Family Archives - Page 22 of 26 - The Sparrow's Home

Kids Pirate Party

September 12, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

I have learned about myself that I need a creative outlet in my life. When I was teaching 2nd grade, I had lots of opportunities to be creative, now one thing I do is host regular, themed, girls movie nights. In between those times, a large part of my creative outlet was my kids’ birthday parties.

I’d like to share a few of them with you, in no particular order, starting with a Pirate Themed Party we had for my eldest when he turned 6. (Six! Excuse me while I have a short mom reflection…my little pirate is now 17.)

Because the party was so long ago, the pictures weren’t digital, so there wasn’t a lot of touching up I could do. And, did I mention that another creative outlet I had was scrapbooking? These pics were glued in scrapbooks, so you’ll notice my attempt at clever editing, I’m sure. Regardless, I hope you get some ideas for your next Pirate Soiree.

An Ode to Scout: Life Lessons from the Love of a Dog

September 7, 2016 by Susan 18 Comments

Even a word like ‘unconditional’ doesn’t do justice to the complete, every inch of his soul adoration that a dog truly smitten offers.

No one has ever, or will ever, love me as much as my dog. This is not to demean my husband’s love for me … he totally agrees with this assessment.

Even a word like ‘unconditional’ doesn’t do justice to the complete, every inch of his soul adoration that a dog truly smitten offers. I’m pretty sure if he could speak, what Scout would say to me is, “My whole life is in you…all I am and do are wrapped up in you…my sun rises and sets on your existence.”

After a couple of misses with dogs, we decided to try fostering from a local rescue so we could find out if a dog was a good fit for us. Scout was our first foster. He came from a Kansas City, Missouri animal shelter. Slated to be put down, some blessed soul saw in him the gentle spirit that needed to be someone’s sweetheart. One trip to Minnesota later, he was ours.

Food for Thought: #4

September 1, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

Does your family sit around the dinner table and talk about what you’ve read or heard throughout the day? Just us? We frequently find ourselves discussing something that came across one of our social media feeds that day, whether a news bit or something funny.

I would love to hear what you think, and see what you’ve had open on your desktop this week.

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

From Toddlers to Teens: Raising Kids Who Pray

August 29, 2016 by Susan 7 Comments

Teaching kids to pray doesn’t have to be formal instruction. Tangible ways to integrate prayer into our lives and raise kids who pray.

When I was in college, I was part of a youth ministry team. We taught classes, led activities, and were tasked with mentoring the young people in our community. Part of the training we received in mentoring encouraged us to spend time with the teens outside of class. Real discipling happens in the day to day. The “Hey, I’m going to the mall, would you like to join me?” and, “Let’s cook dinner together” moments.

That’s when real parenting happens too, you know.

After all, parenting is–at its heart– discipleship. God tells us what parenting our kids should look like in Deuteronomy 6 when He says,

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Family meetings, lectures, classes, going to church… all of those are good and beneficial things. But that’s not where our kids learn how to really follow God’s commandments…how to serve… how to pray.

Ice Cream, Right Ahead! … A Titanic Kind of Movie Night

August 22, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

Trying to think of a Titanic themed snack wasn’t the easiest, let me tell you.

I do love a party with a theme. We started our Girls Movie Nights with musicals, and have branched out into other “must see” movies. I try to always theme the menu to the movie in some way. We’ve done full dinners, but usually just snacks.

Then I thought of floats. Ice cream icebergs bobbing in your choice of soda.

It’s the Perfect Titanic Themed Snack

Food for Thought: #3

August 18, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

It seems like I see about a thousand articles in the course of a week or two…just from social media feeds and other blogs I read. I try to save ones that stand out to me to refer back to later, or to share. I’d love it if you did the same!

I would love to hear what you think, and see what you’ve had open on your desktop this week.

I’ve had back-to-school on the brain. We start Monday. My eldest will be doing full time dual enrollment, and my younger will have just one class with a study group – the rest will be on his own.

So, thinking on education, you’ll understand why these first two articles caught my eye: