Friday Fun Day: Remembering Your Heritage




Grandma & Grandpa with my dad

11-11-11.  One hundred years ago today, my grandma was born, right around 11 o'clock, I've always been told.  It was always so fun to have such a neat birthday in our family.  Even more fun is taking the time to remember her.
She was a dark-haired German woman whose grandparents had emigrated from Germany.  Strong-willed doesn't even began to describe her.  I remember my dad and her fighting over who would pay the bill at a restaurant - getting the waitress involved, unwillingly - and trying to sneak over to the cashier without the other noticing. 


Grandma & Grandpa Stearns

She became a widow much earlier than anyone expected at the age of 64.  This was a year before I was born, so I never got to see her relationship with my Grandpa.  (I would have loved that.)  What happened as a result of my grandpa's death was a determination to make things ok. (She probably had the determination before, but I think it really sprang into action as a result of her circumstances.)  At the young age of 65, she taught herself how to drive.  From the stories of my dad and his siblings, this was pretty hilarious.  She thankfully practiced out on her ranch, doing donuts in the field and sending gravel flying peeling out on the dirt roads. 
She also took a fledgling ranch that was barely surviving and turned it around.  When she died at the age of 92, she was able to leave an inheritance to her children, even after spending time in a nice nursing home.  She wasn't a miser though, and each Christmas, bought everyone in the family Christmas gifts.  The long-standing family joke is Grandma's statement every time one of her gifts she had given were opened.  "If you don't like it, you can take it back."  In my family, this has become a traditional phrase, even when it's something homemade.


Grandma with her grand kids and great grand kids - 2000

When Kirk and I were missionaries with Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, she faithfully supported us each month, never ever missing a single month.  She was so proud of all of her grand kids.  She loved to see the godly heritage that had been passed down from the time her mother was given a gospel tract, to her grand kids that were continuing to minister the gospel through different places like Master's Commission, Chi Alpha, and all kinds of missions trips.
A few years before she died, my sister video taped Grandma answering a bunch of questions about growing up, Grandpa, raising our dad, etc.  What a precious keepsake that is!  This is my offering to you for Friday Fun Day.  Take some time to listen to some old family stories.  The technology of today is so amazing and makes it easier than ever.  You can "skype" with someone who lives across the country.  I encourage you to  go deeper than the normal, "How's everyone doing?" type questions and ask them some questions about their childhood.  From my experience in working with older adults (or really anyone, for that matter), they don't mind sharing their personal memories and typically will give you more information than you ever imagined.  My kids love when I tell them stories about my childhood or when my parents share things I did as a child (usually embarrassing).
When I was in college, I had an assignment to create a family history book.  Since it was for a grade, I had motivation to get pictures and stories from my parents that I had never heard.  It's so easy to be egocentric, and completely focused on today and the future, but forgetting our heritage and letting it slip away with the generations costs us more than we could realize. (Pictures are from my cousin, Neil Skea's Facebook Page)

Friday Fun Day - Don't Follow the Rules!

I have to admit.  I tend to be a rule follower.  Being one of these people, I think in most cased it is a good thing to "stay within the lines."  But, I do find myself admiring people who are less afraid of getting in trouble than me, and <GASP> even take pride in seeing what happens if they don't do exactly what the rule book says.  "What does this have to do with 'Friday Fun Day'?", you might be asking yourself. 
Well,  I am married to someone who is a little less rigid when it comes to rules and sometimes (emphasis on sometimes) I can see that it's ok to NOT follow the rules.  This may not be a novel idea to many of you, but I'm guessing if you ARE like me and feel this crazy need to do things as written, it may be refreshing to hear.
I know the suspense is killing you - what insane laws is Cara breaking?  What has Kirk talked her into doing?  Will she spend Christmas in jail this year?  Um....no, if you're not into rules, this will probably sound dumb.
Anyway, Kirk started getting some of our old board games out that have too many.... (wait for it) RULES, and adjusting them so almost everyone in our family can play (at least down to the 4 year old.)  We did this with Guesstures when we were on vacation, and it was so fun and easy to play. We just used the cards, which essentially made it Charades, but we didn't have to spend time coming up with answers.   It was HILARIOUS to see our 4 year old doing the same action over and over and over, expecting us to get here clue, and giggling "NO!" for each wrong answer.  For some people (myself definitely included), it's kind of hard to take one component of a game and forget the points, all the pieces, even the BOARD, but it's actually ok!  The game police did NOT bust down our door and haul us off for not using the timer!
You can do the same thing with Pictionary, maybe ditching the board and just drawing pictures and guessing in teams.  With Scrabble, you could divide the letters evenly, and just see what crazy nonsense words you could come up with - then try to come up with meanings.  (I guess that's a little like Balderdash, too.)
If you happen to be in the same stage of life as us - having  kids of all different ages - I encourage you to take a look at some of those games that may be collecting dust until you wait for those littles to grow up and be able to count money in Monopoly and play as a family.  I'd love to hear some of the board games you play together, rule following or not.  Have a great Friday!

