Peace of Home

It is exciting times at the Hall house.  This morning I watched as my three oldest sat around the table with their mom working on their school work.  #3 is starting kindergarten this year and is eager to work.  This morning he was working on writing out the alphabet.  He has most of the letters already but still needs a little work.  He's got some of the phonics down too and is so eager to be able to read and write.  The oldest two are working on their own areas as mom takes turns working with each one and then giving them work to do on their own.

One of my great joys is being home with my family.  Since I work out of my home, I get to see the action around here quite a bit.   I took Monday off and had the joy of watching my three oldest spend almost the whole day outside.  Other than their swingset and one cheap kite, they didn't play with one purchased toy all day.  They rearranged the swings on their swingset, then made lassos out of sticks and vine.  Then made kites out of paper and straws.  Then made bows and arrows out of sticks and elastics.  I had them come in and make their own lunch (pb&j) and then out they went to eat and continue to play.  All day they needed no media, no entertaining, and not even any correction as they got along and enjoyed their time together.

This is our home.  My children are far from angels.  They have times when they get on each others' (and our) nerves and times when they need some direction or correction, but generally they do great.  This doesn't happen by accident.  Sarah and I have worked hard on this aspect of our home.  We spend time with our kids, work hard on building our friendship with each one and helping them learn how to work well with others, including adults.  Discipline is more than just punishment, it is sitting down for talks and discussion about character issues in a non-charged atmosphere.  It is also about having basic peace at home.  Our kids do not see us fighting.  They see us utilizing loving and regular communication with each other and asking the same from them.  We have worked hard to be a home of peace, not just decibel peace, but relationship peace.  The security, serenity, and stability that provides is hard to underestimate in their lives.

Too many homes, I fear, have too much chaos and not enough peace.  Schedules that are out of control, kids that are in control instead of parents, parents that discipline harshly or inconsistently, parents too busy to really invest time in their children, reading to them and talking to them.  We then wonder why kids hit the teen years and are suddenly (so it seems) rebellious or out of control.

I'm thankful for my home and so enjoy spending time with my family.  We still have a lot to learn and are working on getting better at many things, but I am thankful for where we are today.