Family Night

Thursday nights have become family night at our house.  It happened when we decided to no longer meet with our small group on a regular basis.  While that was a tough decision, the end result has been just what we needed.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights are busy with both Justin and I doing separate things.  Our weekends are often filled with family, friends, and other fun activities.  So, we needed a night for just the three of us.  Sure, a lot of our weekend activities are just the three of us, too, but a lot of them aren't.  On Thursday nights we make sure we do something together as a family of three.  We've been to basketball games and Playtime Poppy.  We've stayed home and just played together.  We put off tasks at home where one of the adults might be distracted until after Aria goes to bed.  It seems funny to me that we needed to specifically schedule a family night when Aria is only two.  I thought we wouldn't get busy until she was involved in many activities.  I know it will only get busier as she adds things she wants to do.  Maybe it won't always be Thursday, but it will always be once a week.  I can see the benefits after just a few months.  I don't think we had a specific family night when I was growing up, but I have numerous fond memories of doing many things with just my mom, my dad, and me.  Now I have a chance to pass that on to my daughter.  I think it will help us all build a strong bond, a level of comfort, security, and open communication.  It certainly benefits all three of us!

Tonight we used some free coupons that were about to expire.  Aria participated in a reading program at the library and received several cool prizes.  One was free admission to The Playstation and another was a free Jr. Frosty at Wendy's.  We combined the two and had a lot of fun tonight!  I've been to The Playstation a couple times with Aria, but Justin had not.  If you don't know what The Playstation is, it is like a McDonalds Play Place only about 10 times bigger.  It is slides, tunnels, a ball pit, climbing, crawling, and bouncing.  When we told Aria we were going to The Playstation tonight, the first thing out of her mouth was, "Daddy come, too!"  It was cool to see her excitement that Daddy got to have fun with us!  I think we were the only parents there tonight who crawled around in the equipment with our daughter.  It wouldn't be safe to let her roam by herself, nor would she want to, but it's also part of it to enjoy the activity with her.  I felt sorry for the little kids in there who didn't have anyone to play with them.  Afterwards, we headed over to Wendy's for the Jr. Frosty, which fit in nicely with 'F' week.  A fun night and all we spent was a little over $3 for ice cream for Justin and I.  I'm so thankful for the family that God gave me!  I couldn't be happier than when I am spending time with the two people I love the most!