Let us Love One Another

"Behold, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

John 4: 7-8

The annual Family Valentine's Day celebration is one of our favorite family traditions. We set the mood with candles, decorations, a pleasingly prepared dinner, a scrumptiously decadent dessert, and games/activities that increase relationships and get the LOOOOVE flowing. We try to make a big deal for Valentine's Day, for God is love; let's celebrate loving one another!

One of the few times we get out the fine china.

Ready to eat...close your mouth, buddy (blue shirt)!

The kids love making name tags and we have to have candy on the table. This is a great opportunity to teach them how to properly set a table.

Love those fun and free printables

Course #1

A certain sentimental soul got out the goblets from our wedding...

Love that these brothers love each other

Happy Valentines Day to my Valentine

I love taking pics with my kids. Note the Christmas cards still up in the background.

Love this crew! We enjoyed a meal of Swiss Steak!

Our son had his own idea for Valentine's Day - so he ditched out early...

...for a fun Valentine's Date. Love the Pink!

Texas Sheet Cake: Sam+Julie = N.A.O.B.S.B.J.A.

A sweet Valentine gift from my son!

Gotta have flowers for the day of LOVE!

Yes, you are sweet!

This event is not one where Mom does all the work. That doesn't fly at our house. One year the boys help to prepare and serve the meal and the girls help to prepare and serve the dessert. The next year we switch. It's a group effort so everyone feels a part of creating a tradition of love. 

I love my family so much...they are everything to me. Each Valentine's Day I give a special Valentine to my husband and children. It's become another tradition - one I started when our oldest was 6 or 7. I specifically list the qualities I love about them. I hope they are saving these Valentines and will be able to look to them for an assurance of the love their mother has for them. 

A few of the cards over the years...

I feel it important to tell your kids and spouse you love them every day. Don't be afraid to speak these words because they will ring in their hearts for years to come. However, I firmly believe it is vital to leave a written record of your feelings for those you love. It's something tangible they can look back on for their lifetime. These records are important family history documents as well. I cherish the "love letters" I've received from my parents and grandparents and hope my children will have the same experience. 

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

The 10 Minute Game

A Game a Day Keeps the Grumps Away...

As long as it's a 10 Minute Game!

I love playing games, I really do. However, games that last a long time, require a lot of setup, or lots of instruction, are just not my type. I like simple and fun games that are quick to setup, fast to explain, simple to catch on to, and where play time is ten minutes or less. It is tough for me to justify playing Monopoly or Settlers of Catan on a whim. I do have ten minutes to get out a quick one and have a little fun.

Christmas brought us two, new "ten minute" games. The whole family has already mastered them and we have deemed them as "Keepers". 

Tenzi
This was a gift from my sister's family. It is the BEST! This is a one minute game or possibly 30 seconds (depending on how many rounds you play). Each person (up to 4 players), receives ten dice of the same color. However, each player's dice are a different color. I may have blue...she may have red...he may have pink, etc. Everyone rolls their dice at the same time and the object of the game is to roll your own dice until they are all one number. 
Example: I roll my dice and three of them are fives, the rest are random. I set aside my fives and roll the other seven until they are all fives. I yell "Tenzi" when all ten dice are the same. There are may variations that make it fun and fast-paced. Tenzi is the perfect game to play with younger children, too. We have played it at least 50 times, and we tend to play at least 20 rounds each time the game is brought out. Everyone wants to play so I got us another set so 8 people can play at once. BEST GAME EVER!!!!! 

Spot it
I first noticed this game at a lunch date with a friend. She had her five year old with her, and to provide some entertainment, she took this game out of her purse and this cutie went to town with matching fun. The cards are circular, filled with random items such as a four leaf clover or a paint splat or a lightning bolt. Sometimes the items are big, sometimes they are small. Each player is given one card to begin with. The remaining cards are in a deck with one card turned over. The first person to spot a match between their card and the top of the deck (by shouting out the item) gets the deck card. The next card in the deck is turned over and the matching adventure is on again. Sounds easy? Well, it is harder than you think. Sometimes it takes me 15 seconds or more to discover that I actually have a match, because each card has 10 or so items on it and the object is not always the same size as a previous card. My youngest child received Spot it for Christmas. This is another fun one that takes only five minutes to get through, is fast paced, and addictive. However, since you are competing against other people, some tears of frustration may be shed. 
Tip: If you're playing with younger ones, keep the older kids out. They tend to take over and the little people get upset. A four and six year old play well together, but when the fourteen year old is in, he'll find all the matches and then you'll wish the game was never pulled out in the first place. 

A quick, 10 Minute Game is a great motivator...

"Get all ready for bed and we'll have time to play a 10 Minute Game"
"Go tidy your room and we can play a 10 Minute Game"
"Want to play a game after dinner? East your veggies!"
"Get dressed for the day and we can play a game!" (My 4 year old loves to live in her PJs)
"No more grumps! Cheer up and we'll play a game!"
"Get ready for church by 10:15 and we'll play a 10 Minute Game."
"Let's have a 30 minute quiet time and then we'll enjoy a game together." LOVE THIS ONE

...You get the picture.

I'm developing a 10 Minute Game bucket. When it's time for a quick game, get out the bucket and pick one. Or, have two games going - younger kids on one, older children on the other. 

Stay tuned for more ten minute game ideas. February is our Media Fast Month so we'll be doing a lot more game playing for the next 24 days.

