This weekend we’ll hold our annual
Coombs Family Back to School Dinner.
This has quickly become a family favorite tradition of ours.
Our Back to School Dinners are a time to:
* Reflect upon the new year.
* Chat about upcoming events – – what we’re excited about – – what we’re nervous about
And…
* Discuss our new family motto for the school year
{decided upon by Joe and I prior to the dinner}
Because I’m preparing for THIS year’s dinner now {School starts MONDAY!}…I’ve decided to share some of our dinners from years past for the rest of the week.
Today I’m sharing our ‘LETTUCE’ themed dinner from 2014.
EnJoY!
Decorations were quite simple:
*I used Kraft paper for the table covering
{which served as a dual purpose. More on that later….}
*12 x 12 striped scrapbook paper for the placemats
*Mini chalkboard signs purchased at Michaels,
stuck right into an apple for place cards
&
*Mini kraft bags with TomKat labels as utensil holders
We served my kids’ favorite meal:
Spaghetti with meatballs, green salad and french bread
Easy!
Joe was in charge of coming up with our family motto this year and he based it off of THIS 10 minute video clip from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
{Such a sweet message. It’s an anti-bullying video with narrative from Pres. Uchtdorf. At the end, he says our motto and as soon as Joe and I heard these words – –
we just KNEW we had to imply it into our daily lives.}
We told the kids a couple of personal experiences that had to do with this very subject and then encouraged them to work on EACH of the things listed in our motto:
KINDNESS
FORGIVENESS
Speaking PEACEFULLY to one another
&
Doing GOOD to everyone around us
Now if you know me – you know I love a good pun.
Mainly because, puns can serve as a REMINDER of sorts about something you’ve learned.
Hence, the head of lettuce in these green vases with our
‘Let Us/Lettuce’ theme.
{P.S. These cute vases were scored on clearance last week at Hobby Lobby for $2.28!}
These now sit in our kids’ bedrooms
as a reminder of our motto.
The other half of our dinner was spent coming up with
ONE WORD that each of us wanted to BE this year.
The kids each wrote theirs down on the tablecloth/paper….
and then we cut them out.
They now hang on their bathroom mirror as a reminder of what they want to BE this year.
Encouraging.
Kind.
Creative.
It was SO fun watching the kids think about and then decide upon THEIR one word.
It was SO fun watching the kids think about and then decide upon THEIR one word.
I sure do love these kids of mine.
And my sweet husband.
Our family brings me SO. MUCH. JOY.
Oh and one more thing – –
Our framed motto {used as the centerpiece at dinner}
then hung for the year on the back of our front door as YET another daily reminder to think about and never forget what we discussed.
You can download it HERE for FREE!
