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Crackberry.

When I think back on my childhood, I have memories of eating supper around the dinner table every single night as a family and then sitting around together watching TV, chatting, laughing and having a nightly devotion before bedtime. Mom occasionally read her People magazine or Readers Digest during our TV shows, and Dad sometimes read his issue of Shooting, but otherwise, all of our eyes were fixed on the same thing and we were all enjoying our evenings - together.

There was no internet. No cell-phones. No otherwise distractions.

If the phone rang, we all jumped up in anticipation to see who it was. We didn't know who was on the other line until we so eagerly said, "hello?". Times have changed drastically since I was a child, and I feel like we aren't content to sit and just enjoy our families each evening. There is always something else to do, someone else to check up on or something else to pour our effort into.

I have been so convicted lately about the time Husby and I spend on our phones in the evenings. Levi has watched us so much that he knows exactly how to slide open my iPhone screen, scroll through three different pages of apps, open "his" apps and proceed to play or watch videos. He is one and a half! He shouldn't know how to do these things!

I can only blame myself.

Now that Levi is conversing and very aware of what we are doing, I've realized it's time to put away the iPhone and focus on Husby and him each night. I don't need to see what everyone else is doing on Facebook, or who I need to catch up with on Words With Friends. Those things are so unbelievably trivial compared to the two gifts I have sitting in the same room with me each night.

I do not EVER want to take my time with them for granted.

During the day I'm not on it as much because we are always doing something and life is constantly moving. But when evening sets and we all congregate on the couches to relax from the day, the "struggle with the iPhone" begins. I don't want Levi to think back on his childhood with Mommy and Daddy and their cell phones glued to their hands. And I don't want to think back on his childhood with missed opportunities because of a silly cell phone.

I kind of curse the day the "smart phones" were invented because I think along with it, family time all over the world has suffered. I'm making a change, and I'm making it now.

Thanks for listening. :)
I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. I totally agree with this! I am always just checking my Facebook on my phone. It might only take me a minute but my son sees me doing it and that's a minute I could be focused on him! I need to make an effort to not do this while he is awake.

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  2. I couldn't agree more, Whitney! You are right on the money for sure and kudos to you for making a stand! P.S. Congrats on your continued weight loss with WW - I have now lost a total of 6 lbs. and counting. P.S. If you ever want to play words with friends (when you have time and not taking away from your precious family) - my username is trac6893 - I'd love to play a game with you so look me up okay?! :) Have a great day! xoxoxo

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  3. I only have a regular cell phone (and I don't have kids, but what I do to keep from compulsively checking my mail and facebook, is to allow 2 times a day when I am allowed to check. This keeps me from going on and being disappointed there is nothing to see (after 5 minutes). Instead, I get two chunks of communication/socializing done and the rest is time I actually LIVE my life.

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  4. This post convicted me way too much! :) I'm so guilty of sitting on my phone piddling the time away when my precious gifts are right by me at night. *sigh* These smart phones really are a blessing and a curse. I miss the days when you had no idea who was calling and you'd get to have an unexpected phone call.

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  5. Ah, yes. Technology is such a blessing and a curse.

    A few of my medical school friends and I don't have iPhones (or any smart phones) for various reasons. (I'm always in front of a computer ANYWAY is my number one reason). But, it's funny how many professors and attendings just assume and expect that we do have them! It's so sad. Just leave us alone with our "regular" cell phones already!

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  6. It is hard to imagine that our kids will never know the anticipation of waiting for the phone to ring--I vividly remember us upgrading to a CORDLESS phone and then getting an ANWERING MACHINE. So modern!

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  7. I have the same struggle. I dont want little C to think that all mommy does is look at her silly phone and not pay attention to him. All this technology makes our lives easier but also takes away from our family time. I need to make myself not look at my phone or electronics until after he goes to bed.

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  8. Good for you! Yes, technology steals way to much of our time. You are so right.

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  9. Oh my gosh, I totally agree!! Up until recently, we were pretty good about that--our computer was a desktop in the office, so, if you wanted to be online, you had to get up and go into the office as opposed to having it on your lap in front of the TV. But, we both got new Blackberries last year and that has opened up a whole new can of worms! I'm trying to be better about this myself. It's a struggle.

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  10. One word: AMEN!

