Where did it go?

Whew! It's finally Dec. 26th! Don't get me wrong--I enjoy Christmas but I have to admit that I look forward to it being over...all that food, the countless sweets and music can be quite overwhelming for a person. Since I took like a million pics (surprising, right!?) this Christmas, I decided to throw in a slideshow of all my favorites! My babies made Christmas so much fun! Alli and Ryan had a blast opening all of their presents...and were there a lot of them (3 different places!). Thanks so much to all of our family for making this Christmas so memorable! Little Miss Alli received a ton of Hannah Montana gifts. I think it would be safe to say that her favorite is the Hannah Montana guitar from G&G Levin. Ryan was in heaven...his favorite past time is ripping and crumbling paper, so Christmas was perfect! It's so cute to watch him play with his construction trucks and trains. He's definitely a boy. He has the "vroom-vroom" sound donw pat as he pushes the vehicles across the floor. It's so adorable! It's so hard to believe he's so big already. Who knew seeing a little baby wave and say, "hi" at the same time would cause such a sudden rush of emotion. I thank the Lord each and everyday that we have been blessed with two precious little beings who bring an unexplainable amount of joy to our hearts. To see their face light up with happiness when you walk in the room is so amazing. Although, Christmas has passed, His spirit and grace is still very previlent within us and in our home. Too many people get caught up in the amount or cost of gifts and forget the true meaning of the celebration. As the kids get older, I vow to teach them the importance of His birth. I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. p.s. Apparently I have failed in my attempt to perfect the art of procrastination...I hope to get my Christmas/New Years cards out very soon...I mistakenly had them shipped to my house rather then to the One-Hour Photo. :(

http://www.slideshow.com/galleries/7641

Age-Appropriate Chores Help Teach About Responsibility

I've always wondered how much responsibility Allison should have--thanks to this article I found, looks like we're heading down the right path.

According to the Parent Institute, parents shouldn’t burden young children with tasks they’re not ready to handle. But age-appropriate chores help teach children responsibility. Children need to learn to be responsible for themselves. In addition, chores should teach helpfulness. And chores should engage kids in helping their family and others.

Here are some chores a four-year-old can do with your supervision:

Find grocery items in the store.
Help put groceries away.
Help with the laundry (fold towels, sort white clothes from dark).
Dust furniture.
Take library books and videos to and from the car.
Help younger brothers and sisters.
Help plant a garden.
Put dishes in the dishwasher (or dry dishes).
Empty dishwasher and stack dishes on counter.
Make a simple meal/snack.
Rake leaves for short periods of time.
Walk well-behaved pets.
Feed, water and help wash pets.
Help plan meals.
Pour things.
Help measure ingredients.
Carry in the newspaper or mail.
Set the table.
Help clean up after meals and play.
Make beds.

One word of caution: Don’t give your child only the “low dignity jobs”—such as taking out the garbage or cleaning up the dog’s messes. This gives children a bad taste for chores.

For more help on setting up your children for success at school visit http://www.schoolfamily.com/