Cyndi, I'm so glad to hear that your family is living this third way out, as best you can. You're absolutely right—we have to make the choice to celebrate our differences, and no, it's often not easy. One of my pastors, in his teaching on Sunday, used the analogy of singing in harmony. There's so much beauty in the contrast and "difference." That beauty is not in spite of the differences, but *because* of it. That means there's more complexity, too, and it takes more work to get it right.  

Mark, thanks! It's true, just staying on top of day-to-day life requires a lot of time. Luckily, I don't work full time, when it comes to the work that pays. I also have been writing so many hours a day for so long now that I can usually "crank these out," as you put it. :) Sometimes I wonder to what purpose, but I can't dwell on that for long.