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

O, Christmas Tree!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

Author Unknown

Our family's Christmas season began on November 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving. We made our annual trek to Beck's Tree Farm in Alpine, Utah. It's a whopping 5-mile trek from our home to this winter wonderland of fresh pine. This is one of my favorite family traditions. Everyone gets bundled up for the yearly search for the perfect Christmas tree. This year, we invited my brother and his family to come with us. Precious cousin time resulted, along with muddy shoes, needle pokes, complaints of being cold, sunny skies, a 40 degree day and yes, our AMAZING TREE!

It's a process, you see, for wandering through rows of trees looking for the pine that's just right takes skill and talent. It can't be too short, nor too tall. It can't be too fat or too skinny. It can't have brown needles or strange growths. It needs to be more on the green side than the blue/silvery look. The Bushman Family Tree can't have awkward bare spots, and the top has to be workable. However, non-symmetrical is not a problem. Once we get home, the clippers come out and we give the tree a shave to achieve that perfect Christmas tree shape that I love. 

This year, we traveled to Beck's, found THE TREE, cut it down (well, Beck's cut it down), tied it to the roof (again, Beck was our friend) and drove home in 59 minutes. Whew, record time! We still managed to have some fun, especially with the extra six tree-hunters in tow.

And here's our perfect Christmas tree...

It looks like a big jumble of pine now...but wait 'till you see the end result.

And that's our 2012 Christmas Tree Adventure. O, Christmas Tree - much pleasure thou can'st give me and my family. You truly have afforded us the greatest glee...that of traditions and Memories that STICK!

More to Come....but until then, Stick-to-it!

A Woman's Perspective of Fathers and Sons

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,
My oh my what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine coming my way,
Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye. 

"Song of the South"

Because I'm a woman, and a wife, and a mother, my Raising Stick-to-it Kids Blog is naturally written from that perspective. I tend to be a blog-hog when it comes to my thoughts and ideas for raising stick-to-it kids. However, here's my chance to focus on the relationship between Father and Son.

A few weeks ago, Sam took our three youngest sons to a Fathers and Sons event sponsored by our church - an overnight camping trip in the canyon. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time together and learn some great lessons!

First lesson learned: Camping trips take a lot of work!
In our home, if an activity is taking place, all hands on deck. It's not Mom and Dad getting everything ready while the children veg on Game Cube or the iPad. EVERYONE, even the four year old, is involved. Assignments are given and hard work is expected. Fun times don't just magically occur. It takes planning, preparation, organization, and work to pull it off. Want to have fun? Get in on the prep work to make it happen. While preparing for this Fathers and Sons event, we had some complaining and griping. Certain someones weren't entirely thrilled about finding the flashlight or taking the tent out of the storage bag to be sure the poles and stakes are there. It was a good opportunity to discuss the above, and to stick to our expectations. Hopefully next time, the grumps will be non-existent. Wishful thinking?

Second lesson already learned: Pre-cook the tin foil dinners!
We have learned from experience that although in foil dinners are delicious, filling, and extremely satisfying on a camping trip, they take FOREVER to cook in a fire. Our solution - cook them in the oven BEFORE you leave. Nothing is worse than getting to the campsite, setting up all the gear, and realizing the potatoes and carrots in your tin foil dinner are still hard after sitting in the coals forever. So, the men left at 5PM with hot tin foil dinners. When they were ready to eat at 7:30, the food was still warm, cooked, and delicious. (Yes, I made them.) Some may say that it takes some of the fun out of it. Whomever those people are must have all the time in the world and no hungry kids whining at them.

Third lesson learned: Learn to setup the tent!
When my guys came home, one son expressed some frustration in having to help setup the tent. Here's how the conversation went...

"My friends didn't have to setup the tent...their Dads just did it." 

I asked him, "Why do you think Dad had you help setup the tent?"

"Because he's blind?"

"That's not the main reason. What's the real reason?"

"So we learn to do it?"

"YES!!!!"

Well, it's not just to learn how to setup a tent. Lesson number one comes into play here, too. It's the "all hands on deck" mentality. Hard work is expected and fun times follow.

Not our tent, but these guys sure helped!

Fourth lesson learned: Don't drink multiple cans of soda before bedtime!
Before retiring for the night, they all made a bathroom stop. After settling in their sleeping bags, our youngest son declared that he had to go again. Great! Dad had everyone get up again so there would be no chance of another child having to use the facilities. 4AM rolled around. He had to go again. Wow! Dad had everyone get up again to make the trek to the restroom. We don't drink soda on a regular basis at our house. Instead, we use it as a privilege for special times. Was it worth it boys?

Their friend all night long

 Fifth lesson learned: Have a zip line at every camping trip!
The zip line was the highlight of the Fathers and Sons outing. They truly could have come away with singing:  

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,
My oh my what a wonderful day!

All the boys, even Dad, went down several times and loved every minute of it!

Sixth Lesson Learned: Just do it, even if you're not feelin' it.
The thought of spending a night in a tent, in the mountains, is not my husband's idea of a good time. When he hears the yearly announcement for Fathers and Sons, he isn't exactly jumping up and down. However, he has learned to just go with it, even if it's not his thing. He does it for our boys, he does it to spend time with them, and to create memories. And oh, what memories they created!

A great Fathers and Sons Camping Trip!

And that's my perspective of the annual Fathers and Sons adventure. How'd I do, boys?

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!