    I don't have FB (did for a few months). Frankly, don't miss it. I do have to be careful of "blog time" - whether posting or reading...and we got rid of Satellite TV and don't miss that either. Hubby and I make a full breakfast for our 3 every morning and always have dinner together. I want my kids to grow up like I did, too, as much as possible.

    I long for a simpler life. I think we ALL need it!

    Great post!

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  11. I completely agree! I recently deactivated Twitter, my husband deactivated FB and we have been putting our phones aside in the evening. It has been wonderful to just spend quality time with each other and I feel like our relationship is growing stronger every day!!

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  12. I never thought about how kids growing up today will be able to always access all those things on their phone. I can't believe he can already work your iPhone! You're definitely thinking about your family and how to make the most of that time together.

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  13. I don't have babies just yet, but I already feel this way! I thought about this issue last night when the hubby and I were watching a favorite show together and instead of talking or snuggling during commercials, we immediately picked up our phones! It's seriously sad and I want to put a stop to it now, before our futures babes are affected! Thank you so much for this post! You are such a smart girl!

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  14. Totally agree with you. It would be so much easier to turn on the tv after dinner each night and just zone out, especially after chasing 3 little kids all day long! After all, I just want to sit down for 10 minutes straight :) But I do my best to resist that urge each night, no matter how hard it is, because I know that this time with my young children is fleeting. Besides, that is what DH is for- wrestling that lingering energy out of the kiddies before bedtime!

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  15. Whitney, I completely agree with you. It's funny because I tell people that I'm the only human left on earth without a Facebook Page! I've purposely strayed away from that and twitter because I've seen how others have gotten completely sucked in by them and I have also experienced that myself years ago when I had a MySpace page. I'm not saying that I will never give in to the Facebook craze because I definitely see that it can be of good use, but I really don't want to replace my personal face to face connections with the Facebook. I think we all just have to learn to find the right balance with our evolving technilogies :)

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  16. We try very hard to put our phones away because our boys are 8 and 6 and when they are of age for a phone, I don't want them to have bad habits. Family time is so precious in our home and I owe it to my family to make it so, so special!!
    On a side note: I heart words with friends! If you want to play, look me up! susanschnitzler

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  17. Good for you! We totally need to do this in our house. Hubby and I each have laptops on our ends of the couch, we each have iPhones and our 21 month old knows how to use all of our technology and love to play angry birds. Can we start a support group for each other though, I am a little addicted to stupid time wasters on my iPhone.

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  18. We came to the same realization about the TV in our family. We spent one full weekend completely TV free and ever since then we've been very conscious of our TV watching time. Good for you for taking action!

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  19. Good for you, Whitney, for realizing this early on! We are coming to the same convictions here. My 13 year old daughter came to me the other night and told me she didn't want her phone anymore. We had gotten her one when she was playing soccer so she could easily call for rides when she needed them,a nd so she could reach us if she had an emergency while walking our dog. But when I asked her why she didn't want it, she told me she found herself spending too much time on it, and realized it wasn't good for her. Put me to shame! So we are getting ready to really limit computer/phone/TV time, too. It's amazing how much more time you spend together without it all!

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  20. As much as I want a blackberry, I am thinking that it's a good thing hubs and I do not have one. I know I would be glued! Instead I'm on my laptop a bit more and hubs is playing some XBox game. The good thing is that we have certain nights/times when we can go on these things. It makes it much easier! I do miss the days of no internet or very little. Although it would be completely weird now!

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  21. I completely agree....my husband and I came to the conclusion that our phones were taking over :) I got rid of my I phone a year ago and now I have just a plain phone...no internet or anything...it is amazing how much time I spent on my I Phone without even realizing! Great post!

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  22. Very good point! And good for you to be aware of that and make a change. I want to keep that in mind when our little one gets here!

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  23. Are you kidding it is amazing how your son can do all that at 1 and 1/2. He will be great at all the good stuff! You know the older we are the harder it is to be so good at all the tec stuff! I love how my granddaughter can do all that and more at age 4! He will not understand life without tec items so enjoy and embrace it.

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  24. I love this post! We just cancelled our cable, sold our tv, and cancelled our Facebook accounts. Not so we could be hermits, but so we could spend quality time together and so our daughter can have the childhood we had. I'm a lot more productive while she is sleeping now. (Except on days like today when I am sick and on the couch!)

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