Family Resolutions

Today is the last day of 2012. Looking back, we have had a very fun and full, and at times trying, year. The older my kids get, the more the new year is a time for me to give thanks for all the blessings we have received the past year, and a year to evaluate and focus on where we want our family to go in the next year. As you are planning what your New Year resolutions will be, I thought I would share with you how our family goes about our resolutions.

Each year we begin by reviewing last year's resolutions and how we were able to accomplish or not accomplish them. This is a great way to help us to live intentionally in our lives. Then we make our new resolutions and put them in a special place so that we can focus on them in the year to come, and read them next December 31! Since our kids were little when we began this, we made questions to make resolution-making simple and a little more fun. Here are our resolution questions (feel free to use them if you wish!):

1) What bad habit do you resolve to quit this year? This year, same as last, I resolve to stop biting my nails. **sigh**

2) What do you resolve to do to better yourself this year? I would like to exercise regularly (past January!) and to try to be more stress-free.

3) What new thing would you like to try this year?  I love this question, because it prompts dreaming, reaching for something beyond the usual. However, as a logical-minded person, I struggle thinking of things. Last year, I resolved to go deer hunting with my husband and in November I took down my first deer. This year, I decided to try not to be so logical-minded and go with the first thing I could think of, and ended up resolving to ride a motorcycle alone.

4) Our last question takes our goals and dreams to the heart-level. What fruit of the Spirit would you like to harvest more of this year? Considering the hardships that I went through this year, especially this summer, I want to grow more joy in my life. Others in my family chose love, peace and patience.

The new year is a wonderful time of year to focus on where you want your life to go. How do you want to strive to be a better person and what will you do to actually reach your goals and dreams?

As I close this year, I want to glorify my Father in heaven for all the blessings that He has given to me, all of the things He has seen me through, and all the ways I have seen Him working around me.
Happy New Year and blessings for 2013!!!

12 Days of Christmas Traditions I Love: Day 7 Christmas Lights

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.” --Matthew 4:16

One of the reasons I love Christmas is the atmosphere and decorations and all the lights! It is so beautiful! At Christmas we are celebrating that Jesus is the light of the world. Each year, my husband and I load up the kiddos and drive around looking at the lights around town.

This year, we decided to add a little extra fun to our regular drive. We told the kids that they were going to get a ride on the Polar Express! My husband went out and decorated the inside of the car with Christmas lights and put our favorite Christmas CD in the player. I printed off some Polar Express tickets off of Google and placed them underneath their dinner plates. We made each a travel mug of hot cocoa. We had them take their baths and get into pjs early and then come to dinner. After they had eaten their dinner, we told them to look under the plates. My husband and I pretended to be conductors and loaded them up on the Polar Express! Then we drove around to look at the lights. It was so much fun!

If you haven't already, take a family trip around town tonight!

12 Days of Christmas Traditions I Love: Day 3 Christmas Stories

One of my absolute favorite things to do with my kiddos during the Christmas season is to read Christmas stories. Our family enjoys reading altogher, all year round. It is my favorite time of the evening. Christmas stories are those that you can read over and over again and they just never get dull! I remember a big book my mom had when we were growing up that had 4 different Christmas stories in it. I loved it!

Here is a list of our top 5 favorite Christmas stories (there are so many, I had to limit!):

Llama Llama Holiday Drama, by Anna Dewdney
Bear Stays Up for Christmas, by Karma Wilson
Froggy's Best Christmas, by Jonathan London
Follow the Star, by Rachel Brown
The Night Before Christmas (just about any version!)

We also love to spend a lot of time at the library choosing Christmas books. Chances are, just about any series of books your child loves to read will have a Christmas one. My kids love to search out their favorites - Madaline, Olivia, Max and Ruby, Clifford, Froggy, Winnie the Pooh, Splat the Cat, Pete the Cat, Fletcher, Disney Princesses, American Girls - and the list has changed and grown over the years - but they all have a Christmas edition! If you have older children, read aloud a classic Christmas novel like Little Women or A Christmas Carol or the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!

Snuggle up this week in front of the lit Christmas tree and read, read, read! It is such a special time to share together!

