Our Family

Most of you reading this probably know our family. (To be honest, 98% of the readers of this blog ARE our family.…) So you know the basics. In many ways, we are the generic picture of the American family: a middle-manager dad, a stay-at-home mom, and a symmetrical pattern of four children on 2 year staggers (12, 10, 8, and 6.) We live in the suburbs. We drive a minivan. We go to soccer games and dance recitals and cello concerts. We are usually 5-10 minutes late to church. So let me propose a different lens through which to view our family – a ”standard” week in our house. • Sunday (Movie Night)– On Sunday nights, we lay out blankets on the floor in the family room. We then eat pizza and watch a movie. (We also offer broccoli, carrots and grapes… but there tends to be more of those than pizza left over at the end.) When the movies get scary, Will and Mia will jump on the couch with mom and dad. When the movies get boring, mom and dad pretend that they’re not sleeping. By the end of most movies, all six of us are usually on the couch. • Monday (Game Night) – We try to play a family game on Monday night. A recent favorite is “Wok and Roll” where you attempt to pull your colored “rice” with chopsticks out of a moving wok. It is either a friendly acknowledgement of our children’s Asian heritage or a game that plays upon culturally inappropriate stereotypes. We are focusing on the former. • Tuesday (Treat Night) – This usually involves ice cream. • Wednesday (OPEN) – Obviously, we are control freaks who probably shouldn’t be allowed to have six kids… but we find that structure helps keep everyone happy (especially mom and dad.) Given this, we are open to suggestions for how to fill the one open night of the week. • Thursday (Show Night) – This is when we gather (sometimes with leftover ice cream from “Treat Night”) to watch a re-run of the Cosby Show or America’s funniest Home Videos. We apparently don’t think anyone has made quality family programming in the last two decades… • Friday (Jutt Night) - Our favorite night of the week is on Friday when we go to Steak n’ Shake for dinner, come home to milkshakes (because Dad is too cheap to buy them at the restaurant), dance to our favorite songs, and then take time to pray for each other and our friends. • Saturday (Date Night) – Mom and Dad have been going out on Saturday nights since they started dating in high school. 24 years later, it is still one of our favorite things in any week. So there you have it. This is what happens when you let a chemical engineer run a family. You’ll find symmetry (Girl-Boy-Girl-Boy), patterns (12 years old, 10 years old, 8 years old, and 6 years old), and a carefully managed schedule. You’ll also find love and laughter and messes. It’s not a perfect life, but we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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