This week Dave requested we have dinner at 5:30. When we have it at 6:30 or even 6:00 it gets so crazy to try to fit in homework and practicing and reading and mutual and all the other mumbo jumbo we've got going on.
Although it's tough for me to have to tell all the friends to go home and to make my kids come home so early, I have to say I LOVE early dinners. It makes me more aware of what I'm making earlier, and I like hanging in the kitchen with the kids when they get home while I'm preparing it. I also like that it shows our kids how important we prioritize family time. I don't know how long it will be feasible to do it that early with Dave's work, and we may have to readjust things a little when all the lessons cave in on us but we're soaking it up while we can. The other night it had been a particularly crazy day but as we sat around the table dong our regular "happies and sads" time seemed to slow down. The love around that table was tangible. I sat there quietly and tried to memorize exactly how each of my children looked, how their laughs sounded, how they interacted with each other. At that moment I could think of nowhere in the whole world I'd rather be than right there, right then, surrounded by my husband and children with their faces flushed from the heat outside and their hair sticking out all skiwampus from a day well spent.
I do love family dinner.
Last Sunday at Family Home Evening Dave challenged Max and Elle to read the Book of Mormon before Fall Break. They agreed. My jaw dropped. Really? Do they realize how LONG that thing is? The answer is yes, they knew, and they were willing to do it. So I jumped in too. Nothing like your kids setting a good example for you. This time around I've been listening to it on my iPhone. (The "mormon channel" app is so awesome.) I have never listened to the Book of Mormon before but so far I am loving it and feel somehow so rejuvenated when I get done listening in the morning. (I listen while I'm working out which sounds funny but it is totally working so far.)
Anyone want to join us? A little less than two months, 531 pages...