Week 7 - Sing & Dance With Them

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…

Do you remember growing up and singing Christmas carols with your family? I unfortunately never got to experience this with my own family but I did get to go caroling with a few friends from church when I was a young teen. I remember having so much fun as we passed out Christmas meals to those in need, and cheered them up with a few Christmas favorites. I will never forget that experience as it was one of pure joy for me. 

The only thing that would've made it even better? Getting to do it with family.

Singing and dancing are very fun (and active) ways to engage your children and make the most of their younger years. My son will be ten next month and we love to sing together. My personal favorite is when we are in the car singing along to KLOVE, or for the past couple months, Colt Slack, who by the way, is an AWESOME Christian rapper! We had the privilege of seeing him in concert recently and purchased one of his cds. My son and I have played that thing so many times I’m surprised it still works!

We also like to dance together at home in the living room. We’ll put in an upbeat cd and just have fun dancing to it. We used to do this ALL the time! To be honest, we haven’t done it as much lately and I miss it! Mental note: add to my to-do list this week. 

For those parents who are thinking “Me? Sing? Dance? Are you serious?!?” The answer, of course, is YES! 

Parents, our children are only young once. What we teach them today will carry on with them into their adult lives, and will be things they teach to their own children. Who cares if you can’t carry a tune to save your life? So what if you have two left feet? Your children will appreciate the quality time together and will have a blast sharing their experiences with others. And if they tell their friends about your singing handicap? Well, you can always LAUGH with them! 

This week:
Find a family-friendly cd and have fun singing and dancing together. Let’s show our kids that we can get crazy and have fun!

Blessed by Him,

Adrienne

Week 6 - Watch Movies With Them

As Christmas quickly approaches, I want to talk about one of my favorite ways to make memories with our children, and definitely form a greater bond with them.

As I think back on my childhood, I remember one special time that really stands out more than any others: watching Christmas movies with my Grandparents. Sipping on hot cocoa while watching Frosty The Snowman was a great way to spend those crisp winter days. Even though “the weather outside was frightful”, “the hot cocoa and movies were so delightful…”

Today, my favorite channel on television is the Hallmark channel. Not only do they have the classic Christmas cartoons I grew up on, but they also have wholesome movies that are great for the entire family. The best part is, Hallmark is great all year, regardless of the season, making it easy for parents to catch a movie with their kiddos before bedtime.

As Christmas comes and goes this coming week, there will be many memories shared. I hope that all my readers will consider making “movie time” one of them. Your children won’t be disappointed!

This week:

Watch a Christmas movie with your children. Feel free to make some cocoa and cuddle on the couch too! J

Blessed by Him,

Adrienne

Week 5 - Take Them Shopping With You

Shopping…A simple word, yet it puts fear in the hearts of many. 

The evil, dreaded grocery shopping. 

The men who have to endure clothes shopping. 

The kids who get bored and say “Are we done yet?” 

The Mom who leaves the store crying because her toddler is throwing a tantrum and she just doesn't have the energy to cope.

Most of us have experienced at least one of these scenarios in our lifetime. We have come to know shopping as a chore...something not fun...a task that needs to be completed quickly, and preferably ALONE.

Sadly this is a common thing for many parents today (myself included). We do our shopping before we pick up the kiddos from daycare, or if we take them with us, we go through each aisle absolutely frustrated with the endless questions:

“Mommy, can I have this?”

“Can you buy me that?”

“I want this!”

“PLEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE?????”

I think we are getting frustrated because we aren't looking with the right perspective. Our children need to learn from us, especially when it comes to shopping. 

Does your five-year-old know how to tell when a banana is ripe? 

What about your ten-year-old? Does he or she know how to tell how much sodium is in an item, and what sodium even is?

Which is healthier, whole milk or skim?

These are things that our children need to know, because someday they will have households of their own. Wouldn't you like to rest easy, knowing that your children have a good knowledge of healthy shopping?

If your kids are older, you can give them their own list of items to pick up. They can grab all the canned goods while you shop for the dairy and produce. Of course, they will have questions. They may pick up the wrong item. They may try to sneak a candy bar into the cart. Try not to get frustrated. Use this as a quality teaching moment with your child(ren).

