Holding myself to the idea of peace in our home.

Today is Thursday.

The weeks slip by so quickly.

Last night was much better than the last few nights in our house.

A good night's rest does wonders for a mama's sanity.

The temperatures have dipped and are starting to give us a glimpse at the winter days ahead.

The boys wake time has possibly worked itself out already.  It was 5:40 early in the week and this morning it was 6:40.  I will be pumping my fist in the air if by Saturday we are consistently waking after 6:30 in our house.  That's always my goal. 

Sunday rolled around and I gave myself my hour to meal plan, look at the calendar, figure out a few things for Henry and I to conquer this week, think out some blog posts, and make a few goals.  I have been trying to set a few goals, or rather action steps that work towards bigger things I want to be happening in my life.

One of the things I took away from the Power of Mom's retreat was that my full time job as a mother right now deserves the respect of any other professional job.  That retreat was like my professional development.  And mothers should give themselves credit for the job they do each and every day.  When I left for the retreat I left a few notes for Ed and his mom but I also rambled on about where I kept things and how I did things.  I know I didn't leave as many notes as I did when I left Charley for the first time.  And I sometimes feel silly going over where things are and how I do things - but I guess I like to think that what I do all day is valued and unique.  I could not sit down at Ed's desk and do his job without some direction and education.

Power of Mom's take away moment:  An effective family is like an organization with a purpose, leadership, an economy, rules/guidelines, feedback, and a culture/traditions.

So I am working on pulling together some family rules/beliefs/guidelines that we can refer to.  I am thinking that the rules I had in my classroom had a purpose.  There are rules in our community and world.  Why wouldn't some house/family rules - that shared our values and beliefs - help us parent and raise our children.  So we are going to give it a try. 

Ultimately, I would like them to help build our rules.

But we are going to start out with rules that we name - but they help bring meaning to them.

Because our children are young, the rules need to be simple so they can know and understand them.

Peace is one of the words I want them to know, understand, and strive for.

So one of my goals this week was to start thinking and pointing out peace in our home. 

The first rule will be Peace.

We will be discussing what peace means?

What does peace mean at the dinner table?

What does peace mean at bedtime?

What does peace mean when we play with siblings or friends?

What peace means for our hearts and minds?

So this week one of my goals was to start pointing out when things felt peaceful.

I haven't done it yet.  I am writing about it here so that I might be more motivated to put it into action.

You can hold me to my goal of beginning with the word peace. 

Next week  the kids will help define, discuss, practice, and celebrate peace.

We will talk about what peace looks like? Sounds like? and Feels like?

Do you have family rules?  A motto?  What are they?

As a mama....what helps you bring peace, especially during the 4-6 hour?