Raising Responsible Kids....

It is a much cooler (20 some degrees) and blustery morning this morning.


I had the blissful experience of sleeping until 6:27 am, at which point Max the 80 lb puppy told me it was time to get food in his belly.

So, well armed with coffee and fuzzy slippers I took to taking care of the dogs and doing my devotions. When it was light enough, I took the photo of the yard and the skies....definitely winter-ish.

I am excited this morning because I get to do one of the things that I love most, which is speak with moms about raising their children! Being a wife and mother is why I feel I was placed on this earth, with the additional gift of being able to share from my experiences to help and encourage other moms. What a great gig!

This morning I will be speaking to the dear mommies that attend MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. I will share what I have learned about raising my daughters, who at this point in their lives (almost 23 years, and the twins, 20 years), are very responsible, successful and happy most days!

If you have been reading recent posts, you will see what each of my daughters has had to say about growing around me...not always a walk in the park because I "lose it" just like everyone else. But, in the end, through all of history, most glorious, some painful, I think we had more wins than losses, and God has been so very good to us.

Since I am doing this same talk for another moms group in a couple of weeks, and have done it a few times in the past, I decided to invest some extra time and recreate a couple of the tools that I used with my own girls. Here they are:

In an effort to raise responsible, organized and generous children, I borrowed a system that I had heard about for them to save their money. Any money that they received, they put 40% in spend, 40% in save and 20% in give. The vehicle for saving took many forms over the years....jars, envelopes, whatever was handy (always cute), and something they were excited about.

This is a replica of the chore charts they had when they were young. They got to pick from a number of tasks pictured on cards with a one word description (pre-reading skills), and they picked a certain number for the week. They would pull a card from to do, do the task and then place it in done. The tasks were always about being age appropriate, relevant to them at their age, and once done give them a feeling of success.

Also, in my increasing efforts to "go green," I didn't provide a packet of handouts for everyone, but instead am making some of the items I referenced available here  for those that are interested. Please, help yourself.

I can't wait to hear how you help your kids grow up to be amazing! Leave me a comment and we will share our ideas.

And, if you know someone that would like to hear more about this, let me know. This is what I LOVE to do...