Family Time

Its funny how when you are expecting a child you start to reflect on the kind of parent you want to be. You start to think about the fond memories of your childhood and how you can incorporate those activities into the life of your little one.

My favorite memories include: all three kids piling into a bed with my dad to read a book--the best was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe!, I remember always eating dinner at the table as a family, I remember Friday nights eating pizza and watching TGIF, I remember our yearly camping trips (mom and the Japanese-need I say more?). All of those little moments seemed to shape who I am today. They gave me a great sense of love, loyalty, and belonging. I want my child to feel and experience those things too.

The question is how. Recently, as of Tuesday, Greg and I started eating home cooked meals at the dining room table (with real plates, mom :). We pray, talk, and clean up together. For three days now (WOW!!), we have cooked, eaten together, and cleaned together. It is a record (for those of you who know us well, know that we often order out, eat in front of the TV and don't do dishes for weeks). Just this little thing has made me feel closer to my husband. And this little thing will give my child a sense of belonging, love, and responsibility. That is one way.

Something else that I would love to do is read a book each night with both parents and our son. This will show him how important he is to us, and hopefully give him a love for reading.

More than anything I pray that our son knows his parents love him like both Greg and I do. I pray he is respectful, responsible, loving, and dependable. I hope to show him these things through my actions. I know I won't be all of these things all the time, but hopefully he will only remember the times we were.

Thanks to my parents for taking the time to spend with us even if it was just a family night watching TGIF :) Please know that every little thing you did made me a better person.

(The picture is the nursery as of a couple of days ago. Now we have ALL the furniture put together and in place. We plan on going to buy all the accessories this weekend. FUN!)