When people are cleaning out their stuff….and they come across toys and such that little boys would like….who do you think they often think of to give it to?

Yep…our family is often the first to come to mind when folks think of little boys.

We have been the blessed recipients of many wonderful toys…and even more wonderful clothes!  It’s always fun to be handed a box or a bag to go through.

Recently however…I feel like I have stuff coming out of the woodwork…bulging out of the cabinets….overflowing the drawers…rising like bread dough out of the toybox(es).

And the overflow has made it’s way onto my kitchen floor for me to trip over and kick when I’m trying to cook…and onto the living room furniture when I’m trying to read Geography to the boys….and onto my computer desk when I’m trying to blog!!  Now that’s where I have to draw the line!

So last weekend we started to clean out stuff…keeping only the toys and books that we truly love and play with often.  (And by “we” I’m talking about the “we” who play with light sabers and legos and action figures and balls every single moment that is available.)

Thankfully, the boys kind of got excited about this project and got into “clean out mode” like Mama was! 

And clean out we did!  I carted box after box to our basement for our next yard sale. 

After box…after box…

Shew!  It felt so good! 

So this Gratituesday….

I’m very thankful to have more stuff cleared out of our lives so that we can more easily keep our house clean.

I’m thankful to be so blessed that we rarely have to buy a toy or piece of clothing because others are generous enough to share with us.

And I’m very thankful to be so blessed that I actually have to teach my boys to “pick and choose” their favorite toys to keep. 

We truly live a life of abundance.

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday?

My friend Anne has a husband, two daughters and a cow.

(The cow is relevant information…stay tuned.)

Anne is doing an excellent job teaching her kids in the kitchen.  I am constantly amazed at what they are already capapble of.

One day, they were preparing dinner for company…and Anne realized that it was time to go milk the cow.  (see?)

They had everything out and ready to put a lasagna together (including ingredients for homemade lasagna noodles)…

So she looked at her then eight year old and said, “Hannah…you’ll have to finish making this lasagna.  Just put it into the oven when you’re done…and then turn on the oven so that you don’t burn yourself.”

And then Anne went out to milk the cow.

And when she came back into the house…she smelled lasagna baking.

Hannah knew how to put a lasagna together (using homemade noodles), all by herself…  when she was eight!

So here is my point and my tip for today:

Don’t underestimate what your kids are capable of in the kitchen! 

They can learn anything you teach them to do!  

Get them in there and love your time together teaching and training!

For the next several days, I’ll continue to write about what to do with the kids in your kitchen! 

I’ll cover topics like:

Little guys in the kitchen
Simple things for your kids to make
Teaching your kids about healthy eating
Kids cleaning up the kitchen
Kids helping with menu planning
More!

I’d love to hear your questions and ideas about your kids in the kitchen!

Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 1

More Kitchen Tip Tuesday…