Game night...

It's NOT what you think...

I'm pretty sure sitting around as a family and playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii isn't what most Latter Day Saints, like ourselves, probably imagine when we tell them Monday's are game night after we've eaten dinner and held F.H.E. (family home evening)...

... They probably imagine we play Uno or charades.

Both my mother AND my mother in law would have an earful and then some to say about us letting our boys play video games- and truth is- I can't stand them... the video games that is- what?!  You didn't think I just said I can't stand my mom and my mother in law, did you?!  Oh no, I love them, HATE the video games... BUT before they, or anyone else who regards video games as garbage, begins to lecture us, let it be known, the boys only get to play ONCE, (that is IF we remember, which usually isn't the case) once a week, on Monday evenings, AFTER we've eaten and held Family Home Evening.  They each only get 2 turns.  That's it.  No exceptions... okay, well MAYBE if we're feeling extra generous that evening, we'll allow them have a 3RD turn, but that's it, there's no negotiating for more turns and if they begin to whine and complain about how unfair the rules are, we take away one of their turns for the next week- cuz we're mean like that. HA! It's not like we've been playing video games together with our boys for years; fact is, we've owned a Wii now for nearly 3 years, but it really hasn't been used much until recently.  Perhaps you'll recall that about 2 years ago, we invited Noah's friends over for a Wii party--- click here to read about it... it was a fun party, but only one of the kids, actually knew how to play the Wii... my boys were always stuck spinning circles at the starting line of every Super Mario Kart game they played.  No worries Char and Linda (that's my mom and m.i.l.)- we DO monitor how much time they spend playing the Wii and watching television...  trust me--- I don't need another mother to lecture me and try to convince me of how bad video games are for children- I know and I too think they're a total waste of time- but for 15 minutes a week I make an exception and tolerate the games, and that is because to behold a sight like the one above--- it just melts my heart!