In class we talked about divorce and remarriage. Young boys are affected more negatively by divorce, they are more aggressive, they are missing a role model figure in their life, and they have to fill the gap of the missing parent. There was a study done on kids ages 12-15 that said their dad lived 400 miles away because of work, the dad is in a new relationship. 70% of males are remarried two years later and 70% of Americans said that they could've and should've saved their marriage. It also takes two years for a blended family to start feeling normal.

Today in class we talked about parenting and the importance of it. We talked about the purpose of parenting and named three steps which are, refine parents become more like God, closer to divinity, and protect and prepare to survive and thrive in the world we live in. We came to earth knowing and wanting to one day have a family and to become more like God. I do think that parenting is probably one of the hardest jobs you can have but it is probably the best as well. Parents are there to help their children grow and learn so that one day they can do the same to their kids. I think that everyday parents are coming up with ways to protect and prepare their kids for the world we live in that is always changing.

One of the things we discussed in class this week was the pamphlet One for the money, a guide to family finance. In this book it lists 12 steps of ways in which to be smart about finances.

Step 1: Pay an honest tithing
Step 2: Learn to manage money before it manages you
Step 3: Learn self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters
Step 4: Use a budget
Step 5: Teach family members early the importance of working and earning
Step 6: Teach children to make money decisions in keeping with their capacities to comprehend
Step 7: Teach each family member to contribute to the total family welfare
Step 8: Make education a continuing process
Step 9: Work toward home ownership
Step 10: Appropriately involve yourself in an insurance program
Step 11: Understand the influence of external forces on family finances and investments
Step 12: appropriately involve yourself in a food storage and emergency preparedness program

I think that each one of these steps is important to have and use with a family. My dad has always shown and taught me how to work hard and to budget my money wisely. I am very grateful for this because one day when I have my own family, I will be able to use these steps with the knowledge I already have with handling my money well.

Communication as a process starts with thoughts or feelings from the sender, then it moves to encoding the message. Then it moves through the media which can be verbal or nonverbal, then the receiver tries to decode the message and then they give their thoughts and their feelings. Emotion comes out through tone, words are 14%, tone is 35%, and nonverbal is 51%. This is how someone can try to get there thoughts or their feelings known. Listening is very important in communication. In order to be a good communicator, you have to be a good listener. 

Family crisis can be really hard to work through, Reuben Hill developed a model to try and help people cope with there crisis. A: is the actual stressor event, B: is both resources, responses, C: is cognition, X: is the total experience. You can use this model to try and get through your crisis. Coping is what we do it advance to handle a situation when it occurs. Instead of approaching a crisis negatively, look for ways to learn and grow from it.

In class we talked about sexuality and the importance of having intimacy in a relationship. The most important sex organ is the brain. The brain produces three hormones, which are seratonin, dopamine, and oxytocine. Seratonin is the hormone that makes you happy, Dopamine is a neurotransmitter for excitment, and oxytocine is released through touching. Sexual relations release a good amount of seratonin. Safety, comfort, love, and confidence is the key to successful sexual intimacy.

This week in class we talked about marriage and the adjustments you have to make after getting married. Some of these adjustments are acceptance, decision making skills, adopt to living adjustments, budget resources, and daily discoveries. Budget resources would be money and time. when your married you have to learn how to budget your time because your life can be crazy with school, work, kids, and anything else. Also I think it's important to learn to budget your money because you both need to know how to save and to make sure your not spending more then you have. Some living adjustments would be sharing a bed with someone. I am a person who likes to spread out when I sleep, so sharing a bed will be hard at first. I also have to learn how to compromise because I have always been a person who wants it my way. I will need to listen to his side, as well as he will need to listen to my side. Communication is a very important thing in a relationship, especially in marriage.