Crazy Cool Family

Is All Technology Bad?  WE SAY NO! This week, McKenzie (our 4th daughter) joins us to talk about the connection between relationships and technology. Through her twenties, she has been studying counseling, relationships, and all about connection.  She shares so many amazing practical ways parents can connect with their kids through technology.  If you are struggling to find the good...

How does technology and family’s culture work?    Angie Seedorf, an amazing friend, joins Suz to talk about her perspective of technology. She has 4 boys, ages ranging from 10-17. She is wise and shares GOLD  about how their family has created a safe and open environment to talk about technology.    In the podcast, Angie shares how to set good guar...

Do you care more about control or connection?  Parents, we are focusing on teens and technology this week and Maddox (our 6th kiddo) joins us to share his perspective. He is 17 going on 45 and he has grown up with technology.  He shares about the wrestle each kid in his generation faces when it comes to a healthy relationship with parents and technology. We answer questions like:  H...

Does it feel like it's you vs. technology (or screens) in your home? Do you constantly fight your kids to stop "screen time"?   This week we unpack Kids and Technology in episode #137! Our kids are bombarded by technology and often times they know how to work it better then we do!  Listen to Don and Suz share how they have built a culture of relationship with their home. They will inspir...

Did you hear the news? Basecamp is changing!!  Last week we shared how God challenged us to step out in faith and make some changes. This week we share how you can jump into all the new things at Crazy Cool Family!  Learn how to use the resources we have!  Basecamp: Now free for everyone!  Social Media: Connect with us!  Our Book: Buy it and be inspired!  Podcasts and...

The reality is, we can’t learn parenting in a week. It’s a journey and we want to come alongside you and drip Godly concepts into you in the coming days, months, and years!    So, we have some BIG NEWS!!!  BASECAMP is FREE! That's right! In this week's podcast, we share about God's encouragement and challenge to us to step out in faith and make Basecamp (our CCF membership site) 100...

Hey Crazy Cool Families, do you want a joy-filled family?  This week's podcast in truly inspirational and practical about joy. Join us as we interview Chris Coursey, the author of The Joy Switch. He shares incredible correlations between our brains and our joy. This is an episode you will not want to miss!  It is so good we split it into two episodes. Listen this week and next for the fu...

This week's episode is the 2nd part of our amazing and insightful interview with Chris Coursey. The author of The Joy Switch and teacher within Thrive Ministries. Chris shares about CARS. Not the driving vehicle... something that will help you slow down and stay relational with your family.  Listen to this episode and learn something new about JOY! https://crazycoolfamily.com/   https://...

As we kick off another school year, we wanted to go over our main tool for creating a Crazy Cool Family!  The Family Dashboard is an amazing tool God showed us in our early years of parenting. It's a simple way to evaluate every relationship in your family.  Take a listen to this simple but POWERFUL podcast about strengthening your family relational lines. It is a foundational teaching f...

Are you ready for all the Fall things? This week we talk about how to fill your calendar with valuable Fall activities! Sports, music, art, and so many other options open up to families at this time of year. How do you decide what each kid will do thi s Fall? Listen as Macy and Don talk about extracurricular activities and how they can bring value to the family relational lines.   Don’t know...

This Week, we are joined by Michael (5th kid and junior in college) to talk about the College Transition.  He loves college and has discovered new passions, found his people, and is living out his God-given purpose.   Parents, we say this all the time but you only get so much time with your kids under your roof.  Do you have a high school junior or senior? How are you equipping them...

Do you want your kids to be independent? We do! This week we throw it back to a podcast we did in March of 2020. We talk about how to cultivate independence in your kid - no matter what age! All kids rely on parents and it is our job to teach them how to do things on their own. Get dressed, brush teeth, put laundry away, the list goes on! We are the example for our kids to learn life ski...

