as we discuss topics to further help you grow the relationships in your family. Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media J...

Grades can be a huge source of conflict between parents and their kids, but it doesn’t have to be! Training your children to love learning and take ownership of their grades is another opportunity to strengthen the relationships in your family. This week, Madeline and Maddox join Don and Suzanne to give their perspective on this important topic. Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media...

How do you become a trusted voice in your child’s life when there are so many voices battling for his attention? This week we discuss that topic on the podcast! Listen and hear from our years of experience as we've raised 7 kids to hear God's voice and trust ours.  Kids need parents who trust them and are trustworthy. God gave you a voice into your kid's lives and how we use it is immensely i...

No matter how long we've been married, we are called, by God, to continually strive to pursue our spouse. This is usually the most challenging when you are parenting babies or young children. Maybe it's because the days become routine, or we believe that since we're married we don't need to pursue each other anymore, or most likely because we're just so exhausted! In this week's Crazy Cool Family...

Parents often feel overwhelmed with the amount of responsibilities that pull at our time and attention. We desperately want a balanced life that includes quality time with family and friends and doing things we enjoy. But how do we do that while taking care of all the things? In this week’s Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don shares a few tips to help you maintain a healthy work/home balance. Crazy Coo...

What if car-time became one of the best places to deepen your relationships with your children? Time in the car with your kids is an ideal opportunity that you can use to your advantage! In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give you incredible ideas to transform your own thinking about car-time and how to use it to grow the relationships in your family.  Crazy Cool Resour...

Connecting your kids to God is the most important thing you will do as a parent... so how do we do it well? In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give inspiring and practical tips to help you connect your kids to God this school year. What if at this time next year, your kids have had a leap in their relationship with Jesus? Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media J...

Whether you're preparing to move your child into their dorm room in a few weeks, or trying to get your toddler to just fall sleep in their own room, "The Day" is coming! The day your child leaves your home! In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give tips to help prepare you and your child for the day he/she leaves home. They speak candidly to two different sets up parents - tho...

New to parenting? Need help?! In this week's podcast, we are joined by our two oldest daughters and their families. Mollie and her husband, Damian, and son, Sebastian ("Bash"). And Madeline and her husband, Larry, and son, Truett. Having a newborn brings many changes and challenges. Mollie, Damian, Madeline, and Larry share openly about the struggles and victories they've had in this short season...

Do your kids throw fits? What's your parenting strategy to help them work through it? In this episode, Suzanne and Don talk about how to handle kids throwing fits. Listen in to learn their best tips! If your approach to parenting a child who throws fits isn't working, then this podcast is for you! Crazy Cool Resources: CCF Podcasts CCF Social Media Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!

We get asked all the time, “How do you handle technology?” It’s like its a bad word! Social media, blogs, and articles out there are all about putting restrictions on our kids but we wanted to talk about our approach on this topic and how you can help your child adopt a healthy mindset with technology. Listen in to these tips to help you navigate technology with your kids. Crazy Cool Resources: CC...

This week's episode is all about vacation! It's the week of the 4th of July and we know that many of you have some fun vacations planned for the summer. Research shows that kids who have the opportunity to go on vacation remember those as anchor points and highlights with their family. Studies show that kids value vacation over toys! So while you're on vacation this year and you've got intentional...

Do your kids have a difficult relationships? Are they in a season of hurting each other?  Every sibling dynamic is unique and goes through seasons.  Listen as Michael and Maddox talk about siblings being hurtful or helpful. They grew up close in age, similar in hobbies, but very different in personalities. We share their struggles and hope to give parents insight into sibling dynamics.&n...

In this podcast, we have a great discussion with Madeline and Macy, our second and third kids. They are a brief eighteen months apart and did a lot together growing up. We invite you to listen to the podcast and hear in their voices their struggles, but more importantly, how they overcame those struggles. We also hope this podcast will encourage you to inspire the little people of your family...

What does it look like for siblings to pursue each other? Listen to McKenzie and Michael Manning tell the story of their relationship and how she PURSUED him even in the face of daily rejection. This month we are talking about Siblings as Best Friends. At Crazy Cool Family, one of our core beliefs is that siblings can and should be best friends for life. We have fought to unite each sibling f...

Mollie and Suzanne were the beginning of this Crazy Cool Family, and one-by-one, starting with Don (since Mollie and Suz were a pair before Don entered the picture) they built a family of nine. Mollie felt the burden and responsibility of being a big sister when Madeline was barely sitting up. The role of the oldest sibling is a powerful and influencing role in your family! When you get the oldest...