12 Days of Christmas Traditions I Love: Day 2 The Advent Wreath

I know, I know! I have already posted on the advent wreath, but it just had to go on my top 12 list! So if you want to read about what we do with the advent wreath and why it is one of my favorites, check out my post from last week here.  Have a very blessed 11 days til Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas Traditions I Love: Day 1 The Christmas Tree

I am so excited that Christmas is just 12 days away! I have decided to share with you my top 12 favorite Christmas traditions! Some of them we have done already, and some I am waiting anxiously to do sometime in the next twelve days!!

I would like to begin with the Christmas tree! Now we have had many adventures with Christmas trees since the kids were little. Our first three years of marriage, we had a tiny 2ft tree that our princess would decorate. Finally, we decided to get a real tree and our cat knocked the whole thing down! The next year, I thought I had found a great buy at the local dollar store - a 6' artificial tree for $25 - which ended up being only about 1' around and my best friend dubbed it the "anorexic Christmas tree." We went back to buying real trees.

We make a night of it! We put the date on the calendar and go out as a family to pick out, purchase, and carry home our precious tree. That evening we spend decorating it together as a family. Daddy makes some hot drinks to have while we do it, and I like to put on a little Christmas music (my favorite is Bing Crosby!). When it is complete, we sit by the Christmas tree light and cuddle and read our favorite Christmas stories!

One of our special traditions with the Christmas tree is our yearly ornaments. Each year we buy an ornament that has a special meaning to our family. Then, as we begin our tree decorating, we start at the first year's ornament - my husband and my first year of marriage, and then we work through the years and look at each ornament and remember the meaning and memories behind it. I think this year I will make a photo album with each ornament and the meaning to have saved for years to come!

Happy 12 Days Til Christmas!

What's "Bored?"

I have seen rather a few posts lately centered around beating summer boredom. My initial thoughts are, "Bored? I would love to be bored right now!"  Summer is all but boring in our home. It is the time of year that we get to do all the exciting things that we can't do during the rest of the year. So I thought that today I would give you a little taste of our life right now. If you are in the same boat, may you find encouragement and laughter, knowing you are not alone. If you are battling summer bordom, let us give you a little inspiration!

Last week we finished up the county fair. For our first fair, I was rather proud. Princess brought home four blue ribbons and a white ribbon, plus a few participation ribbons, for her photography and chicken show, and even caught one of the greased pigs!. Brother brought home a red ribbon for his rooster (cockrel). I was rather proud of them.I was also proud of myself. See, I don't like birds one bit, but the love of my children found me outside "dunking" chickens into the swimming pool, getting them washed pretty to show. I felt so awefully bad for the shivering little chickens that I pulled out my extension cord and hair dryer and began blowdrying them, right when my sister called to see what I was doing. Awkward! We also attended all the other events to cheer on and encourage all of "our other children." That pretty much filled our week! By the time we made it home for the weekend, my son was so obsessed with showing that he was a "show sheep" for three days and would not speak to us without a "baaa!" in front of it. As I set the food out on the table one night he slipped in and stole his plate. I found him in his "pen" eating on all fours with his face in the plate because "he was a sheep." My daughter was just so tired that every little thing was DRAMA. Again - Bored? Really?

Yesterday, it was really hot, so we were unsure of what to do for our family day. The kids wanted to swim and play, but the heat. So we had an Underwater Theme Day. We began by coloring some pictures of undersea creatures. We watched some Under the Sea movies and then had a grilled fish dinner. The kids swam and pretended to be under the sea creatures and then we read some underwater stories before bed. It was a splash!

My kids are participating in the Library Summer Reading Program. This has filled in most of our gaps of free-time. Princess is shooting for top reader this year, so that has me running to the library for more books every other day or so. Brother isn't quite big enough to read on his own yet, so I use that time to work on phonics with him and do a bit of reading aloud together. I believe we are somewhere past 100 books since June 1. I even got on the band wagon and read a book myself. I only had to stay up until 1:00 in the morning to finish it!

Add in some trips to see family and some vacation spots, we will be hitting St. Louis, Grammie's and Loulou's and maybe even Nanny's for several days each. The weather forcasts the 100s coming up. I am hoping I come out as the Golden Tan Beauty and not Lobster Lady. We add in some Roller Skating, Bowling, Miniature Golfing, Lazer Tag and Pool parties with the youth group. We just finished up t-ball (such fun to watch them when they don't even know which way to run the bases!). Swim lessons begin in a couple of weeks and Princess has a birthday coming right up! Fill in the gaps with play time in the kiddie pool outside, doing our chores in the house and garden, playing backyard ball and having a few playdates with friends and we have ourselves one hoppin' summer shedule!

