Family Honor Plate and Table Thyme Discussion Cards~ REVIEW

My oh my do I have something super exciting to share with you all today.  We had the chance to use the Family Honor Plate and Table Thyme Discussion Cards in our home for the past few weeks.  I love crafts, painting, the Lord and my Family and this wrapped it all up together for an amazing experience.

First let me tell you exactly what I'm talking about.  In comes the box and we open to find every thing needed to make a beautiful Family plate that will be passed down in the Family I'm sure of it.  Have you ever wanted something tangible to be able to offer a Family member for a job well done, but wanted it to be more meaningful then a marble in the jar or another trip to the dollar store?  This plate represents the virtues and character qualities I wish for everyone in our Family to achieve and strive for.  The fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians.  And over the past few weeks I have grown to see it fast becoming a favorite part of our dinner time meal.  But before that we have to get our crafting on!!!  The kids decided on the colors and we took turns painting the plate.  We chose yellow because of God's bright light in our lives, purple to represent our Royal bloodline and adorned it with hearts to represent how our hearts are changing for the Lord and our love for one another. 

We could just stop right there, but it gets even better.....we still have to talk about the card set in a minute. :)  
Obviously we as parents need to set the example and having this plate displayed on the counter makes a great reminder for both us and the kids.  As the parent by keeping our eyes and ears open while going about our day we can present the Family member that really shined that day.  It doesn't have to be awarded every single day or week.  But, if someone goes above and beyond, sharing, working hard or practicing some major self control being honored with the plate during dinner time is  special.  And it gives the whole Family an opportunity to talk about the choices that was made and how it impacted the Family or others.  How it made them feel and what their thoughts were on the outcome or process.  We personally decided to award it weekly for a Special Sunday dinner and since the kids are older we have everyone weigh in and give their opinion.  We have only used it twice so far.  And both times it was beautiful.  I was awarded the first time and everyone went around and shared what I did that made the kids and Hubby chose me.  And then we decided to also have the person chosen share at least one thing that they saw everyone else do the past week that was represented on the plate.  When Mahala earned the next week, she said Kaden practiced self control when told no more video games for the night.  I had shown patience and that Dad showed a joyful attitude about going to work even though it was Christmas time. :)  Honestly it was pure delight to do this the past 2 weeks and we look forward to many many more.

The cards are my favorite part of our evening meal..... every night we flip a card or two and answer the questions.  I have seen similar things like this before, but these are a little different.  After most questions is another question.......WHY?  It takes a simple question even further, gone are the days of one word answers....bye-bye, see ya later!!!  Here is an example:  Share about a time when you were happy.  WHY?  Do you prefer sunny or snowy vacations?  WHY?  If you could have any super power, what would it be?  WHY?  Some questions don't have the second question of WHY like:  Your family is a team.  What could your family practice to make it a better team?  Or Have you ever done something for a stranger that may have made their day?  What did you do?  Pretty awesome, right?  Communication is so important and the Family table is a great place to cultivate it.  If you have kiddos, you need a set of these cards, they are very sturdy and I love how they come as an easy to use flip chart.  I love the words at the bottom of each card~ Connect-Enjoy-Laugh-Learn-Share-Listen

I just have to say that the plate, stand, brushes and paint are great quality....I was so impressed!!  After painting and baking it in the oven the final product was stunning.  This would be amazing as a gift to any Family.  Whether they had young or older kiddos, anyone would feel excited to be recognized.  So, make that Christmas list now and give the gift of Family Time, Communication and Character Honoring with these two beautiful tools.  Pick up one or both of these items RIGHT HERE!