A little catching up...

I haven't been the best at blogging regularly for awhile now. I am hoping to do better in the coming months. Until then, here's a quick little photo update from the last few months. 

While we were waiting for our house to finish being built, we checked on it every Sunday after church. This time the kids played king of the gravel pit! 

The girls and I went exploring in downtown Franklin one Sunday afternoon... only to find out that in small town in the south nearly every shop was closed. So we took pictures instead. 

A Trader Joe's impulse buy turned into a wonderful, and beautiful, horticulture experiment while we were living in temporary housing in Franklin, TN.

Exploring a new nature park on a cold and rainy day. The different mosses and lichen that were growing in the dampness of new rain was spectacular.

Salamander egg sack. SO COOL!!!!

Everyone together for a trip to our new science museum. 

Our newest family members, our adopted kitties... Aslan is on the left, and Apricot is on the right.

Sleepy kitties...

Some Mother's Day silliness... at least they bought me Paleo donuts from Five Daughters Bakery first.

More donuts... this time for National Donut Day.

The kids and I traveled to Virginia and spent a week with friends doing science experiments. They videoed nearly everything, but thanks to Hannah, I have this awesome photo of an experiment they did burning different salt compounds.

Fourth of July, downtown Franklin style.

We had the opportunity to go watch fireworks in downtown Nashville, from the 21st floor of the "Batman Building". I've never been that close to a fireworks display before, nor have I ever been eye-level. It was an incredible experience.

Some fun, new artwork. Come over and see it in person! :)

A view of the sunset from my bedroom window last night. There is so much beauty here.

A clean kitchen counter... a rare sighting around my house. But a beautiful one when it happens.

A new attempt at order...

Through the years, I've attempted to create at least a hundred chore charts and cleaning schedules. There have been times that I have used them well, consistently instructing and following up with my kiddos on a job well done. Then there have been other times that the chore chart mocks me as I walk past the refrigerator, unused and forgotten.

We've been in our new home for around 3 1/2 months now. We're pretty well settled into our routines, with a relatively predictable schedule. But the house is a wreck. The kids don't seem to notice the messes they make or the clutter they produce. I want them to be creative and explore their interests. I am striving to walk in the Spirit and be laid back about the house, but I have my limits, and we've recently crossed them. So, tonight I worked on some new chore charts.

I've wrestled with the concept of giving kids an allowance for a full decade now. I have no context for knowing if an allowance helped me develop a work ethic, I had to get a job at fourteen to help make sure we could keep the water running and the electricity on. I don't want to raise spoiled children simply because we can afford to feed and clothe them without violating child labor laws. So, after much discussion, Elliot and I have decided to give the kids a weekly allowance. However, we also decided that it wouldn't be "free" money, it is tied to a weekly job and some general helping out around the house. We've got them set up with some envelopes for tithe (10%), generosity (10%), saving (40%) and spending (40%). And we've also given them permission that if they don't feel like doing their assigned jobs, they can pay someone else the money they would have received to do the task themselves. Nothing like free market enterprise, right?

Here's a sneak peek at what I've come up with... I am sure some tweaks will be needed. Some jobs are harder than others, but the jobs rotate weekly, so everyone will have a fair share at the fun... eventually.

We start tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. :)