Refresher Course

Lately I’ve been feeling a little discouraged and stretched thin as a mother and a wife. There has been a lot of bickering and contention in our house. It seemed like every conversation no matter how innocuous had the potential to turn into something that could be argued over. I wasn’t free from any blame either. My last nerve was worn to the breaking point. I was feeling pretty bad about it all. After all I have a great family; I know that there is a lot of love between us. So, what’s with all the complaining? As I was praying about it Sunday night, I received and answer; as an activity for Family Home Evening on Monday, I came up with an idea. We had to list the things that we loved about each member of the family. Here are the results—
Caleb
Mom
*Loves me
*Is generous
*Takes care of me

Dad
*Is funny
*Is a hard worker
*Tells me that “even doves have pride.” (That is a quote from a Prince song, Brad says that to Caleb when he tucks him in to get a giggle.)

Rachel
*She cares about me
*She takes care of me
*She loves me

Emma
*She tells funny jokes
*She plays with me
*She’s crazy

Emma
Dad
*Tries to resolve problems
*Always includes everyone
*Can make everyone smile
*Takes me out to do things and brings the family together.

Mom
*Tries to understand how you feel
*Realizes mistakes quickly and corrects them
*You can feel her love for you
*Will really listen when you talk

Rachel
*Is quick to forgive
*Wants to help you
*Is neat and organized
*Will always do her best at whatever she’s doing

Caleb
*Pretty goofy
*Has a refreshing sense of humor
*Just wants to have fun with everyone
*Tries to be fair

Rachel
Dad
*He tries to make us laugh
*He always wants us to be happy
*He likes to do fun things for us
*He finds me good books to read
*He pays for my orthodontist

Mom
*She helps me with problems
*She meets my needs
*She checks to see if I’m up in the morning
*She brings me my homework when I forget it

Emma
*She lets me share her bed
*She lets me wear her clothes
*She knows I try hard to get something even when I can’t (it’s an inside reference between them, I don’t get it either)
*She tries her hardest to be a good sister and she succeeds

Caleb
*He plays games with me
*He takes turns on the computer
*He helps me clean up when it is needed
*He laughs at my jokes

Winnie
Brad
*Gets me a glass of water every night when I go to bed
*He works really hard to provide for his family
*He loves his family very much

Rachel
*She is really neat and tidy
*She helps around the house
*She is conscientious about her work

Emma
*She can be really affectionate
*She has an unusual way of looking at things
*She makes lists and she’s really smart

Caleb
*He always tells me he loves me
*He makes funny noises when he’s happy
*He always tries to do what is right

Brad
Winnie
*creative
*has a strong testimony and a pure spirit
*very pretty

Rachel
*clean and neat
*hard worker/focused
*is a loyal friend

Emma
*likes to laugh (she started laughing maniacally when he read this)
*smart
*likes to watch the Food Network and tries to cook often

Caleb
*always reminds us to pray and read the scriptures
*likes to hike with me
*is friendly to everybody

There you have it. I have to admit that my eyes were swimming in tears when this exercise was over. I’m so glad I was inspired to do this. It’s easy to be nice to your friends and acquaintances, sometimes we forget to treat the people that are closest to us the way we should. Everyone was nice to each other this morning, hopefully this will last. I have a great family!!!