There are many different family structures. Mine is pretty basic. I have a father, a mother, and my siblings (four to be exact). Oh, and if pets are really considered family. We have 3 little doggies.
I consider my family to be the perfect size; mainly because that is what I am used to. There are not too many of us, and not too few. A lot of the times a family will try and put a number to their family and stick with it. Things do not always go as planned. I cannot imagine life without any member of our family. We are all a part of this family for a reason.
However, it may seem that my little sister was unplanned because me and my brothers are all two years apart. I do believe that she came at the right time. I'm not sure why, but our family was not complete without her. I needed a little sister because growing up with three brothers was a pain (fun nonetheless).
It was very fun to learn in class about the family structure and which one may be ideal for raising a "happy family". What I have not forgotten about our class discussion last week was the idea that "a family is not shaped by each individual, but more the interactions between each individual". Each member in my family is unique and I will explain this a little later. What I wanted to emphasize is that one person does not completely influence how the family functions; it is how we choose to react and interact with that individual. Families are full of mixed personalities, quirks, talents, influences, and ideas. Most of the time, these differences naturally mesh together and define a family's essence or culture while clashes within the family give each member the opportunity to learn for one another and can strengthen bonds. I am thinking very positively because hey, that is how I think. Sometimes differences can tear families apart. It all depends on what the end goal is and what kind of family a family wants to be.
Now, back to what I was saying about how each member of my family is unique. I thought this was a huuuuuge coincidence. In class we read about how children assume different roles with in the family. The first child is usually the hero, the second is the rebellious one, the third is the invisible one, and the fourth is the clown in the family. That applies so well to my own family accept there are five of us....I guess families can only have four children. Totally kidding. Emily matters :) We will just have to make up a role for her. We can just apply this to before she was born. My brother, Austin, was the first born. We all looked up to him as kids, and I guess we would call him the hero. He always made the right choices, kept us in line, and led us in play and other activities. Taylor was and still is the rebellious one in the family. I won't go into much of his present conditions because like our teacher, Brother Williams has said, this class is about repentance and forgiveness. Taylor caused a lot of contention, drove my parents crazy, and wanted to do his own thing. When I was little I looked up to both Austin and Taylor. It was hard to choose who to look up to, but I had a stronger connection with Taylor. I am the middle child and I did seem to adopt the "invisible" third child role. That didn't mean I was invisible, it just meant that I tried to stay out of the way, tried to be the peacemaker in the family, and avoided causing any extra stress on my parents. I would definitely say that I have really applied this role to my own life today. I like making peace, I like keeping my family together, and I do all that I can to make sure we all stick together. Then there is Christian, the fourth child. He is definitely the goof. He got a little bit of that from Austin too. Christian kept us laughing, sadly he may have been the source of many of our jokes when we were little. Poor guy. Emily, I feel, is a mixture between all of these roles. She keeps us smiling, she stays out of trouble, most of the time, and tries to keep peace in the family, now that I am away from home. It's very interesting to see what role each person plays in the family.
We are all a part of this family structure. We are unique, we have our roles. My father is the protector, he presides over our family, and he provides. My mother is the nurturer, our source of love and happiness, and life! Now within certain families, there are certain rules. Here are just a few of our rules then I will leave you with this little blog....Until next time Y'ALL!
I consider my family to be the perfect size; mainly because that is what I am used to. There are not too many of us, and not too few. A lot of the times a family will try and put a number to their family and stick with it. Things do not always go as planned. I cannot imagine life without any member of our family. We are all a part of this family for a reason.
However, it may seem that my little sister was unplanned because me and my brothers are all two years apart. I do believe that she came at the right time. I'm not sure why, but our family was not complete without her. I needed a little sister because growing up with three brothers was a pain (fun nonetheless).
It was very fun to learn in class about the family structure and which one may be ideal for raising a "happy family". What I have not forgotten about our class discussion last week was the idea that "a family is not shaped by each individual, but more the interactions between each individual". Each member in my family is unique and I will explain this a little later. What I wanted to emphasize is that one person does not completely influence how the family functions; it is how we choose to react and interact with that individual. Families are full of mixed personalities, quirks, talents, influences, and ideas. Most of the time, these differences naturally mesh together and define a family's essence or culture while clashes within the family give each member the opportunity to learn for one another and can strengthen bonds. I am thinking very positively because hey, that is how I think. Sometimes differences can tear families apart. It all depends on what the end goal is and what kind of family a family wants to be.
Now, back to what I was saying about how each member of my family is unique. I thought this was a huuuuuge coincidence. In class we read about how children assume different roles with in the family. The first child is usually the hero, the second is the rebellious one, the third is the invisible one, and the fourth is the clown in the family. That applies so well to my own family accept there are five of us....I guess families can only have four children. Totally kidding. Emily matters :) We will just have to make up a role for her. We can just apply this to before she was born. My brother, Austin, was the first born. We all looked up to him as kids, and I guess we would call him the hero. He always made the right choices, kept us in line, and led us in play and other activities. Taylor was and still is the rebellious one in the family. I won't go into much of his present conditions because like our teacher, Brother Williams has said, this class is about repentance and forgiveness. Taylor caused a lot of contention, drove my parents crazy, and wanted to do his own thing. When I was little I looked up to both Austin and Taylor. It was hard to choose who to look up to, but I had a stronger connection with Taylor. I am the middle child and I did seem to adopt the "invisible" third child role. That didn't mean I was invisible, it just meant that I tried to stay out of the way, tried to be the peacemaker in the family, and avoided causing any extra stress on my parents. I would definitely say that I have really applied this role to my own life today. I like making peace, I like keeping my family together, and I do all that I can to make sure we all stick together. Then there is Christian, the fourth child. He is definitely the goof. He got a little bit of that from Austin too. Christian kept us laughing, sadly he may have been the source of many of our jokes when we were little. Poor guy. Emily, I feel, is a mixture between all of these roles. She keeps us smiling, she stays out of trouble, most of the time, and tries to keep peace in the family, now that I am away from home. It's very interesting to see what role each person plays in the family.
We are all a part of this family structure. We are unique, we have our roles. My father is the protector, he presides over our family, and he provides. My mother is the nurturer, our source of love and happiness, and life! Now within certain families, there are certain rules. Here are just a few of our rules then I will leave you with this little blog....Until next time Y'ALL!
Madsen Rules
1. Mom cooks, We clean up
2. You got it out, You put it away
3. Saturday is chore day
4. "It's your day to pray"
5. We have SPOTS at the dinner table
6. Church every sunday
7. FHE
8. 12:00 curfew
9. No swearing
10. Boys take out the trash
11. You cannot leave the dinner table without talking with the family or asking permission
12. Pick up two things from the dinner table and PUT YOUR PLATE AWAY
Oh and when you go to the bathroom.....CLOSE THE DOOR.....or don't act so surprised when the door swing open and you're sitting on the toilet.
2. You got it out, You put it away
3. Saturday is chore day
4. "It's your day to pray"
5. We have SPOTS at the dinner table
6. Church every sunday
7. FHE
8. 12:00 curfew
9. No swearing
10. Boys take out the trash
11. You cannot leave the dinner table without talking with the family or asking permission
12. Pick up two things from the dinner table and PUT YOUR PLATE AWAY
Oh and when you go to the bathroom.....CLOSE THE DOOR.....or don't act so surprised when the door swing open and you're sitting on the toilet.