Monday, August 23, 2010

to save a life

While many families are not able to save a life, ours has been involved recently in saving the life of Charlie.





My son's girlfriend found a stray dog. She did not know what to do with it. She mentioned it to my son, who mentioned it to my daughter who has some connections with a shelter. She found out what we can do with him if we can't find him a home. In the meantime, we secured a foster family for him, baby sat for him, posted his name and story on facebook, and are trying all we can to save Charlie's life. Working together as a family has been hard but it has been good knowing that we are trying to help Charlie unite with the perfect family.

Friday, August 13, 2010

cleaning

I know that kids will not think that cleaning house together is a good idea for a family activity. But in reality, it is. It helps show the team work of family. It helps show the value of a clean and healthy home. It helps show that we take pride in where we live and how we present ourselves. It can be a chore of course, or you can try to add a fun element to this necessary task. Turn up some loud music-you can play your "oldies"! Have a timed contest. Or see who can clean out the most trash/unwanted items. Or have a treat when all the work is done. Working together as a family is always a good family activity!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

outings with other families

It is nice to be able to take family outings with other families from time to time. It still allows time for the family to be together. It also allows others to model and reinforce family values (or allows teachable moments otherwise!) It also allows some of the pressure to be off the parents and the children, allowing everyone some space to relax and enjoy the outing.