Happy New Years

I thought I would wish all of you a Happy New Year, Although I will have a new baby boy at the first of the year I can't think of a better new year resolution than to spend time of things that matter most in my life.

Our local newspaper called me for ideas and tips on how to spend more time with family, I was so honored to have our local newspaper come to me for my two cents on spending time with loved ones, They called me because I was the leader of a mothers group in our town. I thought I would just recap what I said, but hope to give you some simple insights to how you can spend real family time, please note we do not have a perfect system and it changes all the time. In general these are the guidelines and principles we use:

We have a family council, usually it's just my husband and I. and it's at least once a week we pick a day and usually it's Sunday, however if a problem arises we council with each other when the problem happens and not wait. especially if I am upset, I don't like festering emotions or problems. During Family council we will discus our financial situations, our sceduale, things that pertain to the week, the season, and so on. Most of these family councils happen over the dinner table or on a car drive.

I try to have a dinner at the kitchen table, besides this being the best time to talk as a family, I believe that children should have a chance every day to learn from mom and dad at the same time, Family dinner is that time. go here for more info on why it's so important for families to eat together at dinner


For more of a moment by moment or life happens I have this principle, live in the moment, not the past and not the future, Embrace your life as it happens. Love life and all the set backs, and share your time and  moments with your family.  And last and most important, I got my ah haa moment when I heard a Talk from my church leader that stated love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. 


"we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities." Go here to read the whole talk. 


I hope that you all have a happy New Year, and this winter take time to be with family, it's the best time to stay inside and do family things.