Rites

rite  [rahyt]
–noun

1. any customary observance or practice.

When Brandon and I got married we received some really good counsel. We were encouraged, from the beginning, to establish some rites for our family.

Often when we hear rite we think of a ceremony or a "rite of passage, but rites can be things you as a family do over and over, traditions or rituals. Rites can be elaborate or simple such as family prayer every night or family home evening every Monday. Rites can be things that are special or unique to your family. Brandon and I really took this counsel to heart and from our first day of marriage we started establishing some rites for our little family.

I've been thinking some about this today. Has this made an influence for good in my family? You bet! My favorite rites are the things we do around holidays.

Every fall we go to the same pumpkin patch and on the same hayride.

And

Every Christmas eve we open 1 present. They are always new holiday pajamas. Even Brandon and I get some. We have done this since our first Christmas together.

And

Every year each child picks one new Christmas ornament. We also get one new family ornament. This goes on our "memory tree." We have trees I put up that have matching decorations but our memory tree is our big family tree and on it are the children's precious handmade ornaments, many with their photos, their special ornament from each year of their life, ornaments from special vacations, our "first" ornaments, first Christmas together, first home, baby's first Christmas. . . Our memory tree even has ornaments from my grandmother's tree. Nothing on this tree matches BUT every year I wonder if there could be a more beautiful on the earth. Someday when my children are grown they will take their box of ornaments with them to start their own memory tree.

Even birthdays have rites at the Parish house.

Our children have come to count on many of these things. We have made some very special memories that will last a lifetime. Sometimes life gets really hectic but all these family rites and rituals put all of the other stuff in balance.