Dinner time

Not a whole lot out of the ordinary going on here. School is in session. The kids have started their activities, which means each night is busy!

We hope to spend a few minutes together as a family each night, but it's not easy. I struggle with the amount of time we spend together. I have these images in my head of us eating together each night. Kicked back in our chairs, a perfectly healthy meal on the table, all of us talking and laughing. Of course that doesn't exist.

Here's the deal...even if we had the time that wouldn't happen. Not for long. Maybe 5 minutes. In reality it would be Will complaining about what I fixed, Abby crawling from chair to chair, Chris digging through his food to pick out every single vegetable, Hanna telling Will he should just eat, Zac playing loudly with his toys at the table (he might even have the Ipad going.) It's chaos with a little bit of conversation mixed in. Do all families exist this way? Please say yes!

Regardless, we strive for our time together. Amidst the chaos we do hear how our days have gone and what each of us has done. Each child gets to share. No, there is no particular order and yes you do have to yell so your mom and dad can hear over the other noise, but it is our family ritual. The one our crazy little family created together.