Friday Fun Day - Goin' on a Hunt!

Does your family keep asking, "What should we do?
We have no money to go to the zoo.
It's still kinda nice out, the sky is real blue.
Oh, mommy, oh daddy, what can we do?!?!"

You pause for a moment, and look at the door
Beyond it, it seems could be adventures galore
But do you really want everyone just running amok?
Wait, I have an idea, you're in luck!

Come up with some clues in the form of a rhyme
You might call it a scavenger hunt, some of the time
Go hide the clues in the strategic places
And watch for the wonder on their darling faces.

So you're saying, "Are you kidding? I don't have the time
To come up with clues in the form of a rhyme!"
To which I reply, "Chill out, oh my dear.
Just write simple clues, it works, too - have no fear.

When you're done with the hunt make the last clue a prize
It need not be something of extraordinary size
Just drink some hot chocolate or have a small treat
The fun is the game, it just can't be beat!

After festivities, snuggle on the couch
I doubt anyone in the ranks is a grouch
You could talk and giggle, or just hang loose,
Or read my favorite books by, you know, Dr. Seuss.

Thank you for humoring my love to rhyme
You can tell I have preschoolers, they're just sublime
Go have a fun day, this Friday my friend
My wonderful rhyme has come to an end.

Putting the POWER in your family- Friday Fun Day

Today's post may have some of you saying, "No, thank you!" but I still wanted to share.  Last Saturday, Cheyenne received it's first snow of the season, and let me tell you, we did not ease ourselves into the idea of winter.  It was a heavy, wet snow that started in the morning and, at least for us who live out in the country, continued most of the day.  As often happens with weather like this (especially out here) we lost power. 
We've only been in this house since Valentine's Day, so this was our first experience with a power loss since being here.  Things kind of flickered and then went dead at about 3:30pm.  We were supposed to be hosting our Bible study that evening, and thought things would come on in a few minutes, but they didn't so we called and cancelled.  It's a good thing, too, since we were just getting started. 
You may be thinking, "What does this have to do with having fun?"  Well, we really did end up having a blast.  I was so proud of my kids for not whining and complaining about our lot.  My oldest daughter did suggest that we go watch a movie on the DVD player in the van, but we nixed that idea and decided to pretend it was Little House on the Prairie night for the Rohdes.
Thankfully we do have a gas stove, so we made some munchy food for dinner (that I had planned on serving to our Bible Study - they missed out.)  I made popcorn on the stove-top - which, I have to say, as a self-proclaimed popcorn expert, is the BEST way to have popcorn!  We lit some candles and sat around and pigged out.
After our delicious dinner, Daddy had us all cuddle up on the couch and big fat chair.  He picked a family member and we all went around and said either what we like about that person, or one of our favorite memories with that person.  It was so cute to hear what they all had to say about each other.
Then, we played hide and seek in the dark.  The seeker had a flashlight, which at first I thought would make it too easy, but quickly realized how small of an area flashlights really light.  We played that all the way up to bedtime for the kids, then we brushed teeth camping style.
Kirk and I spent some time hanging out after the kids were asleep.  It was amazing how quiet the house was without all the normal household sounds, like the refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine, computer - all those things really make a lot of noise!  Finally, Kirk and I decided we should just go to bed - probably one of the earliest nights for us ever.  At 4am, I was awakened by the sound of running water and almost every light in our house coming on!  I went around quietly and turned everything off.  When I got back in bed, I thought about the fun we had, and how prepared we would be if something more long term happened (which may be the topic of a future post - just not on Friday Fun Day!).  It was really a blessing all the way around.  The next morning, my oldest said how happy he was that had happened.  I agreed.
I think we do a pretty good job of limiting media and electronic usage in our family, but we often don't try to fill their time when they are not doing these things with fun together as a family.  I think once in awhile, this is exactly what we should do!  That's part of the fun of having such a big family anyway!
I don't know if any of you will be praying for a power outage, but my kids just might be, so if you happen to live near us, you might get to experience it anyway!