Here are a couple of pics to show you all how very blessed we are at 6428!!! First of all, let me say that I may be a little biased because Stephanie is my sister! However, I think after this post you will agree that she is pretty freakin' awesome! Let me explain my use of the word "freakin'"... Today at work someone mentioned that some of my posts are treacle!!! If you know me well at all, you know the last thing I want is to be defined as treacle!!! If you aren't familar with the word, look it up and check out the definition then you can tell me if this post is treacle or not!
Surely I digress! Stephanie has the joy this summer of having all four of the cousins each day all day. Well, Gina's boys Monday through Thursday and Zack and Sophia everyday. This could be super overwhelming, but she has the smarts to have the kiddos on a schedule which is quite impressive. Josh and Kenny have a white board with their chores listed out so that they can self manage and just collect their allowance based upon the checks placed on the board. Zack and Sophia have chores too, but can't read yet so the white board isn't as effective. The three youngers help out so happily. Kenny is twelve so it's a tad bit harder to get a smile out of him when he is helping out, but I did read somewhere that the best thing for a male betweenager is hard work. I'm not sure if his chores can be considered "hard" work, but they allow him to pitch in which is the important part. Steph even taught him how to do his own laundry from sorting to washing to folding to hanging. Now I think that is a skill he'll need for life. The others do things like smash aluminum cans, empty trash cans, deliver folded laundry to the proper rooms, set the table, help cook dinner, etc... They all get to enjoy the joy that comes from a job well done.
Besides the chores, Stephanie enourages Josh and Kenny to read each day and she works with Zack and Sophia on their alphabet, names, numbers, colors, and ages. They are both coming along smashingly.
When I get home in the evening, the kids run to the door to jump into my arms. I have to be honest. They are super jazzed when Aunty Gina gets home too. Okay, okay, okay...and when Uncle Jerry comes in too! Sophia always grabs my computer bag and rolls it to its proper place (see pic above)!
Sometimes when I get home, Sophia is cooking with Auntie Steph. The boys are usually swimming or setting the table. One thing is for sure, they all look clean and well loved each and every day!
In the evening, all of the boys (even Zack) know how to get their own baths, brush their teeth super well, get their jammies on and get to bed for tuck in time. I almost feel guilty that bed time is so easy. When I walk upstairs, all of the boys are super clean in bed waiting for devos (devotions which means simply Bible story reading). The best thing about all of this is that these are skills the kids will need for life. Good hygiene has to be taught. A bath or a shower a day definitely keep a lot of the smelly bugs away!
It is so cool to have such a perfect set up during this time in their lives. It is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!
3 comments:
sure they pics make it look like everything in the house is going well...but when the cameras away...lol jk stepha!! haha steph is a great nanny
and deana i'm impressed/shocked you can spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Heather - there are A LOT of things that would shock you about Deana! LOL
Deana - I love the kids so much. It warmed my heart that Zack called to say "come home" because he missed me. And when they run to the door I feel like a Queen! But most of all, my heart sings when Zack says "let's pray" before dinner.
Stepha is amazing, too! She runs a tight ship but is also so cool, I have to raise the bar in order to be cool for the kids, too! She rocks!
first of all. props to stepha. =]
and deana arent you lucky to have such well behaved kids.
and i started laughing when you put supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Post a Comment