Game Night Box.
Kids mail boxes
Mommy's mail boxI am REALLY bad at updating. Life is busy but extremely good at the moment. I can't believe that half the year is gone. I remember back in January wondering what this year would hold for me and so far it has been...another roller coaster ride. :)
Rob and I did get to Hawaii. Then my son broke his arm the day after we got back. Then we lost Rob's mom after a long battle with Huntingtons disease. Football camps, Girls camp, Scout camp, Trek...it is going by in a blur.
While we were in Hawaii, we visited the Pearl 1st Ward for church. They had a list of the Seven F's. I LOVED it so much I e-mailed it to myself so that I could use it. I'm sure you have all heard something like it before, but it is a good reminder.
Family prayer
Family scripture study
Family home evening
Family service
Family Fun
Family Council
Frequent Temple attendance
I noticed in particular the Family Service and Family Fun. I think it is a good principle that a family should work together and play together. We are usually all about the work because that is never ending. But I felt very strongly that we needed to make time to make sure we have fun. So I went out and bought a bunch of new games and put them into a container. This is the game night box and it is only to be used on game night. Again, not an original idea. The kids LOVE it, though. Every Saturday night is our family game night. I make snacks and treats and we all sit around the table and play games. I have already noticed a huge difference in my teenager. He joined us and even played with the younger kids. It was one of those "it is all worth it" moments.
Another thing I have implemented is our own "mail system". The kids would catch me in the middle of making dinner and attack me with all sorts of things they wanted me to see or hear or watch and I felt bad that I couldn't give them my undivided attention. It usually ends up being very stressful because I'm trying to get dinner ready before having to run off and take someone somewhere. Rob has been traveling alot this year, being gone almost every week. So it is all left up to me. So I had a brilliant friend of mine make a suggestion and I took it even further. Each one of the kids has their own little mail box that they got to decorate. I put them on a little shelf in our kitchen. I can use these to put little notes of encouragement or little gifts to let the kids know that I am thinking of them. I have a regular sized mail box on the counter for my kids to put things in that they want me to see or a note if they have something to say to me. I tell them that I would check my mail box at the end of every day so that they knew I would get to it when I could. They can also put little notes in each others mail boxes to encourage each other. It has been so fun. And who doesn't LOVE happy mail? I love getting letters in the mail from people. It is a lost art since e-mail was invented. But I love getting nice messages in e-mail, too, instead of the junk. It just brightens your day. :)
Update in a nutshell. I will eventually do a post ALL about Hawaii when I can get my computer to work properly. BEST VACATION EVER!!!!
Thanks for stopping by :)
Krissi
