We Are THAT Family

How to Host a Family Night

2009-11-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

If you don't have regularly scheduled family nights on your calendar, you should (because I'm bossy and I said so).

It doesn't take a ton of planning and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money!

Research has proven that having regular family meals together makes a huge difference in your children's lives. So, a whole night once or twice a month or every Friday, dedicated to the family can only help.

An excerpt from Time Magazine about family meals:

"Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use. "If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube," says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the mysterious way that family dinner engraves our souls. "A meal is about civilizing children. It's about teaching them to be a member of their culture."

Here's how we spent Friday night in 4 Easy Steps:

1. We picked a theme: Dogs

2. We fixed Hot Dogs with Homemade Chili Dog Sauce and ate them outside.

Don't forget the paper towels!

3. We took our dog to a local dog park (and played on the playground next door a little).

4. We came home to watch Disney's Shaggy Dog.

Planning Time: about 10 minutes

Costs: Zero Dollars (I keep stuff for hot dogs in the freezer for last minute meals).

Homemade Hot Dog Chili Sauce

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 cups water

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup ketchup

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

dash of paprika

crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Directions: Crumble ground beef into large pan on medium heat. Stir in water, and mash ground beef thoroughly with a potato masher. Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, sugar, and chili powder; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, 30 minutes, until the sauce reaches a medium consistency. Get ready for a delicious mess!

Get your calendars out, okay? Don't make me get bossy.

This post was sponsored by Viva Towels. For fun, fork-free recipes – including videos – and snappy entertaining ideas, get over to the VIVA® Diva Café

Excuse to Show You More Pictures {Winner Announced}

2009-11-08T15:00:00.001-06:00

Congrats

to
the photo shoot
winner....
Sandra!

And, I'm going to have a hard time trying to decide which picture I'm going to put in this great Christmas frame from the DaySpring-Danielson Design Studio. I get to try one out and they are offering all of you buy one item, get the other half off, just in time for Christmas. Just enter the code HALF OFF.

If you didn't win, don't forget to take advantage of Lucky HorseShoe Photography 15% off offer!

THAT Family Tree Society Issue 60

2009-11-07T21:41:00.001-06:00

Pictures of the Week:

The Week in Review: We learned that rotten pumpkins stink.

Introduction into The Society: Steps for Brady

Ours is a story of triplets, surprise baby 18 months later, practically cracking every day under the pressure of 4 kids 2 and under, my son's devastating diagnosis with cancer in January, trusting God as we battled to save our son's life, proclaiming victory over cancer, and now learning that that even though mishaps happen daily around here...we are being refined as we travel through this crazy life!

Here are my answers to your questions...

1. Tell us a little about your blog (name/reason why you blog):

My blog is called Steps for Brady and my blog began as a place to tell the story of my son Brady and his battle with Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. It has evolved into a family journal that documents our family as we travel through life, the 6 of us. We have 2 1/2 year old triplets and a 1 year old, the craziness never ends around here.

2. How long have you blogging?

I started blogging in January of 2009. The first few weeks of my blog include the day we found out that the reason my 20 month old son wasn't walking was because he had a huge tumor encasing his spinal cord and in his chest. In the months that followed, I documented our battle to save his life which included two life threatening operations and chemotherapy.

3. How would you define THAT family?

THAT family is the one that people like to look at from the outside, kind of in the "can't help but watch a train wreck" sort of way. No really, I think THAT family has their fare share of chaos, calamity, drama, and misfortune. But THAT family pulls itself up, dusts itself off, and keeps going. THAT family realizes that the "junk of life" is just a means for them to become refined and to grow closer to the One that gives them the grace to endure it all:)

4. When did you discover you were a part of THAT family?

I always had an inkling that I was raised in THAT family, but I realized that I was giving birth to the 3rd generation, when I was pregnant with triplets and on bed rest with triplets. Meanwhile, 5 floors above me in the hospital was my mother, who was fighting for her life battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for the 2nd time. She had a life saving stem cell transplant and struggled to survive so that she could meet my babies, and I held off contractions and pre-eclampsia in order to stay pregnant so that she could be there for my delivery. This was the stuff of Lifetime movies people. Once a day someone would wheel me up to her floor so that I could encourage her and she could encourage me! Little did I know that less than 2 years later, one of my triplets would be diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer...and THAT family had to pull together once again.

5. Where can we find your blog?

Stop by and meet my family, read Brady's story, and be inspired. stepsforbrady.blogspot.com