It's not our parents fault we are the parents that we are...we choose how we parent!

Family Home Evening.  We have our ups and downs with this "commandment".  I remember the charts and the stickers!  The desserts and the lessons.  My favorite time, I suppose was when I lived in Arizona, we had a little neighborhood of moms who got together and exchanged lessons with visual aids I loved those days.  Austin would tell the stories and Apryl would lead play and teach us the songs.  They loved making the desserts and eating them too.  Oh I do miss FHE with the little ones.

Tonight I tried to have a "discussion" about family that is away from us and how we could get to know them, keep in touch with them. Pretty much the Dad scoffed at me. I shut down and FHE was over. I need to fight back in these situations and as a young mom I would have.  After he went to bed the kids and I had an activity and a dessert we read our scriptures and said our prayers...but really when everyone doesn't play along it leaves a sadness, a gap a hole. :(

So ok, I want the writing to be positive and not to be negative toward the experience I share this really is my first negative experience shared, so why am I sharing it...

I guess to remind myself of the importance of following thru doing things as a family and not giving up when it doesn't go your way.  Sunday I went to a YW Presidency mtg... my thought when I left there was "Ahhh, to be young and not jaded!".  Those young moms were happy and positive and willing to go and do.  I on the other hand felt cautious and well jaded! 

Back when we first moved away from family I took pictures and created a game that we liked to call "It's all Relative"!  I cut up pictures (back in the day I always had doubles printed) and the kids and I for FHE labeled them, mounted them on posterboard and laminated them.  Then we played games like "go fish" and "memory" with these cards so that they would know faces and family and never forget.  I didn't let myself give in to the thinking this is dumb, it won't work, who cares!

I worry too much any more that people will be offended.  I was never one to care about that!  Suck it up, is how I was raised, "It's not bleeding get back in there, if it is blessding it's too far from your heart to kill ya!"  was pretty much the theory around the child hood home!  These days too many people are offended, don't want to give it all they've got, don't want to do this or that because it's too hard.  Where am I on that scale any more?  I have kinda turned into a hermit for fear of something???         I'm just not sure what!

Church leaders have instructed members to set aside Monday night as “family home evening.” This is a time for families to study the gospel together and to do other activities that strengthen the family spiritually, create family memories, and increase unity and love.

The moral of the story tonight is, Life is hard.  Following the commandments is hard, for as easy as they are. But as it says in the New Testament we "can't serve two masters" so we have to buck up, it's important ... I can testify that it pays off, that the memories and lessons learned when parenting a REAL Family night do pay off and the rewards and blessings are many and last for generations of time!