It's time....again....

Paul is going back to Holland on another business trip next week. I don't know why they call it a business trip...sounds like it should be stressful or something! He gets to work much shorter hours than he does here and he gets to travel to any European country he wants to!  It's supposed to be a much a shorter trip this time. Just a few weeks. Hopefully. Last time he was gone things got a little crazy over there and we weren't sure when he was coming home.

I am not on call for any babies while he is gone this time.  The last two trips I was on call and it was hard having to stay at home by ourselves. This time I am going to see my parents and spend a very belated holiday weekend with all of my siblings and their families. Getting all five of us together with our spouses and kids is a rare thing due to our locations and schedules. The only person missing will be Paul. :(  He is a bit bummed about missing the Super Bowl, Valentines Day and our  family weekend.

 I still don't think that Lauren realizes that he is leaving again. We have tried o talk about it with her. We'll see how it goes. She was very brave the last  time we took him to the airport. She didn't cry in the airport at all. We were walking out to the car and she turned to me and said "Mom, when we get outside can I bawl my eyes out?"  My heart broke.

Allowance

After much discussion, we decided that Lauren was old enough for an allowance and to learn the responsibility of money. She has a daily chore chart that she has to complete and in return she receives her allowance at the end of the week.   Below is an idea that we borrowed from one of our pastors at church. We decided a starting amount and we also have a top amount  as she gets older. Yes, there is a cap!

We bought an index card sized accordian file:

We labeled three separate compartments: Give, Save, and Spend.  In the give slot she puts in a  portion of her money to give to God for her tithe. In the save spot she puts in a portion to save for something big that she wants or we will put it in the bank for her.  In the spend slot she puts the rest of her money into for buying  little things or doing something fun like going for dessert, etc. .

She seems to like the idea of earning money and being able to use her own money for things she wanted.  It was such a joy to see how excited she was to give her money to God! We had a few talks last week about what tithing meant and how God wants us to use our money.

A new year, new happenings!

I know that it's ten days into the new year, but we have been slightly busy adjustung to new changes around here. Paul and Lauren both went back to school last week. Paul is finishing up his degree and Lauren started first grade. She finished kidergarten in three months. The option was to move her up or continue to do the same things for the remainder of the school year.  I was a little worried that we were pushing her too fast, but she seems to be handling things well.  Being ahead will enable us to slow down if she does have some trouble. After seeking some wise counsel, I feel that were are doing a good thing. It is so much fun to see her grasp new concepts!

The rest of the crew...