Spending time with family

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and McDonald's.

I love the name of the new McDonald's campaign I'm participating in through BlogHer -- Family Time. Happy Time. -- because that's exactly how I feel. My happiest childhood memories are of spending time with my big, noisy, crazy, loving family of parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. Whether it was playing capture-the-flag with the grownups on the beach, stuffing ourselves with Korean barbecue (and paying the price later) or trash-talking each other throughout a marathon mah-jongg session, I was surrounded by people who loved me and spent time with me, so I grew up confident in my abilities and secure in the knowledge that I would never be alone.

Now Alfie and I live thousands of miles away from where we grew up, and our "small" family of five has no relatives close by, but I'm determined to give my children happy family memories of their own. So we try to do things together as a family whenever we can. We love trying new foods, we love traveling to new places, and we love it even more when we can combine the two! So far we've taken our kids to over 30 cities (not counting the cities surrounding our home town) in 5 countries, and we're constantly saving up so we can travel and taste our way through even more places!

Of course, not all of our family time involves budget-breaking activities. We go for bike rides and picnics in the park. Once in a while Alfie puts on his skipper's hat and takes us all out sailing. We play a highly competitive games of Blokus, Monopoly and gin rummy, and I do believe it won't be long before we're ready to make some fun family memories playing poker and mah-jongg. Finally, almost every single night, even though all the kids already know how to read, we gather together for a bedtime story. The kids snuggle up beside (and on top of) Alfie on the bed as he reads from a book and I stretch out on the floor, close my eyes and enjoy the sounds of my children's laughter (No matter what kind of story we read, we always end up laughing because Alfie can never resist adding some sort of embellishment to the narrative. Try keeping a straight face while listening to a middle-aged, balding Englishman fake a fairy princess voice!). Family time is truly happy time at our home, and every day we're together enjoying ourselves is a blessing!

Just how lucky we are to be able to spend family time together became clear to me when I attended the McDonald's Family Time Getaway in June 2010. One of the most enjoyable and meaningful activities of our trip was visiting the Ronald McDonald House® (RMH®) in Oak Lawn, IL. Like all Ronald McDonald Houses around the US and worldwide, it's a haven for families with children who need medical care, giving them the chance to live close to specialized treatment centers at little to no cost.

The RMH® we visited is located just across the street from Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital, and has housed over 200 families in its 16 bedrooms since its opening in 2008. It's a beautiful place, nestled among tall, shady trees. We were given the grand tour, from the fully-stocked communal kitchen to the bedrooms, from the sitting rooms to the children's playroom, from the handicapped-accessible tree house looking out into the trees to the bright, airy stairwell with its beautiful spiraling wooden staircase. The family bedrooms were filled with thoughtful touches like extra space for suitcases, a writing desk and chair, and a guest journal where families can write out their thoughts and prayers for the next occupants of the room to read.

Above all, it seemed to exude a sense of peace, quiet and comfort. Later on, we heard video testimonies from families who had stayed in this house which confirmed my initial impression -- that this really was a place where they could retreat to after the sterile environment of the hospital, rest and recharge. It was a very emotional moment for all of the bloggers, and we all left with a sense of admiration for the great service that each Ronald McDonald House provides to families -- allowing them to stay together and spend time as a family just when they need it the most.

After this experience, all ten of us bloggers were thrilled when McDonald's announced they were initiating a new online fundraising campaign to benefit RMHC® -- "Family Time. Happy Time" -- and invited us to help them spread the word. The campaign encourages families to pledge minutes of "happy time" together and share their own creative activities with other families via McDonald's Facebook page or their personal blogs. For each minute pledged, McDonald's will donate one penny to the Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) -- up to1 million minutes and $10,000! I'm so excited to be participating because it's a win-win for everyone: the money will be used toward family time activities for RMHC guests, participating families will be motivated to spend more quality time together, and they can feel good knowing they are helping other families do the same.

Click here to pledge some Family Time and help McDonald's give some Happy Time to families in need!

Here are even more ways you can support the Ronald McDonald House Charities:

* Drop your spare change into RMHC Donation boxes, located at participating McDonald's restaurants.

* Buy a Happy Meal! Starting this summer, participating McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. will donate one penny to RMHC from each purchase of a Happy Meal® and Mighty Kids Meal®.


Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a McDonald's Prize Pack!

The prize pack contains:
* 1 Smile Tote Bag
* 1 set of 6-8 Happy Meal Toys
* $25 McDonald's Arch Card
* 1 McDonald's character vintage tee
* 1 Pen Buddy notebook
* 1 EOS Organic Lip Balm multi-pack
* 1 16=oz. stainless McDonald's tumbler
* 1 Just Give Gift Card for any charity of winner's choice

To enter, go pledge family time on the McDonald's Make Family Time Happy Time widget and let us know what you pledged in the comment section for a chance to win. And, if you have a favorite family memory tied to McDonald’s, I’d love to hear about it!

You can get extra entries by tweeting and blogging about this giveaway, making sure to include a link to this giveaway in your tweet or blog post. Just leave a comment on this post and share the link to your tweet or blog post. Entries will be accepted until 5:00 PM PST on August 24, 2010. For full giveaway rules, click here. You can also gain extra entries by going to the BlogHer special offers page, because the other bloggers who went to the McDonald's Family Time Getaway are also giving away prize packs. Good luck!






This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and McDonald's. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.