Love Story

Friday, March 11, 2011

The family that cooks together...

If you have been following my blog for awhile you know that I have been enlisting my kids help in the kitchen lately. From meal planning, to grocery shopping to cooking the actual meal. It has been such a positive experience in our house that I think I could go on and on about the benefits. I will say that what I love the most is that I get to spend some quality time with my boys.

Tonight it was Nathan's turn to be my sous chef again so we prepared oven-fried chicken strips. I thought this would be a great meal for him to make because he absolutely LOVES chicken strips. I was uncertain whether or not he would participate in handling the raw chicken in order to bread it (you remember how the spaghetti and meatball dinner went!), but he dove right in and did a great job. The best part was that I had the opportunity to talk to him about the value of making our own favorite foods at home from scratch. I explained that when we make it at home we get to choose exactly what goes in our food so that we know it is healthy. I went on to tell him that while having these things once in awhile when out to eat or prepackaged from the store is okay, it is so much better to make it yourself. And it saves us money which is a bonus!

Alongside the little lessons that are being taught in the kitchen I feel we are also creating the opportunity for natural conversations to take place. I think some of the most important life lessons we teach are children are in these moments when we are just doing life together. I can only hope this transfers into their teenage years when I know it will be impossible more difficult to get them to open up. I like to envision a time later on where my tall, sweaty, squeaky-voiced boys are in the kitchen preparing something hearty and big enough to feed an army, all the while filling me in on what's new in school and sports and life. Maybe it won't happen that way (a mom can dream, right?) but I would like to believe that we are making it a possibility by being available.

What everyday moments are you finding yourself including your kids in? Do you feel like it helps set the stage for you to continue a close relationship down the road? I would love to hear what it looks like in your house so feel free to share a story.

2 comments:

  1. I often spend time thinking about future conversations with my boys. Hoping they will be as open and sweet as they are right now, yes, a mom CAN dream :)

    I have a special bedtime routine with our kindergartner which includes reading, talking about his day and singing a few Bible songs. All at his bedside. I often wonder how long it will be before we transition out of this nightime ritual. {sigh}

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  2. I love that routine! I would like to think that while it won't last forever, it is likely that it will open the door for continued conversation down the road:)

    I am already thrilled at how our bedtime routine has began to mold and change according to what stage they are in. Recently we have changed from my husband or myself saying a prayer at bedtime to praying for their specific requests and in turn they often ask to pray over us! Even at 3 and 4 they are getting quite good at personal prayer and I sure treasure that time with them.

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I sure love hearing from you...so don't be shy, feel free to share what's on your heart!

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