I am gearing my thinking towards 4th of July now. Last year we had a cozy firework display together at home. The year before found my husband and I on the roof dropping firecrackers down our chiminey to chase off bats (a story for another day!). I am trying to decide what this year will hold! I have gathered some cute recipes and ideas out of some family magazines. I will let you know how it all falls together!

For now, I have spent enough time on the computer and must return to my outrageous summer!
What ideas have you enjoyed this year?? I would love to hear how you are keeping busy!

Saturday's Fun Family Time Tip #6: Spring Time Joys

Ok, so last weekend was Easter. You are worn out and still playing catch up on your chores. If you are like me, you also started your Spring Cleaning! Tonight's Family Night may not be highest on your priority list! No problem! The great thing about family nights is that as long as you are together, it is making memories and building those essential family bonds! So here are some things that I do to create those family moments even when I am overwhelmed with my "to dos." The main idea is to celebrate those Spring Time Joys!

1) During your busy work day of Spring Cleaning, set "break" times (I try to break at 10, 12, 2, etc). During these breaks, give your kids your FULL attention. Have a snack. Play a short game of cards. Do a craft or activity like play-dough or beads. Make sure they know that even though you are busy, your time with them is still precious!

2) Play "while you are working" games. Play word games or have your kids read to you or tell you jokes. You are working, but that doesn't mean they can't be there having fun with you. Try focusing your games on Spring Themes.

3) Take time as a family to plant starter seeds for your garden. Or do another spring project like building a bird house or preparing your mini-farm for this springs fair animals. Clean out a closet or room together. These projects can be fun with good attitudes and positive direction for you kids!

Spring is here! Celebrate with them! Whatever you decide to do, add a fun project and creative snack or meal to top off the theme!

Here is a cute idea my sister did for Easter (and I know you all have left over hard-boiled eggs from last Sunday!):

Here's the easy recipe:
Ingredients:
Hard boiled eggs
food coloring
mayonaise
curry
salt
water

Directions:
Carefully peel the eggs. Cut them in half. Put the yolks together in a bowl. Fill four other bowls with different colors of food coloring and about 1 cup of water. Place the egg whites into the different colors and allow them to sit and "get colored." Mix together the egg yolks, mayonaise, a TBS or more of curry and dash salt (to taste!). It should be a creamy texture. Remove the egg whites from the coloring and let them dry. Then fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture and yo uhave a great Spring Time Treat!

Saturday's Fun Family Time Tip #5: Freezer Fill Fishing

It is spring and the best time to be outdoors! One of the things our family loves to do together is fish. It gives us quality time to spend without distractions - time to talk to one another, relax, and just enjoy God's creation together. It can also provide for a bit of fun family competition! Guess who took home the trophy on our last trip? That's right, Mama!

You don't need to know a ton about fishing to have fun. All you need is a pole, line, hook and worm...and a nice little pond or stream! Make sure that you have a license if you are not on private property! And one of the best perks about this family time activity: it puts food in the freezer!

And A Recipe To Match
Mama's Easy Fish Pouches
Ingredients:
Fish fillets
Butter or Margarine
Bag of frozen mixed or stir fry vegetables (or fresh if you have them!)
Italian seasoning
Foil

Preheat oven to 450*
Cut foil into approximately 6 in. squares
Place one fillet on each square
Place a hand-full of vegetables on the fillet
Place a tablespoon of butter on top of fish and vegetables
Sprinkle generously with Italian Seasoning
Fold foil up into a pouch and place on a baking sheet
Cook for about 30 minutes until fish is flaky and fully cooked inside
Serve over rice!

Saturday's Fun Family Time Tip #4 - Royalty for the Day

A really great way to have a family day is to let your child be the King or Queen for the day (or afternoon or night). Sound scary? It really isn't! You would be surprised the things your kids will choose to do if they get to pick. Mine usually want to play Candyland, watch movies, paint fingernails or go to the park. That's not so hard, is it? I think that by letting them choose the family activities every now and then, lets them know that you are interested in spending time with them and in the things that they enjoy doing - not just having them with you to enjoy what you enjoy.

