Blog Challenge Day 4: My parents

Today my blogging assignment is pretty broad: my parents.  I knew this would be my assignment so last night when I was up feeding Jackson what was I thinking about at the grand ol' hour of 4 AM?  You guessed it....my parents.  At that time I had a great idea of just how I would write about them. It would be inspiring and moving and sentimental.  Then I woke up this morning and realized my grand idea would be way too mushy and weird.  So here goes.  Today's totally awake perspective:

Lessons I have learned from my parents:

On relationships--

• Put God first and foremost in your relationships (If I woke up early enough, I was always sure to see my parents doing their devotions together in the living room).  
• Friends come and go, but family is forever
• You are never told old to say "I'm sorry."
• "Shut up" is mean
• When looking for a spouse, it is important to find someone that you can communicate well with.  My parents to this day love "date nights" because they can just talk and talk without interuption.
• A child will be confident if he or she knows that their parents love each other
• No matter what, humans are not immune from sin.  Forgiveness is part of being a family.

On food:

• Self-control means two cookies, three cookies max
• Good food is worth waiting for
• Vegetables are necessary for every dinner
• If I think I don't like something, I should at least try a bite 
• Brussels sprouts are gross
• You can never have too much garlic

On driving a car:

• Set the cruise control to avoid speeding tickets

On a hard work ethic:

• "If we all work together as a team, we can get _________ done in just ten minutes."  (This was said for everything, from weeding the yard to cleaning the kitchen)
• Work really hard in high school to get the scholarships for college, then you can relax.

On education:

• You are never too old to learn (my Dad now texts using predictive texting--I'm so proud).
• Try your best.  That is all anyone can do.

On raising kids:

• Each kid is different, what works for one child may not work for another.
• Parents are to be respected and obeyed.  Kids do not always need an explanation beyond "because I said so."
• "I love you and am proud of you" can make your children want to conquer the world.
• Sock basketball, bucking bronko, and hide and go seek are what memories are made of.
• Discipline is important.  "I'm disappointed in you" can work just as well as a spanking.  However, spankings can be highly effective.
• Respect goes both ways between parent and child. 
• Time goes by too quickly.  You turn around and before you know it, your babies are grown up, married, and having babies of their own.  Cherish the time you have together.

These are just some of the many lessons taught by my parents.  I am blessed that they have poured so much into my life.  I'm thankful that I have them as a model as I am raising my own child(ren).

Aren't they good looking?  Besides a great heritage I'm also thankful for great genetics.