Archive for the ‘Family Corner’ Category

Sharing Secrets with Your Children

Do you remember how it felt when your close friend shared a secret with you?  Didn’t it make you feel kind of special?  Even privileged and honored that your friend trusted you with her valuable secret?

On a deeper level, I believe it created a closer bond between the two of you…after all, you both shared some secret information that none of the rest the world around you knew.

I love to share secrets with my boys.  I like making them feel like they’re really special to me when I share something that nobody else knows.  For instance, last night I shared a simple secret with my 12-year-old son.  I whispered quietly to him that I have a pumpkin pie hidden in the back of the fridge for Wednesday night after church.  I could tell that he was thrilled.  He promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone…and I know that I can trust him.

Of course, I do this with all of my boys from time to time.  I share silly secrets that really don’t mean anything…but they still seem to make my boys feel special.  On the other hand, I’ve also had a serious discussion with them about when one should keep information to themselves and occasions when one should tell information that they know.

Sharing fun, silly secrets with your children can be so enjoyable.  You’ll even find yourself feeling like a little kid again, too…sharing little giggles, whispers, winks, and those little mischievous grins.

Dig Your Heels in the Dirt

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. ~ Proverbs 14:1

I read the above verse to my Sunday school girls this morning. They’re not too young to learn what an awesome opportunity we have as Christian ladies to build our house with our words and our actions.  Sadly, too many married women may make the choice to throw in the towel and wave her hands wearily exclaiming that she’s given up. 

America wails about the trees and the whales…but where are the determined campaigns to save the homes and the broken hearts of the children?

Homes are being torn apart every single day.  According to statistics for America, the divorce rate is constantly climbing.  Statistics show that first time marriages fail at the rate of 41%, second time marriages fail at 60%, and third time marriages fail at 73%.

The price…the broken pieces of these statistics are the children. The article, “18 Shocking Statistics about Children and Divorce” should cause one to realize the worth of the previous statement.

As married women and mothers, we need to dig our heels in the dirt!  We need to determine that Satan will not have our marriage, our children, our home!!!

“A wise woman buildeth her house.“  “Buildeth” is the present simple form of “build”.  It takes constant work.  We need to determine to keep building…plugging away….working at it.  That, of course, means we will have to keep working on our marriage and with determination keep learning what we can do to be a better wife and mother.

Putting God first to become the best Christians that we possibly can be will help us become the best wives and mothers that we can be as well.   Ladies, there’s power in prayer…so keep praying.  Dig in the Word of God…and then dig your heels in the dirt and stay there!

Fun Hobbies and Collections

From the time I was a little girl I’ve had a genuine interest in collecting “stuff”.

Could it be hereditary?

My dad was a genuine collector of paper and envelopes.  The best part was that his hobby was absolutely free.  Incoming junk mail provided for his growing collection without a single cent forked out on his part.

I really love my dad!  He’s progressed over the years to collecting computer parts.  He’s a pro when it comes to messing with computers and putting old parts together to create new usable computers.  I’m enthused over his talent, but I think my mother is slightly weary of his ever-growing collection of parts in the garage. (I don’t blame her though; my hubby has quite a few growing collections that I wouldn’t mind disappearing. lol)

During my third grade year, I took up collecting stamps.  My wonderful mother supported my interest by allowing me to confiscate every stamp from incoming mail.  I learned to soak them and safely remove them from the envelopes. For years, I continued watch for new releases of stamps from the post office and watched intently over my growing collection.  I also collected a few other odds and ends such as some coins and pretty rocks.

When I was first married, I gained an interest in collecting Coca-Cola items for my kitchen.  Soon,  my kitchen was swamped with lots of this terrific “stuff”.  My passion has slowly turned to things that take up less space and require less commitment, such as my wooden spoons. (view picture here) And as you can see above, I have a very small collection of praying hands.

I think most human beings find a fascination in collecting “stuff”.  Collecting a variety of like items tends to offer such simple enjoyment…

Of course, it’s collecting something that you have a passion about that makes you a true genuine collector.  I mean, who could find a thrill about collecting worms if you hated them?  I think really it’s the “hunt” for the next item to add to one’s collection that adds to thrill of it all.

I believe collections are valuable (not necessarily in the sense of money value)…they inspire conversation and allow you to connect with others who have the same interest.  They allow you to relax for a moment and just enjoy the simple things in life.

I’m just wondering what sort of collections or fun hobbies that my readers have?  Please share with us here.  I would love to hear from you!

Creating Family Traditions

There’s just something so endearing about family traditions!

Family traditions connect your family together and create pleasant memories that last a life time.

Don’t just wait for Christmas time to roll around when it comes to creating family traditions….get creative and create a few that you can enjoy year around!

Traditions can be as simple as doing a puzzle or game together on a certain night.   Long ago I created Fridays as “I Love You Day“.   It’s always been a surprise what that might be…for instance, a piece of chocolate left at their spot on the table.  I created it so that my boys would have something to look forward to and also as a symbol that showed them how much I loved them.

If you have some family traditions, I would love for you to share them here with other moms.  Your ideas can help inspire others.

My Super Mom Picture

My 12-year-old son drew this picture of me this week.  At the top of the page it says, “Super Mom“... and as you can see at the bottom… apparently Super Mom cooks super fast! 

Just a note to self: Slow down!  No wonder I’m always making a mess in the kitchen!

For you moms out there, I want to encourage you not to feel like you have to be super mom all the time.  Remember to delegate jobs.   I started teaching my boys how to fold their own laundry when they were only 4 years old. (And remember, things don’t always have to be perfect!)

Does delegating  housework make me less of a mom? No, it definitely allows me to be an “unstressed” mom…and believe me, that’s a relief to everybody in our house! lol

How about you all? How do you get your kids involved at home?  Please share any tips or ideas!

Family Game Time Can be Educational!

During the Black Friday sales, I picked up a brand new game of Monopoly.

I was excited, because as a teen, I loved to play this with one of my friends….we played for hours….and I would keep loaning her money just to keep the game going.  (Just to let you know,  that’s against the rules, but apparently, I didn’t read the Monopoly rules too well at that age. lol)

Now back to the present: Since it had been years since I played, I sort of dreaded the first time we were going to play.  We sat there intently reading through every rule and then sorted out all the game pieces and finally gave every player their share of money. (You wouldn’t believe how excited my boys got about their own stash of money…they thought they were really rich!)

Whew!  By the time we accomplished all of this, I was already tired.  I sort of hinted that maybe we should wait until tomorrow to play now that we had thoroughly covered all the Monopoly rules…but they spurred me on…anxiously waiting to start the game.

Once we started playing…we had soooo much fun!!!!  I found myself having an amazing time with my boys.  We decided to play again the next day too.  It was quite addictive.

Making it an educational time…

I’m the mean banker…I make each player tell me the “exact change” that I need to give back when they buy property.  Thankfully, their math skills are quickly sharpening by doing this.

I have found that monopoly can be quite educational for children if you take the time to teach and instruct about them using their money…and allow your kids to think for themselves during the game.

Resource: If you hate reading rules, here’s some interesting videos on “Basic Monopoly Rules”

Please feel free to share some games that you and your family use to help build educational skills.