Today's Recipe to Match:
This is a really easy recipe to do with the kids or in a hurry. It was one of the first that I was able to do by myself as a kid!

Princess Cake
Ingredients:
2 cans pie filling
1 box white cake mix
1 stick of melted butter or margarine
slivered almonds (opt)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
Pour pie filling into bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish
Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top (try to cover pie filling completely)
Drizzle the melted butter over the top
Sprinkle the almonds (opt)
Bake for about 1/2 hour until top is golden brown
Enjoy hot or cold!

Saturday's Fun Family Time Tip #3: There's Always an Occasion

There is always an occasion to celebrate! Seeking out those silly little holidays and celebrating them is one of the best ways I have found to come up with new and creative ways for us to spend time as a family.  Last week, we celebrated Barbie's 63 birthday! The week before that we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with green eggs and ham!  Today: It's St. Patrick's Day!
It is easy as corned beef and cabbage to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
1) This year, I got a couple of St. Patrick's Day book from the local library. We read one last night, and I explained about Irish culture and the myths of the leprechauns.
2) After they went to bed, I left a little gift outside their doors. This was no ordinary gift - I had totally forgotten to plan ahead and had to search the house high and low for something! (Tip: Planning ahead makes things easier!)
3) On St. Patrick's Day, wear green! Warn them that they will get pinched if they don't and (*gasp*) give them permission to gently pinch anyone not wearing green today!
4) Stew up some corned beef and cabbage! I found a great recipe that I am going to use at allrecipes.com. I remember my mom making this meal every year on St. Patty's Day! It is a great tradition!
5) If you are a craftier person than I, this would be a great day to whip out those creative buds and let them blossom!
6) If you are Irish, use this day to talk about your family heritage. One branch of my family came over from Ireland when our country was brand new!

It is easy to find ways to celebrate all the little occasions. It makes family time a little more interesting and exciting too!  If you need more ideas, there are websites out there that list all of those little known holidays (some may even make them up!). I like to go to this website: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/
Don't ever worry about feeling silly - it's the silly things that make the memories!

Saturday's Family Time Tip #2

With all that our family takes on in a week, a lot of times we are tired when Family Night rolls around. One of our favorite solutions is dinner and a family movie! Our family movies are not typical either. We spend the 2 hours conversing about what we are seeing on the TV. "Oh, that was not a good choice!" or "Wasn't she brave?" and other comments come out of my mouth constantly. The result? Media savvy kids who can watch with discernment. Often have I heard my four year old daughter interject, "That is not appropriate!" Likewise, when things get carried away on-screen, we turn it off, showing them that sometimes this is necessary to keep a pure mind.
So how to choose movies? My trusty sidekick is Focus on the Family's Plugged In movie reviews. You can find their sight at www.pluggedin.com. They even have a page for Family Movie Night, complete with activity pages for the kids and discussion questions for the whole family. Our "theme" this week was Superheroes." So here's this week's

Recipe To Match
Super-Hero Pockets - Makes 8

You Need:
1 can Jumbo Pop-up biscuits (I use the Flaky)
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 can marinara sauce
1 sm onion
1 bell pepper
Sm bag Mozzarella cheese
any other pizza-topping-type ingredients (opt.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
In a skillet, brown the beef, pork, onion, and bell pepper.
Roll each biscuit out flat.
Fill each biscuit with the meat filling and cheese. (Do not over-fill!)
Pinch each pocket closed.
Bake in oven until golden (approximately 10 minutes)
While baking, heat marinara sauce in small pot on the stove.
Serve each pocket covered with marinara sauce.

This makes a fun family project! Each person can add their own special ingredients to their pocket, making it just what they want! Suggested ingredients: Pepperoni, mushroom, pineapple, tomato

If you have a Fun Family Time Tip, feel free to share!

Saturday's Family Time Tip!

It is often hard for parents to afford to take their kids out to do things, especially going to the movies. If you have younger kids, B&B Theaters has made an easy solution to this! Two Saturdays a month they offer Saturday morning KidToons.  Your kids will feel like they have gotten a really special treat, and your budget will not suffer as much!

We're off to the theatre this morning! Check in each Saturday for more Fun Family Time Tips!