If your kids are younger (still sitting in the shopping cart), you can ask them to help you decide which type of an item to get. Do you need three fruits for the week? Ask your two-year-old which fruit they would like, and then show it to them as you put it in the cart. 

Be sure to let them know that you value their opinion.

No longer do shopping trips need to be stressful.

No longer do we need to leave our children out of an essential part of life.

No longer do our children have to feel like burdens.

Now we and our children can have quality time together, learning together, and valuing each other, WHILE in the store.

This week:

Take your kids (all of them) to the store with you. Allow them to be part of the shopping process while letting them know their opinion matters to you. Come back to this post at the end of the week and leave a comment on how your trip went. Have a great week! 

Blessed by Him,

Adrienne

Week 4 – Pray With Them

If you grew up like I did, you probably weren't very familiar with the word “prayer”. In fact, I never heard that word until I got into middle school and was invited to attend church with a friend. My family was anything BUT religious, and I always felt like I was “different”. I never truly fit in with any of my relatives, and I grew up not knowing the value of close relationships.

When a friend invited me to church in middle school, I jumped at the chance. I never truly gave my heart to God at that time, but the seed had been planted. I remember my friend’s mom praying with me each time she dropped me off after church. She would hug me and let me know that God loved me. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful I felt when she said that. It was hard to fathom God loving me so much that he sent his son to die on the cross for me.

As I entered adulthood, I attended church occasionally, gradually finding my way to God and submitting my heart to him in December 2009 at age 26. By then, my son was five years old. I wanted him to have a relationship with God early on, so I started praying with him each night before bed. Over the past four years, I have taught him to pray in every circumstance (good or bad). 

We’re not perfect by any means, and we don’t always remember to pray. Life often gets in the way and we’re rushing out the door in the mornings to get to school and work on time. Sometimes, the only prayer my son hears is at night before bed. But even that one prayer can have a profound effect on his relationship with our Heavenly Father.

I have noticed our bond getting stronger each year as a result of our prayers. He is slowly opening up to me more about things that bother him, and he's becoming more comfortable talking to me about private issues. He knows he can rely on me to lead him in the right direction and he trusts my opinion.

At nine years old, my sweet boy loves to pray, and he spent a lot of time at the altar this past week at church camp. He loves God, and loves helping others. I couldn't be more proud of him! He is well on his way to becoming a “Kingdom Man”. I know firsthand that the power of prayer is powerful and effective. My hope is that you will come to know this too.

This week:

Set aside a few minutes each day to pray with your children. Do you have spare time in the mornings? Before bed? Make it a special time to acknowledge all that God is doing in your lives, and to bring some of your worries/concerns before him. Keep the prayers short and simple, as most young children will quickly get bored and lose interest. Lastly, don’t get discouraged if you miss a day of prayer this week. God’s mercies are new every morning! :)

Blessed by him,

Adrienne

Week 3 - Play Outside With Them

Do you remember your childhood years? Summer days were spent swimming at the public pool (or your backyard if you were “cool” enough to own your own pool). Bike rides with friends were a great way to dry off afterwards.

Fall brought falling leaves that provided just enough cushion when you fell into them. I remember my grandpa raking the yard and getting all the leaves into one big heap. Then here came little Adrienne, jumping right into that pile and spreading them everywhere. Grandpa shot me a look and then he smiled. He knew I was just a kid…and he was okay with that. 

Winter was a time of attempting to build snowmen. I say “attempt” because no matter how hard I tried, I could never roll a ball of snow. I really do not know how people used to do that, or still do. My snowmen were always lumps of snow piled on top of each other.

Really not a pretty sight.

Finally, spring came, filling our yard with lots of flowers and dandelions. I remember running through them all, pretending that I was a princess. Oh how those days bring back fond memories of my childhood.

If only I could be a kid again.

Oh but I can! You see, now that I am an adult, I have children of my own. My boys are 9 and 6 and VERY active. J They love to run, jump, climb trees, ride bikes, and much more! As their Mom, it is my job to encourage physical activity. With childhood obesity on the rise, being active is not just a preference; it’s a requirement. 

Sadly, a lot of children are being raised to believe that the only way they can “play” is with video games. I have seen children as young as 4 years old have an x-box, playstation, and Nintendo DS. They spent most of their days playing games all day long, only stopping to eat and use the bathroom. Then we as parents wonder why our kids aren’t active, and why they are suddenly gaining more weight than they should. 

