Every couple weeks or so, we try to have a family movie night. Because Dad’s day off is on Friday (and the kids are still on “summer vacation” from their Chilean school year), we chose to have our first family movie night at our new house after soccer practice this past Thursday evening.
Instead of making homemade pizza, I decided to try the deep fryer that someone gave to us. (Never having used a deep fryer before, I was a bit nervous with all the warnings that are printed on the machine, but, thankfully, nothing happened!) We ate chicken fingers dipped in Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce along with some carrots, celery, and blue cheese. Wow, it was all so good!! We are definitely having that meal again!
The movie of the night was “Meet the Robinsons”. (Normally, the rule of the house when watching a movie is that it has to be in Spanish….EXCEPT, when we all watch it as a family. That makes watching it together even more special and relaxing.) Everyone really enjoyed it and I appreciated one of the main themes of the movie that stressed the importance of not looking at your failures as negative, but rather as opportunities for future success.
Anyway, we enjoyed another great night together. Thank you, Lord, for these special family times!
Ruth 1:16 (NIV) But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
Your turn to share: What are some ways that you spend time together as a family?
Sincerely, Kristin 
January 12, 2008 at 7:55 pm
We just returned from a spectacular whole family vacation. We left 1/2, flew to Ft. Lauderdale, and went on a 4 day cruise. We have never done anything so extravagant. It was just amazing. The best part was all the time we got to spend together, a rare treat these days with 2 kids married and at least one of those couples living many miles away, and 2 college kids gone from us also. We cherished every minute. Bev
January 13, 2008 at 12:12 am
The guys and I have done movie nights almost every week since they were very little. They used to climb up on my bed and we would end up all falling asleep. We have long since moved to the living room where each of us has our spots and blankets. It’s awesome!!
January 13, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Did you put that photo of the chicken wings there just to tease me?? Our family loves to spend time together playing games. I grew up the same way, so I love to teach my kids my childhood favorites. I can remember fondly going to my Gram’s and playing Yahtzee, Racko, Sorry and Trouble. We enjoy all of those at our family game night too! It is also wonderful to see my kids enjoying them when their grandma comes to visit us now.
January 13, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I love spending time with my family. We often enjoy a movie night with lots of junk food. My favorite time together with my family is in the car. This must sound silly but I love it. My husband and I have one car. This means that when ever we need to go somewhere we do it as a family. On the way to drop my husband off at work in the morining the car is usualy filled with all of us singing to the raido or my husband trying to answer my 4 year olds life questions (daddy why is that man smoking? why does she have funny hair?) I would not trade this time for anything.
January 13, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Growing up, we watched TV as a family. We only had one TV so my brother watched Little House on the Prarie and the Waltons while I watched the Dukes of Hazard and NASCAR racing. I still enjoy NASCAR racing.
Now we celebrate birthdays together. We go out to dinner or gather at someone’s home with munchies, cake and ice cream.
January 14, 2008 at 8:43 am
We either try to do a movie night or a game night every couple of weeks. I suspect the kids look forward to it primarily because of the snacks, but on a deeper level it’s so important because it’s time spent with mom and dad – time having fun and having mom & dad’s full attention!
January 16, 2008 at 11:19 am
Hey Kristin!
Our family time is usually a people pile on the floor. Maybe this comment would be more appropriate for your mountains post- we always end up as Mt. People. But, it is usually after a good meal, so we have that in common. One of our favorites is sausage roll. Easy recipe, and a fun change-up from homemade pizza.
Love ya,
Joce
January 18, 2008 at 5:56 pm
We also have enjoyed many a family movie night ( especially this time of year). We also enjoy going out in the backyard and just talking, playing with the pets, getting out the hose ( when weather permits, of course!). We enjoy a ride out to The Point for a picnic and to watch the boats and feed the fish and/or ducks. Beaver Meadow is always a great place to spend some family time—they have a real nice handicapped trail. We also LOVE the zoo!
We used to do alot of camping, but that has become more difficult with health and behavior issues. So last summer we purchased one of those firepits that are alowed in the city —-so we can engage in our all-time favorite—-sitting around the campfire and eating S’mores!
Lee pointed out to us this year that we can have S’mores over the gas stove, so we tried that one cold Sunday afternoon. What fun!!!
We love a parade if there’s some good bands—Sheldon laughs out loud when the drums go by.
Thanks for this question—it makes me smile just thinking about all the fun we can have together. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in what we can’t do and I forget the many blessings we have!
Bonnie
January 28, 2008 at 9:02 pm
GAMES! We love them. Thankfully, no one in my family is competitive (HAHAHA). It’s fun to spend time playing, talking, teasing and of course indulging in a little snack.