New Year.... New Dedication!

So, at my house, with the events of the last couple years and all of the things that my little family has been through, certain things have been put on the back burner. We knew going into the adoption that my personal interests would have to wait and also a few of the kids activities like art, piano, and gymnastics. It was a sacrifice everyone agreed to as a family to be able to adopt these two boys that we felt were supposed to join our family. At one point, I had 4!!!! yes I said 4 kids in diapers at one time, 3 kids who couldn't communicate, 2 kids who couldn't walk, sit, etc. on top of moving, remodeling, & the feelings of isolation because I couldn't easily go anywhere or meet anyone with 4 little kids under 3. For the last 2 years, we have had one project after another to be able to fit the 10 of us into a smaller house in order to be able to have funds to enjoy life as a "Big Happy Family". We were able to buy a camping trailer, go to Disney a few times, and enjoy life a little easier. Each passing year, a few things get a little better. About the time all kids could walk & talk, we felt like we needed to add, what we feel, is our final piece to the Smith Family Puzzle. Now that he is here, I am excited to get back in to the swing of things and start "living" again. I have been feeling like a neglectant mother these last few years, in the sense that I wish they had the opportunity to develop their talents and grow in their abilities and I have just simply not had the time or hands to be able to help.

So, with the turn of this new year, we have a lot to look forward to! I have a new dedication to being a "good", involved, happy mother. The house is within a week or two of being almost completely finished. This will take a huge load off of our shoulders and open up a lot of time for being with the kids and enjoying life. By the end of this year, I should only have 1!!! yes, this time I said 1 kid in diapers, who should also be able to communicate & walk by about the time the next school year hits. 2 of the 5 kids who are home during most of the days now, will be going to Kindergarten, 1 more will be going to Pre-school, and I will be left with only 2 :o) kids at home. I hopefully won't feel so strapped to the house and can breath a little easier.

While we still have the goals of things like reading the scriptures, having a meaningful & regular family home evening, having family prayer... I want to concentrate this year on teaching the kids the basics of life. I want them to start learning and be involved with the cooking. Maybe an assigned day that they get to help with the meal~ and I'm not talking just setting the table and the grunt work of getting the dinner ready, but really teaching them how to cook. It is an art that is learned and one that I wasn't necessarily taught. My hubby is WAY better at this than I am and I hope that my kids, boys and girls, pick up on that skill and learn to love cooking.

I also want to teach them the art of sewing. A few years ago, when trying to plan Enrichment Activities, I was told that the church wanted us to concentrate on teaching the basics to the women, that too many girls were getting married who didn't know how to cook or to even sew on a button or hem a skirt, the things that as a mom, you really should know.

I want them to learn the art of cleaning. This too is an art that is learned. Some tend to enjoy it more than others, but it still needs taught. We have chores that the kids do daily around the house from about the time they turn 4. They are learning this already, but I want to rededicate myself to making sure they complete them and do them right.

With Dallas in Scouts and working on his merit badges, there is one that requires him to earn and track his income and spendings for 3 months. This is an interesting one for us because we don't pay the kids an allowance. In our opinion, they do their chores to be an active part of the family and to help us function better. If they want to earn money, then we come up with "extra" chores that they can do around the house. But... after working on his merit badge and seeing the pros of learning money management & also going to tithing settlement and realizing that they are missing out on the benefits and testimony of learning to pay a full tithe, I really want to change this in our family. I still don't think we should pay them for their chores, I just want to figure out a way that they do something extra to earn an allowance that is theirs to manage. So if anyone who happens to read this has any ideas of how to accomplish this, feel free to comment or give me a call :o)

The last one for now is music. I LOVE that Rich knows how to play the piano so well! I wish I had stuck with piano lessons a little longer so I too could play. One of my friends has a rule in their house that we have adopted. To be able to participate in any extra curricular activity, they must take some kind of music lesson whether it is choir or an instrument.

So, these are my "goals" (along with a few others) for the new year. To be a better mom! To actively teach my kids instead of passively living or idling away the days. I have been overwhelmed for several years and have been looking forward to this next stage of life. I am more excited for the upcoming year than I have been for any other year that I can remember. I hope I can touch on all of these areas through out the year, hopefully weekly, but if not, then at least monthly. If any of you have ideas about things you are doing, or want to do, to teach your kids the basics of life that you wouldn't mind sharing with me, I would love it!

I hope you all have a fabulous 2011!!!