fighting for family time

we are reaching the stage where you have to fight for having dinner as a family. even with each child just in one sport or activity, tate has youth group and a weekly babysitting gig and bill has evening responsibilities with his ministry. for the first time, there have been several nights a week that we have not been eating all together or eating on the fly.

the nightly schedule during the week means that we need to be more diligent about protecting family time together on the weekends, especially now when the kids aren't quite old enough to make their own weekend plans.

so friday night was family game night. we pulled out an oldie but a goodie...encore. oh how i love this game! it's great because it's a team game. and i love it because it's a singing game. i am not a great singer, but i have devoted a fairly sizable amount of my brain cells to song lyrics which is crucial for this game. we played it in my family of origin, so it is fun to have it now being loved and enjoyed in my own little family.

honestly, it doesn't seem that long ago that i was playing that game with my own parents and siblings. it doesn't even seem like that long ago my sisters and i were playing "tickle, run and hide" from my daddy when he came home from work.

weird how time can feel like it is standing still at times and then feel like it is in a full on sprint at others. it makes me want to keep on fighting for those times together as a family when we can let the world rush on by and just enjoy the here and now. enjoy one another. and enjoy conversations such as this...

emma: can you name the seven dwarves?

jack: happy. nappy? grouchy?

tate jumped in to help: grumpy. sneezy. sleepy. dwarfy? kissy? dumbo?

i love these guys. and despite how they fight, i think they love each other too...