Saturday, April 28, 2012

love always wins



 i was chatting with a dear friend recently about how we could keep our darling little ones from growing up too fast and losing the sweet and kind-hearted ways that inevitably seem to disappear as munchies get older and older... i had seen  a 'Wise Choices' jar on pinterest {my obsession} where children receive a marble for good decisions they made, and then can earn a reward once they reach a certain number of marbles, but i wanted to make my version really focus on acts of kindness. it's wonderful to make good decisions {especially when you are 4 & 5}, but my hope is to teach them that love always wins {the monkees motto at momastery} and that sometimes it's better to be kind than to be right.

it occurred to me that the 'children's version' of Proverbs 11:17 is: When you are kind to others, you help yourself" -- the absolute perfect reference for the munchies!

so, i took my vintage glass jar that was my grandmother's {we miss you, gaerta!} and had my fabulously talented friend kelly at 1derfully Made make Proverbs 11:17 out of vinyl for it. when i catch the munchies doing something kind for each other, or a friend or neighbor, i put one of their colored marbles in the jar. when they earn the set amount of marbles, they get to fulfill their dream of  going to 'make a bear, build a bear' and making a stuffed animal. the rules state that either mama or daddy have to 'catch' them being kind - they cannot report their kindnesses in hopes of getting a marble. {we do reward based on input from their teachers and sunday school leaders, however!}

a few days ago dagny reached her goal number of chips - but said she wanted to wait until charlie earned his so they could go together. she truly adores and idolizes her big brother, and i pray that they will share such a special and close relationship for as long as they live.