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Jenna. Nov 29. Bible reading.

November 29th, 2010

I took a picture of Kevin reading The Jesus Storybook Bible.  I very much enjoy this version of the Bible – the subtitle is “every story whispers His Name”, and I love love LOVE that on so many different levels.

This pic was taken during dinner, but I’ve been trying to read them a Bible story during lunch.  I have had a hard time with lunch lately – we come home after picking up Colby from school [he's done at 12:30], and no matter how many snacks we eat in the morning, everyone is tired and starving (including me).  It also seemed like once I got everyone’s lunches ready, the kids were ready to get down from the table and I hadn’t eaten a bite of food.  And that left me frustrated and even more hungry, so here’s my solution:

- kids decide what they want to eat – I will give them 2 options but they cannot change their minds once they’ve picked.
- kids get out the accessible ingredients (ex. PBJ, fruit, chips).
- Mom gets out ingredients/food that needs to be heated in the microwave; kids punch in the numbers.
- Mom finishes assembly and plates food.
- kids wash hands (or go to the sink so I can wash their hands).
- kids set the table (plates, cups + water, napkins and  silverware if necessary).
- kids get out the Bible and decide which story to read.  One kid gets the Bible, one kid picks the story, and one kid gets to turn the pages or see the pics first (didn’t think we’d need this rule, but everyone wanted to do the same job, so I had to split it all up.)

We sit down, we pray, the kids talk to each other while I eat, and then I read from the Bible after the first 5-7 minutes of eating.  It has helped us be more on the same page, so to speak, and eat lunch together, not in shifts.

And, notice how many of those things are the responsibility of the kids? And I haven’t had many arguments about who got more food or got to pray first or whatever else they might choose to complain about; plus, I get to actually eat food with my kids before they need to sleep!  Now, I need to figure out how to get them to make their own PBJ…

Entry Filed under: 365 Project, Carlee, Colby, Faith, Family, Food, Kennedy, Life, Photo Blog