Our Family TEAM!

I have been reading a fantastic book that has seriously renewed my hope in my efforts as a mother. I am less than 100 pages in and have felt such motivation- a fresh perspective on what it means to be a family team, working, unified, toward one common goal. (The book is also full of great object lessons and projects, etc... to reinforce concepts, which is SO helpful for me in teaching these wonderful principles to the kids! The book is called "The [Potentially] Sane Mother's Guide to Raising Young Children" by Tamara A. Fackrell. The title says it all!)

Playing big brother for the Allen Family is our team captain, Jadan. He continues to excel in his education, with a great love of reading that helps our family continue to learn. He also holds the record for chore percentages, completing his chores without complaint 100% this last week. In addition, he strives to maintain his position by showing his family great unconditional love. Last week he finished another marshmallow creation, in honor of Mom...

...spent quality time with his littlest brother, teaching him how to roll the ball back and forth...

...made our family a favorite snack, Rice Krispie treats ALL by himself (well, almost)!!

The next Allen star in our line up is Cooper, who plays a variety of positions, including defensive coordinator (we all know how good he is with a sword!) and sometimes even officiator (a stickler for the rules, except for when he is the one breaking them...LOL!!) He brings a creative edge to our team, with tremendous skill in pretending, drawing, and coloring, leading the team stats with most pictures colored and stacked on Mommy's desk to date. Here he is pictured with an award-winning drawing of two of his favorite subjects, rainbows and our family.

Rounding out the female portion of the Allen team is our cheerleader, Shae. She is responsible for keeping up much of the family "spirit" of our team, with all of the energy of her little 3-year-old self. This week, she made unprecedented strides in attitude points, cheerfully completing her chores, often with a big smile or even giggles penetrating the opponent. Alongside Cooper, she is great at coloring and has the fastest fit time, overcoming the onset of a full tantrum in less than 0.5 seconds! This record was achieved after one of (Danny's cousin) Logan's basketball games. After sustaining a severe (though quite recurring) "bonk-on-the-head" injury, her violent sobs did a complete 180 turn into smiles and laughing virtually instantaneously (making everyone laugh hysterically!)

Finally, our rookie, Teegan...He is definitely learning all of the skills his brothers and sister strive to teach him. In addition, he has received bonus points for resilience (after all, he is the fourth child!) and leads the team in new noises and silly faces discovered. He holds the record for longest nap (almost 4 hours...oh wait, I think Head Coach Daddy has that record!!) and most poopy diapers in one day. Way to go, bud!!
So, here they are...the Allen family AllStars!! I am so grateful for the opportunities and blessings that motherhood has provided me with. I cannot think of any other "degree" or "job" that could come close to offering all of the growth and happiness and true joy that motherhood has. I love all of my little Allenstars (and their Head Coach!) more than can be described...(pictured below, we all got very excited to support Logan at his play-off game)