What things bring you closer to your family

Today I attended a Family History class and one thing I like about our teacher is that she gives us assignments to do each time. Our assignment for today was to write down what things I can do to make my family an important part of my life and these are the ten things I wrote in Spanish:

¿Cuáles son algunas cosas que tú podrías hacer para que tu familia ocupe un lugar más importante en tu vida?

Las diez cosas que planeo hacer.

1)Pedirle al Señor a diario por cada uno de ellos. (Pray for each one of them)

2)Llamadas de skype, face time y teléfonicas cada semana. ( call them each week)

3)Enviarles correos electronicos cada semana con pensamientos y anotaciones. (write to them)

4)Visitarlos cuando es posible para ocaciones importantes como bendiciones, bautismos, graduaciones. ( Visit them whenever possible)

5)Tomar muchas fotos especialmete en las bodas, cumpleaños y reuniones familiares. ( Take lots of pictures)

6)Hacer grabaciones de mamá y las tias que todavía recuerdan muchas anécdotas. ( make recordings of the elderly)

7)Darle vida a la historia familiar escribiendo un libro sobre la vida de mi abuela mi  mamá y la mía. (write a biography of my life and the life of my mom and grandma)

8)Buscar en Familysearch.org y Ancestory.com mis antepasados y hacer la obra por ellos. ( Do genealogy)

9)Planificar paseos y  viajes donde podamos disfrutar de la compañía de nuestros hijos y nietos. ( plan  trips together as a family)

10)Ser un buen ejemplo de fe para dejarles un buen legado como historiadora de la familia.  ( Be a good example of faith and live a good legacy as the family historian)

The class is made up of young adults and it was interesting what they shared because I want to add those things to my list.  One said to "hablar con tiernos acentos" or in other words to speak kindly to your family. Never yelling or getting mad.

" Dar prioridad a las actividades familiars" Give priority to family activities and this is true for a lot of young people who would choose to be with their friends than with family.

" Pasar más  tiempo con ellos" spend more time with them which is probably the most important thing a person can do for its family.

 "Nunca hacer nada afuera que no hicieras en tu casa" Never do anything outside that you wouldn't do at home. One person was explaining that if they are going to invite a friend to eat out or to the movies, they would first invite their family to do those things.

Nuria Martinez, our teacher made a very important observation. She told them that she tells her children as they are dating to watch closely how they treat their family members because that is a good indication of how they would be treated. I have noticed that if you marry a guy that is sweet and tender to his mother, most often than not, he would be that way to his wife. She also said to me the other day, she always tells her children to have the stock of cards to their advantage. Meaning anything can go wrong but try not to start out with a disadvantage like marrying out of the Church.