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Family Word of the Year

December 21, 2019

For years I would snicker when friends would announce on Facebook that they had a word for the year. I just thought it was really silly.

Then one year, our kids came home with a chalkboard stand from one of my favorite non-profits, This Side Up Family. Along with the chalkboard stand came instructions to choose a Family Word of the Year.

Something about the concept of a Family Word of the Year did not seem silly. I was actually very excited about it! I took no time at all to decide our Family Word of the Year: Kindness.

My favorite scripture and what has become our family life verse (more on that soon!) is Ephesians 4:32.

Be kind and loving to each other forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

All year long, we were reminded by this little chalkboard to be kind. We learned to demonstrate kindness to each other, to our neighbors, to school friends and co-workers. We were focused on being kind to those who were easy to love and those that were not so easy to love.

My favorite part of this process was having conversations with my children, specifically the eldest, about how it felt to be kind, how it felt to experience kindness.

When December rolled along in 2018, I knew that we were going do a Family Word of the Year again! Using an index card and an inexpensive display board I found in the Target Dollar spot, we displayed our new word: JOY.

Thanks to this simple display, we’ve had a constant reminder to live in joy and bring joy to each other! It has been so much fun.

As we approach our third year of having a Family Word of the Year, I couldn’t be more excited! Our word is: TOGETHER. I am hopeful that we will do things with others! If we are going to do a movie, that we would go see a movie TOGETHER. If we eat out after church, we would invite others to join us! If we are getting coffee that we are calling a friend to join us! If we are going through something difficult, that we would be willing to ask for help!

I am so excited to implement this word of the year with our children, in our marriage and in our friendships!

So. What about you? Would you consider doing a family word of the year? Comment below with your word!

I’d love to provide you with a free printable like the one above with your Family Word of the Year printed on it! Just click below for a free printable!

Get your FREE printable!

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Filed Under: splices of life

4 Comments

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Comments

  1. Jordan says

    December 27, 2019

    I love the concept of a word of the year, especially in this context of family doing it together. I’d have to think what our word should be but together rings to me as well… great stuff!

    Reply
    • Patty Parker says

      December 30, 2019

      Can’t wait to hear what you decide!

      Reply
  2. Lacy Green says

    December 27, 2019

    I have not heard of this idea. I really like it a lot and already know the perfect word of the year for our family. Kindness! Such a great idea!

    Reply
    • Patty Parker says

      December 30, 2019

      kindness is a WONDERFUL family word! Can’t wait to hear about your family’s adventures in intentional kindness!!!

      Reply

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About Me

Intentional Mom in Training

Raising kids who are kind, generous and thoughtful takes work! Want some help? Here's a download to get you started.

Insta

Kindness is not weakness. Kindness is strength in Kindness is not weakness. Kindness is strength in action. 
Today we’ll walk for a friend we’ve never met but today he would have been 26. 
His life was snuffed out not because of anything he did. Rather, because his skin color was *wrong*. So today we walk because our skin color is *right*. And we just can’t take these lies any more. 
Because kindness can be shown  with words but it flexes its strength when it moves. When it stands up for others who are created equal but not treated equal. 
Today we walk with our brothers and sisters of color—beautiful color—who need to be heard. Need to be seen. 
Who need to walk/run/jog/laugh/smile/enter a room without fear that their life may be in danger. 
My children will learn that kindness is strength in action. And it starts today— with a walk.  #ahmaudarbery 
#runforahmaud #runforahmaudarbery
“Dom. Charlee. Come meet your baby brother, Devi “Dom. Charlee. Come meet your baby brother, Devin.” My 4 year old son and 18 month old daughter peered at the little red ball yawning and stretching in my arms. “Can I hold him mommy?” Dom held out his arms to hold his new little brother. 
Throughout the day, he came over to stare at his sleeping sibling; offering  hugs before rushing off to play. 
Charlee was equally smitten. With her own baby in her arms, she followed me wherever I went. When I changed the baby’s diaper, she changed her baby doll’s diaper. When I rocked Devin, she rocked her own bundle of joy. 
A family of five felt wonderful. Until—“Mommy, I don’t feel well.” Marshall took Dom to the Doctor. I put my fretting to good use while rocking the baby with Charlee by my side. “It’s pneumonia,” read the text. 
A few days later, Charlee began tugging at her ears. “Looks like an ear infection,” said the dr. “I’ll prescribe an antibiotic.” Worried about the baby, we began Operation Sibling Quarantine. Too late. 
Devin tested positive for RSV at two weeks old. 
Little did I know this was just a taste of what was ahead for our family. Dom would get sick. Two days later, Charlee would come down with a fever. Two days later, I wouldn’t feel so hot. The cycle continued—each family member generously taking his turn with a bout of sickness. “What are you doing?” Marshall asked. 
I stood facing our wall calendar. “I’m tracking who gets sick. Maybe it’s not as bad as it feels.” A month in, I stopped. It was as bad as it felt. 
The struggles extended into nap schedules, car seat arrangements, laundry, bathing, and clothing our family. “It’s our third baby! Shouldn’t we know what we are doing by now?!” At a MOPS meeting, seated across from a mom of three grown boys, I got my answer.
“It takes at least a year to find a new normal after having a baby. Every time.” She continued, “Every time a child is added into the picture, the entire family will need to get a handle on the changes that come with the new addition.” Oh.
**************
Want to read more? I’m looking for feedback from moms with more than one kid or preparing to have that second or third bundle of joy. 
PM me for details!!

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