Bring the whole family out to enjoy SterlingFest tomorrow from 11am-5pm. The festival is held each October in Sterling Park, VA. There are games and fun for all ages along with live entertainment and plenty of good food. While you're there stop by our booth and say hello!

Can't wait to see you!

Blessings,

Polly

Family Activities

We often talk about the importance of "me" time, but did you know that family time is just as important? Here's a list of great ways to spend time with the ones you love. Let the bonding began!

1. Take a long stroll around the neighborhood. Walking is good for heart and soul!

2. Pick a game night. Choose fun favorites like Hungry-hungry Hippos, Monopoly, Operation or Scrabble. Anything goes when you play together.

3. As the autumn leaves began to fall, go outside and tidy the yard together. Everyone gets fresh air and the job gets done faster!

4. Attend worship together. If you don't attend regularly, start with once a month. Make a family committment to go to church, praise and/or pray as a unit.

5. Borrow a funny family movie from the library or rent one. Laugh together.

6. Eat dinner together then let each person tell something good and bad about their day. Support each other.

7. Put on some music and everybody dance. Act silly and get the blood flowing. Relax and let loose, you're at home!

Got something to add? Please share your comments with us.

Blessings,

Polly

Family Fun

It seems I never realize how much I love spring until I'm longing for short sleeve shirts, pretty flowers and warm air blowing across my face. Spring weather also makes me more apt to plan family outings. So when this weekend's temperatures finally soared, I couldn't wait to get outside and soak it up.

Our children are small and one of their favorite pasttimes is park hopping. We go to all the good ones we can fit in over a weekend. My husband will join us even if he has to meet us later. The kids love this and so do I because I know it'll end in pizza or carryout on the way home :p. We're an outside bunch so it doesn't take much sunshine for us to log some quality time. We've been known to all wash the car together or just play in the front/backyard for an hour. No matter what we do, it's made better by spending time with each other.

One of my fondest memories from last year was shopping for a ceiling fan together. Although Home Depot or Lowe's outings are generally resevered for date night (don't laugh!) this time we took the kids. It was funny because we split the kids between us and pushed separate shopping carts as we looked around the store. We kept running into each other and swapping children while we daydreamed about longshot home improvements. It must have been 100° that day and so we ended with a trip to Baskin Robbins. Yum! Yum!

I'm also a big fan of outside festivals and we try to find a few to attend when it's warm. One of my favorites was this weekend: The 19th Annual Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival. Okay, so we've only been once, but it was a big hit. They have a huge area for children with painting, music and activities. The food is great (especially the smoothies) and walking around to view the flowers is free. Can't beat that!

Hurray for spring and yay for family time! What does your family do for fun?