What I Love Most Today is "Wednesday Word night..."

A couple of months back I was sitting at our dinner table eating with my big family enjoying their company when one by one they started to dismiss themselves for one reason or another.  Mostly, for church youth group, but also sports and church callings.  I was left with my four youngest kids.  I starting thinking about how I could spend some really quality time with them on these Wednesday nights when it was just us.  And then it came to me!  Wednesday Word Night was going to be our newest family tradition!  

Wednesday Word Night is where; right after dinner we quickly clear dishes get the kitchen cleaned up.  The four of them bathe quickly.  While they bathe I build the fort, a simple quick and easy tent with blankets.  I do it the same every time that way it is always quick.  Each of them picks 2-3 books, including me.  We always start with the picture scriptures.  Hence, Wednesday Word Night.  Because we are reading words!  Haha!  It's the best I could do.  :)  We turn out all of the lights and use our flashlights to read all of our books and to see.  No lights allowed whatsoever.  :)  And, the deal is that the fort gets to stay up until the next morning.  They get to play in it for a little while in the morning and then we put it away until the next week.

The kids love that their baby brother, William, always falls asleep.  He starts out strong but he can never stay awake.  So cute.  During Halloween week we put our carved pumpkins in the tent and lit them for light and I got them each a glow stick wand from the dollar store.  Yep, we gathered all of our Halloween books and that was the theme.

We've done Wednesday Word Night about 7 times now.  It's the best.  I look forward to it all week long, as do the kids.  William asks all week long about the "tent."

One of my favorite things to do with my family is to create family traditions.  Some come and go, but this is one that is here to stay.  We have loved it so much.  I love spending this time with the kids.  You would think since we home school that I would have all the time in the world for reading and games and play time.  But, the reality is that I don't.  I am very busy helping the older kids with their studies, doing science experiments, taking kids to extra curricular classes and so on.  So, to have this evening set aside just for the younger kids has been a great blessing for all of us.  

And of course the older kids think William is so cute asleep in the tent that they want to sleep right with him.  What I Love Most today is Wednesday Word Night.