The last time I was at my dad's I asked him if I could steal this old Family Home Evening manual.
Is the picture below, not hilarious? The big floppy bows are so funny, but I guess in the 2011 version of this book they would probably have to have big flowers in all the girls hair! So funny.
Anyhow, I actually tried to put a little thought into FHE on Monday night and used one of the lessons out of it: Accept Yourself As You Are
I had everyone say what their favorite dessert was, their favorite time of year, their hair color, favorite thing to do at church, etc. We talked about how we can all be different and like different things and that's okay.
I read a story in the manual called; Billy Bluebird Learns a Lesson. Billy sees all kinds of other animals and tells his mom he wants to be able to swim like a duck, and to have a bushy tail like a squirrel, and be big like an owl, etc. Billy's mother told him that as long as he wished he was like everyone else he wouldn't be a good bluebird because he wouldn't learn to fly and to sing, because all he would think about was what everyone else could do. He learned how to sing and realized he like being a bluebird.
When I asked Trevan what we learned from this story, he said, "We all have different features."
The lesson manual gave an idea to have everyone go through each family member and tell them why he/she is a great part of our family and special.
I started, and when I got to Trevan I was telling him what a nice boy he is, and how smart he is, and as I was talking, his face did the thing it does when he is trying not to cry, and is eyes were a little bit watery, even though he had a smile on his face. He was literally soaking in every word. I wanted to cry. Do I really not tell him what I think is so great about him often enough? I wanted to cry! I know I tell him I love him every day, but I also get on his case every day too. It was seriously a wake up call for me to make sure I am praising him enough everyday. I guess I think because I'm not the kind of person that really needs so much praise, that my kids might be like that too, but obviously he does need it, and I need to remember that!!!
I told Mallary how she was such a good big sister and tries to help Jonah when he is sad, and freely gives out her kisses to him. John told her that he loves to hear her laugh. I told Jonah I love that he is so happy all the time. Trevan told John that he was a good worker to make money for our family. When Mallary came to Trevan, she just kept saying, "ummm... you stepped on my back yesterday..." over and over. It was so funny. Trevan had done that the day before, and I guess Mallary wasn't over it.
The kids loved hearing what we love about them and appreciate about them!
We talked about how it was important that we didn't worry about what others think about us. How we don't have to wear the same clothes as other people (you know I had to say that because I hate the whole star wars/character shirt thing Trevan has to have), and that it's okay to be different.
Then we made some wooden spoon puppets of ourselves. You can see them
HERE.
It was actually a good family home evening!!
The pictures below were after a family home evening in September.