Now I know I may offend some readers, and that is not my intention. I merely want to point out that this is a serious problem in America, one that needs dealt with NOW.

We need to be encouraging our children to go outside, even if that means we have to return the electronics to the store. Yes, you read that right. RETURN them. Sell them, do something! When I was a kid, I had to use my imagination outside in nature, often using sticks, leaves, and rocks to entertain me. And you know what? I WAS OKAY WITH THAT! And here’s a shocker: I’m still alive.  I didn’t die because I didn’t have the newest, most awesomest game that ALL my friends had. I lived through it, played outside, and now I can teach my boys to do the same. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I do buy them little toy swords, and they have a whole collection of legos, but they are very active outside. The legos are mainly for those days where we absolutely cannot get outside, or when we just need some quiet time. 

As parents, it is up to us to raise our kids to know the value of staying active and living a healthy lifestyle. Our children should be active at least one hour a day, but we should strive for more. By teaching them at a young age, they will have a better chance of sticking with it as they get older, and even teaching their own children the value of play.

This week:

Play outside with your children a few days this week. Bundle up and go build a snowman, or fort, or igloo. Go for a walk and talk about the beauty of nature that God created. Make snow angels. Have a snowball fight. It doesn’t matter what you do, just be ACTIVE.  

Blessed By Him, 

Adrienne

Week 2 - Read To Them

Ever since I can remember, reading has been my absolute favorite pastime (besides bowling, of course!) I used to have an endless supply of books that I would read over and over, and I frequently asked my grandparents to take me to the library to get more. I remember one library in particular; it seemed so huge when we walked in. There were aisles upon aisles of books, and I stood in awe as I tried to decide where to begin.

The excitement of knowing that I was one book away from a new adventure gave me goosebumps!

As a full-time working Mom, I don’t get much time to read for pleasure these days. While I used to read a book in a day or two, it now takes a month or more. That’s why I love reading children’s books. I can read TONS of those in a day! And the best part is, 

I get to spend quality time with my kids while doing so.

My boys love to read, and they love hearing me read to them. I try to read them a story each night before bed, and sometimes have them read the story to me. It’s a great way to bond with them AND get some reading time in. Plus, I am fostering their love of reading, which will help them in every aspect of their lives.

This week:

Read a story to your children. It can be anything (Bible stories, Disney, Dr. Seuss, etc). Take your time and enjoy the moment. If your children are old enough, let them participate in the reading. If you really want to make it fun, try using a different voice for each character in the story. My boys LOVE when I do this!

Once you’re done, leave a comment below and let the rest of us know what book you read. Happy Reading! :)

Blessed By Him, 

Adrienne

Week 1 - Play Games With Them

One of the fondest memories I have of my childhood was when my Grandpa and I played Checkers together. He taught me the game at a very young age, and I quickly fell in love with it. When I was bored, having a bad day, or just wanted time with Grandpa, he would get the game out and play it with me. Now that I’m older, I still love Checkers. In fact, it is my favorite game. I have attempted to pass this love down to my own children, but they seem to prefer Skip-Bo and Yahtzee. Fine with me, as long as it’s not video games! J I just want to be able to spend time with them, doing time-honored traditions like playing card or board games.

Where do we find the time???

 With our fast-paced society, I know it can be hard to find time to squeeze in a good game, especially if you work outside the home full-time. By the time you get home for the day, you’re ready to eat dinner and go to bed. Been there, done that! But believe me, it is well worth it if you will make it a priority to set aside thirty to sixty minutes, a couple days a week, to play a game with your children. Luckily I have been off work the past couple weeks for Christmas break, so my husband and I have gotten to play a game with them each day. When I go back to work Monday, though, that will probably dwindle down to two or three days per week. As long as you are consistent (once a week or more), you will see your bond with your children grow stronger. Just make sure to spice it up a little. Playing the same game over and over can quickly become a tedious chore rather than a favorite pastime. Take it from a Momma whose boys have gotten tired of Checkers! L

This week:

Play a game with your children at least one day this week. It can be a board or card game. NO VIDEO GAMES! Then come back to this post and leave a comment with the game you played and any thoughts you have.

Blessed by Him,

Adrienne