A Family that Cooks TOGETHER...EATS TOGETHER!

We've been trying to involve the kids more in our everyday lives lately. That means that most things take lots of extra time, but we've enjoyed doing things together and working together. We've been trying to teach the girls simple household chores such as laundry folding, sweeping, dusting, cleaning the ol' commode. The girls love to have their own "jurisdictions"(yeah, I snagged that term from the Duggar family but they got it from someone else too.) to do. Olivia does the more complicated jobs like sweeping up crumbs after meals, while Addison puts water bottles in the fridge and Emma Claire wipes off all the counters. Addison and Isaiah(well, you know Isaiah doesn't really help, but he thinks he does) help Scotty put up dishes. Addison is GREAT at putting back silverware and stacking plastic stuff into my storage areas. Emma Claire LOVES to help in the kitchen with setting the table, so we usually put her on that duty.
It may seem like we're stealing their childhood or keeping them from playing, but without a TV there is only so much time that they even WANT to play with their millions of toys. Eventually they want to do something else, and we thought we'd see if they liked helping out in our home and it turns out that they do. Even if they didn't, they need to learn that a family of our size has to work together to get the job done right. It's been great fun for all of us with the exception of Scotty and I getting a little twitchy when things are QUITE as clean as we'd like them or done to the perfection that they once were. I mean, for crying out loud, when we first got married I insisted that all the towels and wash cloths line up with their hems in the same direction. It's true, ask my poor husband!=)
ANYWAY, all of that to say that one of the things that we've decided to start trying to do more of is cooking together. This takes a LOT of extra time, but it really is fun. I usually get all my ingredients out and do them out cooking show style all measured out in their own little bowls. Then, when I get it all set up I call everyone in and we work together to get it ready for cooking and/or eating. Over Christmas break we made several different yummy snacks and desserts, but cooking real meals that we can sit down and enjoy together is the most rewarding.
Here are some pictures of our recent fun. Some of them are just of our food, but it looks good too!=)

Little Blue Eye Blessing

Have you ever been so full of joy over someone you just can't explain it? You know, like when you see your man for the first time in your life and your heart tells you he's "the one"? Or you have a friend that just fills you up and you just love them so much. I love all of my children and each one of them is special to me in a different way and I love different things about them that makes each one a perfect part of our family. Lately I've been thinking about what I love most about each child and what part of their personality that I hope they hold onto for life. I've been praying for those special qualities to shine out for all to see.

That special thing about my dear Addison Faith is that she is so full of joy about life that I just can't explain it! She's just a little doll-beautiful both in and out. She's always thankful and makes sure to say thank you for everything. She's quick to talk about what she likes about you and to give you a compliment. She's a love bug and LOVES to be held and loved on and to love on you in return. She's just a JOY. I pray that her JOY will last her whole life through.

Now, that's not to say she isn't a little firecracker that is sure to go off at some point in the day. Sister's got SPUNK too! That girl will say what she means and mean what she says. She's the first to stand up for herself and others.

She's also so bright and thoughtful. Sometimes I'm amazed at what she comes up with in that little mind of hers. She can memorize scripture and her catechisms right along with her sisters. She can also remember words to songs and can, most of the day, be heard singing away.

Addison has a GREAT imagination unlike her sisters. They tend to stick to what they've seen or heard when they are playing, but Addison can come up with her own stories and just play away for as long as she pleases. I love that she is a great player. She'll also decide to be a character(usually Mary or Minnie Mouse these days) and demand that we call her by that name and she'll stay in character until she's ready to quit! That girl can make you laugh!

If you'd like to pray for Addison, you can pray that she will accept her new sister into our home. This baby will take the place of "baby girl of the house" and I'm thinking that might be hard for her. I'm also praying that Addison will use her hands to love and not hurt and that she'll use her words for GOOD to all she speaks to.

These are just a few thoughts I've been thinking over about my Little Blue Eye blessing, Addi Fae Foo Foo.

Emma Claire gives her hair

When Emma Claire was born she had minimal dark hair and by the time she was a month old, that child was BALD! I had to keep it trimmed really short most of her first year, because what hair she did have was sporadic and frizzy! Once she finally started getting "big girl hair" it was totally different. Now she has the most beautiful hair. It's a nice reddish brown color, grows like wild fire, and  is oh so thick. About a year or so ago she decided that she wanted to let it get "weeeeeeeeeely wong wike Wapunzle!" Because I wanted to see how it would look I let her grow it out from a shoulder length bob. It's been growing and growing since then. In the last 3 or 4 months it's gotten VERY long and she HATES to have it fixed. brushed, dried, touched.  Getting her ready to go anywhere is such a chore because she just hated it!
About a month ago I started looking into Locks of Love. I read about it to Emma Claire and she thought it was a really cool thing to give hair to people who needed it, and she was quickly on board to lovingly give her locks away.
I found out that our local kids salon was a sponsor for Locks of Love and that they actually did free cuts for those interested in donating their hair. I wanted to wait and go when Scotty could come with us, so we waited until Scotty was off for Christmas break and we headed over to Pigtails and Crewcuts with all the kids in tow. Emma Claire was so excited! She wanted to go first(we decided to give all the girls haircuts while we were there), and jumped into her car salon chair and told the lady she wanted to give her hair to locks of love. The beautician looked at me and said, "But it's so pretty!!" I said, "Do it now before I change my mind."
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Needless to say we all love the change. Emma Claire looks so cute and the new style is so "her."