So my parenting class is over. :( We had our last class Tuesday night. It was so much fun. We had a little pot luck with amazingly great food and a great last class. I am going to miss it!!! We even were given certificates :P

We also got this nifty color coded chart to remind us of what we've learned...so cool!

During the class, one of the couples brought up this workshop they went to about the 5 languages of love - and how each person 'speaks' their own language...(Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving of Gifts, Acts of Service, Physical Touch) They said there was a quiz online to see what yours were.... Anyways - Jess and I took the quiz - very INTERESTING and fun and insightful. I was happy he decided to amuse me by playing along!! My top languages were: Quality Time & Words of Affirmation, and Jess's top languages were Words of Affirmation & Acts of Service. I think this is pretty much right on!

In the class we discussed:
Changing our beliefs on why children misbehave, and figuring out what they are really trying to communicate.
Instead of trying to CONTROL their behavior, find ways to make the child feel loved, powerful, and that they have a place.
We do this by having genuine encounter moments - basically being connected with our children and taking time to have meaningful, sincere 'moments' with each child.
We also talked about CONSCIOUS parenting, birth order, what to do when children are fighting, how to create a win/win negotiation, reasons not to spank, and ways to nurture onself (101 to be exact).
Great class.
Go here: http://www.incaf.com/aboutRCBbook.php to check out the book we are reading.
And for some great articles go here: http://www.incaf.com/articles.php
Happy parenting! :)

There was a great article in LDS living about raising children and how to better your family : (thanks tia for passing it on!)

http://deseretbook.com/mormon-life/news/story?story_id=9304 (i hope this link works)

In it, it talks about how many families who found success attributed it to mothers having strong influences on their children in their younger years, and dad's taking on a more significant role, especially with the boys (mom's with the girls) as the children got older. I have three boys. They worship their dad. Bodie just got to go on a fishing trip with Jess and his friend and they got back last night. Bodie was SO excited to go and was on cloud 9 when they got back. It was really cute to see. I know there will be many trips like these - whether it's climbing, mountain biking, skiing, motorcycle riding, surfing, camping or whatever - my boys are so lucky to have such a cool dad! Our family has lots of fun times ahead! After reading that article, I was grateful to be a partner with Jess in rearing our children - one, because he is just a really fun person with a lot of great hobbies and two, because I know he's going to be amazing when the kids get older. He just understands teenagers, and I know the boys will always have a great relationship with him. The teenage years scare me! However, I really liked what a Father of FIVE boys said in the article about raising teenagers:

"Everything seemed to happen at our house--parties, song practices, play rehearsals, and student-body-election committee meetings. Loud music was always competing with somebody on the guitar or piano. The food bill was astronomical. We spent all of our time going to ball games, plays, and programs. I loved it.
"And there were never any real problems with our children. There were the usual romances and breakups, lost elections and football games, a constant hassle about neglected chores; but we did a lot of things together--skiing, fishing, golfing, ball games, and great family trips and vacations. We liked being together, and the talk was always rich and stimulating. Underneath it all was the knowledge that in just a few years our boys would all be on missions. We savored the crowded years that were passing so rapidly. At least in my mind, these years were the easiest."

That's how I imagine it will be and hope it will be for us!

Here's a picture from their trip: