Endeavour to be FUN!

I find myself today grateful that my kids have married into fun families!!!

As Richard and I look back at our childhood we both say "we didn't really have fun families." Our family time just wasn't that chatty, game playing laughing fun time we see other families have.  We had both wanted our kids to be raised in a fun family.   In looking back we thought we made life fun, but observing our kids in-laws' families,  especially our sons we know now, we just didn’t know how to do that!

My childhood idea of fun

When my brother threw me down and hog tied me - laughing and smiling or when he would drop me down in the hay bails so I couldn’t get out laughing all the while,  I thought we were having fun. When my sister would take me on trips and we would pick up hitch hikers, or my brother would let me drive to school in the 9th grade because he was hung over.  I thought we were having fun because everyone was smiling and laughing, even if I wasn’t.

When Richard was left on his own to run the streets or turned loose on the family vaca in exchange for the parents "adult time" - he thought alone, unsupervised time was his family fun time!

Us raising kids to have fun

When we had kids I expected him to help me thinking he would know how to have fun,  and today he  said he "didn’t know how and probably didn’t care he was trying to make a living"!!!
Life is hard right?  And Thus We See...We didn't grow up in families that "had laugh out loud fun"!

Fun playing out in life ... or Not

It’s so interesting to me then, what you as a child are raised to believe is fun, because of what you see the adults do in your life.

So today for the first time I guess I’m thinking having a fun family is hereditary and conditioned on knowing how to have a fun family already! Hum!!! HEr me, we are not dissing our parents at this point we are learning, researching, gaining information so as to break cycles for future generations.

Break the Cycle!  Endeavour to Be Fun!

Accepting this knowledge doesn't have to stymie the family fun.  This year with my whole Endeavour Project I will find a way for my family to be and have so much fun it will start a new cycle.  Break old patterns and achieve that laugh out loud, be Dang Fun Fun status!  Building memories is what my present state of life is!  Endeavour to be ... Dang Fun!

Out with the Old and In with the New Year ... 2013!

Hardin Family Knows how to Have Fun!

I'm on this kick this year that I'm going to be fun! And together with my daughter we are learning to not be so intense.

On New Years Eve we just happen to have the perfect setting for learning this new skill!  It is a skill I've come to believe!!!  No tension in the room, No crying or pouting, No hovering over anyone, No yelling, No drinking, No WAIT there was indeed COMPETITION! YES!!! It can be done!!!  

And here as I sit blogging away I remember it and think about it 23 days later, it still makes me smile.  What a great night we had!  I love it when families invite us to their home and I can feel the spirit of love, harmony and Christ.  And When music is involved, cuz that for sure is one that was, is and will always be lacking in my home - cannot carry a tune nor read any music.  My kids will only know me for "Now the Day is Over", before family prayer!!!  Anyway I got lost there for a min, I was thinking about going to Teares at Christmas and singing, feeling love, harmony and the Christ also in their home I guess, Ben's on my mind today  :)  anyway ... moving on  ... I miss Amric ;)

 

Games are tuff, it seems it might create anxiety or some sort of tiff.  Someone might be mad they lost, feel insecure they aren't the best or sad to not be included.  But not here, not in this Hardin home not on New Years Eve 2012.  Tooooo Bad I pass my headaches on to my kids.  We lost Austin for awhile there!

As Amric was already set apart to go into the MTC we were really striving to "feel the Spirit" of the thing and not bring on negative vibes - so what to do for New Years Eve, he was Already missing a ton of Football - (that was a sour note already! - so many puns)!!!  Anyway we were grateful to be included in our "In-Laws" planned, organized and WAY FUN night.

Blowing up balloons, telling stories, stacking plastic cups, and werewolves are just a few of the CRAZY things that went on, not to mention that a meal in itself was served every hour after 6 o'clock. 

Secretly beforehand My thoughts we how could any of this be fun without the TV?  Really?? Without watching the ball drop at midnight?  TRADITION!

But look at me - 23 days later I'm still smiling...  Thank You Hardin/Sobczak Family.

OUT WITH 2012 and in with 2013

As I am writing this I'm reminded of that old saying "whatever you are doing at midnight you'll be doing all year'!  

Well, I was with family and I was having fun.  New starts were everywhere!

At one point in the night we wrote habits we wanted to break or "something we wanted to rid ourselves of" and then placed them on this pile of limbs.... we burned Out the Old Habits with fire and brought in new habits with smiles and hope.  So maybe that is why I keep subconsciously thinking this year that ... I AM DANG FUN and I WANNA BE WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE FUN TOO!  I'm gonna have some fun :) 

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” 

and that's how I felt at midnight 2012-2013

 and again now at midnight!!!!

No More Desire To Do Evil!

Don't let your imagination run away with you.

I am striving to be more fun!  Too not worry so much.  The problem for me is that when I did just "let down my hair" BE that FUN person, I couldn't do it and not cross lines, getting myself into trouble.  People who that is a problem for them - they are fun and laugh without crossing lines - well they don't understand "wound up tight" people like me.  

A person who does create problems in my head, who isn't worry free, who has seen the problem first hand so it's not unreasonable to "go there".  

One of my favorite people was a friend and a teacher she has 11 children she knew how to have fun and I think she was most perfect. She was a missionary without reserve.  She could associate with everyone. When she passed away her funeral wasn't so sad, like some because you knew that while she was here, she enjoyed life everyday and taught her kids to do that too.  It's my goal to be more like her.  

For if I truly have become a better person I should be able to have fun without crossing lines.  I'm gonna give it a shot.  For I do believe my "heart has changed and I have no more desire to do evil..."  as said in Alma 19:33  I think that I may have not just been protecting myself, but creating a problem where there wasn't even one in the first place.

Drink long ASK QUESTIONS -

Today Richard and I went for Breakfast.  

We are having so much fun together alone!!! ;) I asked him "how do you think your parents sat at the Restaurant and talked and drank coffee for hours"?  (cuz they did)   He said "I don't know, they did though and talked and talked and talked."  

So we were wondering What did they talk about.  Anyway.... this conversation went weird - "I guess I didn't know my Dad at all." He said.  I responded "I guess I didn't know mine either. I'm still wondering why they lived apart for decades."  Richard said "They just lived separate lives.  He lived two lives.  He liked being away from home and Your Mom just let it happen that way."   

Isn't it weird that we don't know our parents?  Who they were when they were young?  who they were before they were married.  What they loved, talked about, believed in?  I made the comment that "I seemed to be more bothered by this now than I was when I was in the middle of it."  Richard said that "now you are them, you've watched your kids be them, (really ayris was your mom and it wasn't alright with her!)   And now you want to be YOU, You want to be in love, be a couple, have fun and Be happy".  He is right.  I DO.  

see I learnt alot last year!!

Today I say -  Find out who you are.  

Ask YOUR PARENTS QUESTIONS.  ASK YOUR KIDS QUESTIONS.

BE HAPPY it's how it SHOULD BE!

I AM DANG FUN!

I'm so not in the mood to blog and Anona always has way funner things happen to her to blog about I want to be fun like Anona!!!
When Ayris was in Gymnastics I was going thru a slump in life and she and I made cards to help us be positive and to help Ayris be motivated to go backwards on the floor exercise!
My card said "I am DANG FUN!"  I was working so hard to convince myself and others I was, am, and can Be FUN!
Ayris' card said "I am a scary white yellow lion and I can go backwards!"  She went to a Russian Coach and to a Sports specialtist...
Ya know what we decided?  We didn't need anybody to tell us we are fun we just know we are!!!