Compliments Only Please
After getting tired of hearing moans, groans and complaints from my three teenagers about the meals, my husband and I instituted a "no complaints" rule at dinnertime. Anyone who complains about what is being...
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A Beautifully Mixed Bouquet
A couple of years ago when my Great-Grandmother turned 85 she announced that she no longer wanted anyone to buy her presents for her birthday. She said that she had everything she needed and really just...
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Share Three Good Things
My husband and I tuck our children into bed each night. Each child is given some special time alone with Mom and Dad. Over the years we've developed a special ritual that helps keep our kids focused on...
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A Dinnertime Switch
Just to add a little fun to dinner once in awhile, I started a new family tradition. Typically everyone in our family sits in the same chairs at dinnertime, but every once in awhile I like to shake things up...
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Good Night John Boy
I remember the ritual of going to sleep at my parents house when I was growing up. There was always a routine. Everyone would wash their face and spend their time in the bathroom. Then we’d all pile into our...
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My Little Picassos
My children bring home so many art projects from school that I just didn’t know where to go with it all. Each paper is so precious to me that I didn’t want to just throw it away so I finally devised a system...
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King of the House
When I was growing up my church always sponsored a Three King’s dinner. The dinner was held on January 6th (the 12th day after Christmas). Known as Epiphany in the Christian calendar, it’s the...
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Backyard Camping
A special treat for my kids is backyard camping. Every weekend after the last day of school we celebrate the onset of summer by putting the tent up in our backyard and sleeping outside for the weekend. We get out...
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Reliving Vacation Memories
Each year my family goes on vacation we buy a special Christmas ornament as a memento. We’ve been lucky to find Christmas ornaments at most of our vacation spots. If we’re not able to find an ornament, we...
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A Cultural Dinner
Every couple of months our family hosts a special dinner. We decide upon a place that we would like to learn more about and plan the event accordingly. Every family member is responsible for doing their own...
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ColorFest
My family invented a new holiday called ColorFest. It occurs once every three months. We mark the days on the calendar at the beginning of the year and look forward to the celebration. ColorFest is all...
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Our Special Red Plate
Our family has a special red plate that we were given as a gift at the birth of our first child (12 years ago.) The beautiful red plate has the words "You are Special Today" written on it. The plate is used...
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Dinner is Sharing Time
Every night my family sits down at dinner together we each take a turn going around the table and saying something we learned that day as well as something good that happened that day. It gives us a chance to...
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A Calendar to Live By
Once our son entered kindergarten, our schedule just seemed to get busier and busier. In addition to the many social and work commitments that my husband and I already had, we added T-ball, birthday parties...
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Bringing the Outside In
My children love exploring the great outdoors. Every fall we’ve made it a tradition to spend an entire Sunday afternoon in mid-October exploring the woods behind Grandma’s house. We count the squirrels...
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