Alysse ElHage | May 13, 2015 | SHARE: 
For the past month, I’ve been knee-deep in boxes, bubble wrap, and newspaper, packing up my family’s belongings as we moved from a rental to a new house. As grateful as my husband and I are to be homeowners again, moving with two kids in the middle of a school year has been exhausting! Now that most of the boxes are unpacked, we can hopefully start enjoying our new neighborhood.
There are many things I dislike about moving, especially packing up my kids’ rooms (who knew our preschooler had over 50 cars!). Still, the organizer in me enjoys the sorting-through process that typically occurs during a move because it provides the opportunity for a major de-clutter. Moving also gives me the chance to “redo” our home’s decor. It’s amazing how living areas can be improved by the simple rearrangement of furniture or a change of accent items. Of course, the best part of a move is when a new house becomes more than just a different place to live but a home.
As you will see from the Spring issue of Family North Carolina, we’ve done some introspection, “rearranging,” and “redecorating” of our own! Over the last year, this magazine has undergone a major design overhaul in an effort to improve how we deliver the quality of content our readers have come to expect. The changes include shortening the length of the magazine, tightening article content, reformatting key sections, adding cleaner graphics and new features— and ultimately giving the magazine a fresh and lighter feel!
While our look has changed, be assured that the quality of in-depth content inside the magazine remains the same. The Spring issue contains a number of must-read articles, including Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Kellie Fiedorek’s Feature on protecting religious liberty, Brittany Farrell’s Spotlight on three unique anti-trafficking ministries, and my own article on the perils of marijuana legalization in Colorado.
This issue also includes exciting new content, such as “On the Front Lines,” which features a profile of a husband and wife team who are leading a grassroots effort to fight casino gambling in Kings Mountain, NC. You will also learn more about how the NC Family Policy Council and NC Family ACTION are making a difference for families across our state. Our revamped Interview page includes shorter excerpts of recent “Family Policy Matters” radio programs on the issues of life, love, and marriage. And don’t miss NC Family president John Rustin’s insightful piece on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation currently before the General Assembly.
We hope you enjoy reading the “new” Family North Carolina! We are anxious to hear what you think about these changes, so please email your thoughts to editor@ncfamily.org. We are always seeking to improve, and your feedback is vital to our success.
Equally as important, we rely on you to share the valuable information on the following pages with your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors. Our desire is that the easier-to-read and digest content in the redesigned magazine will better equip our readers to defend traditional family values in the Tar Heel State.
Now, I invite you to turn the page, sit back, relax, and start reading!
Alysse ElHage is associate director of research for the North Carolina Family Policy Council and is acting editor of Family North Carolina magazine