As much as we love summer, we know August is a transition month. Over the last 30 years, the Mannings have learned a few tricks to make August less stressful and more peaceful for EVERYONE.  Do you (parent) act crazy and bring that crazy into your home during August? With all the haircuts, meet the teacher nights, and school supplies to buy - it can feel exhausting!  You are not alone an...

Do you play with your kids? Does it feel like a chore or do you genuinely enjoy playing with them? Our 4th child, McKenzie, joins us this week to talk about the power of play. She is in school becoming a counselor and is learning a lot about play therapy!  What if play became more than toys and imagination? What if it involved learning language, developing social skills, and strengthening rel...

This week we dive into joy with Sara Chapple and her new book A Journey to Joy. She shares how about Joy Cultivators and Joy Killers. Do you ever feel like your house is bogged down by complaining, grumbling, or comparison? S ara unpacks her heart behind the book and journal she created to help us cultivate daily joy!    If your home is lacking joy, flip it by listening to...

Every kid has emotions and often times parents do not know how to help their kid's process through them. Can you relate? This week's podcast equips all parents with an amazing tool called Tending Your Heart. Charity Rios, the author of My Heart's Garden, shares how her heart healing journey led her to write a children's book. Her freedom is beautifully written to teach kids how to take their emoti...

"What is the balance between encouraging our kids and creating entitlement within them?" Here at CCF, we receive some form of this question on a weekly basis! So many parents want to know how to encourage their kids without "puffing" them up.  Today's podcast answers this question AND gives practical signs of entitlement. We also share simple strategies on how to raise your kids to live set a...

Are you struggling to connect with your teen? Do you want some insight on what they think about you? On today's podcast, Don and Macy talk about Macy's teenage years. Their father-daughter relationship was "tense" to put it kindly.  Listen to discover how Don pursued Macy and finally saw breakthrough in their relationship during her teenage years. All teens want a strong relationship with the...

What are good qualities in a dad? What are things every dad care about or aspires to do?  Calling all parents! In today's podcast, we hear from Jared Robinson (Macy's husband) and all the Manning men. The conversation stemmed from Father's Day and open discussions about what makes a good dad!  Take a listen! We believe you will take away encouragement and practical challenges on how to g...

Don is flying solo this week and talking to all the current and future dads. Wives, don't go away! This podcast will give both man and woman several questions to unpack. We all want deep connections with our spouse and kids. What if every dad built a legacy filled with deep relational connection with their family? What would our world look like?  Listen to today's podcast as we scratch the su...

We hear parents say all the time, “I am exhausted, spent, or overwhelmed with life!”   The question that quickly follows is “how do I do it all?” and we want to say, “You don’t have to!”   We give you FULL PERMISSION to take care of yourself.  Today, Madeline (2nd daughter) joins me to talk about how as moms, we simply cannot do it all. So, what do we do? Listen to find out some pra...

It's summer! What are you going to do with the next 104 days? "There’s 104 days in summer vacation and school comes along just to end it. So, annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it...." - Phineas & Ferb The big question for today's podcast is how are we going to spend our 104 days of summer? We want to flip your thinking about summer!  Summer can be a time of...

Today we've got JOY! And Judy Brisky!  Do you parent with joy? Do you know how to find joy in the midst of all things parenting?  "Joy is second in the list of fruits of the S pirit. It is a bi-product of love. It is what we have despite what is going on around us. It is a daily choice to walk in joy!"  If you want to experience this kind of joy, click the podcast! You will walk awa...

Are you learning how to be awesome? This podcast unlocks the power of relationships and how to have the best ones possible!  The most valuable thing we can invest our time and energy in is people. God's plan is people. How are we going to connect with people to help ourselves become the most awesome parent and ultimately person!   You do not want to miss this podcast! We share practical...

Let us ask you a question: Do you want to be an awesome parent? Or do you just want to be an average one?  An awesome one, obviously!   In the next 2 podcasts,  w e are going to talk about  key things every parent needs to do to become an awesome parent. It  is not as much about what you do, but more about who you surround yourself with. You become who you are around!...