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family

The Best Games for Elementary School Kids

The Best Games for Elementary School Kids

  Elementary school kids need to play games. They need to play games because games reinforce math and reading concepts, reasoning and analytical skills, and good sportsmanship. Not to mention that games are just plain fun. We all need to have fun and play just for the sake of playing. (Brené Brown talks about this in The Gifts of Imperfection.) The 12 games that follow are my favorite elementary school kid games. Older kids and adults will like them all, too. Because they’re fun and interesting. There are 18 awesome games on my preschooler list plus: Guess Who Game – I am preferable … Read more

Coping and Making Memories

It’s hard to make happy family memories with your kids while your mother is slowly slipping away. Impossibly hard. Questioning God hard. Crying alone in the dark late at night hard. It’s so unfair. Neither is it appropriate for my kids to see me moping through my life, mired in depression and self-pity. (Allie asks What happened? Why Mommy cryin’? Mommy sad? way more than I think is acceptable.) When we’re not otherwise occupied with camps or playdates or helping Grandma and Pappy, we spend a lot of time at Hersheypark. It’s a convenient escape. We hike up and down … Read more

75 Ways to Love Your Kids

75 Ways to Love Your Kids

A long time ago, a wise friend told me that love isn’t something that you feel; it’s something that you do. I like that definition because it emphasizes that loving is a choice, not something that strikes you – or doesn’t. Don’t let this list leave you feeling guilty or inferior. No parent can do all of these things every day or even every week. They are merely suggestions, things you can do to love your kids even on days when you aren’t in the mood. Say “I love you,” especially when you’re angry with them. It’s then they most … Read more

Our Family Rules – According to Grace

When I told Grace that I was making family rules, she had some suggestions. I really wanted to include her suggestions in my finished project, but – {ahem} They weren’t exactly the kind of rules you’d want hanging on the wall when someone comes over. Grace was completely serious as she explained the rules to me. Her finger waggled, and her right hand was on her hip. I wrote her rules down eagerly, and I promised to include them in my blog post. Here they are: The Rules that Didn’t Make The Cut No picking your butt in the bed … Read more

Our Family Rules Tutorial

family rules poster

My family rules. It’s a fact. My family also has rules. It’s another fact. Years ago, I saw a family rules canvas on The Pleated Poppy. As soon as I saw it, I knew I would make my own. It’s only taken me two years, but I finally got mine done. This month, I participated in a challenge for ScribbleShop.com. The idea was that I’d get a box of craft supplies, and I’d have to come up with a craft using all of the items inside. Family Rules Poster Materials One very large canvas (I used 24×36.) Acrylic paint Paint … Read more

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile (with my family inside)

my family in front of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

Yesterday, I got an email from Ketchup Kylie about the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile being in the Harrisburg area for a few days. Oh, neat, I thought. I bet Grace would like to go see it. But I am attending the Relevant Conference this weekend, and the dates and times of the official Wienermobile events didn’t fit into our schedule. I emailed Ketchup Kylie back with my regrets. A few emails, 2 phone calls, and 12 hours later, we ate lunch with Ketchup Kylie and her partner, Dyl-icious Dylan. Not long after that, we gave our new friends a tour of … Read more