Day 7: 1 week

So today it has been one week since we did away with all the toys. I will admit that a few times it has been difficult. Once was when Alton came to me and said he wanted to be a cowboy but he didn't have a hat. It made me so sad because he is always either a cowboy or a black knight. I told him he'd just have to use his imagination and pretend he had one, and that's exactly what he did! Other times were difficult when I needed a few minutes to get something done or to take care of Laikon, and I would tell them to go play. Then they, mostly Alyssa, would argue that there was nothing to do because they don't have any toys. But that is the point of all this. I want them to learn to play together and use their imaginations. So many kids in the world don't have the privileges they do, and they need to appreciate things more. I hope that by having a "toy detox" so to speak, then only giving them back the ones they care most about will teach them to take care of what they have. Also hopefully they can better understand the kids I'm always bringing up that don't have all that they do. I've talked to Alyssa several times here lately about being thankful that she is healthy, and we have clothes to wear and food to eat, and we can take bath whenever we want. She complains all the time about standing to have her hair fixed, and I always remind her that she should be happy to have such beautiful hair, and also to have healthy legs and feet for standing, and a mama who cares enough to help her with her hair. It never takes more than 5 minutes anyway. So maybe if I stay strong it will pay off in the end. It will be interesting to see how they are after about a week of having their toys back....

Today we needed groceries, so we went together as a family. When we came home the kids helped me put everything away and then colored some pictures while I finished up. I took the kids to the library before supper. The boys were so excited to have their picture taken with a "black knight"! We chose 10 new books and asked about the old Ramona movies for Alyssa because we have read through about half the series. They only have the new one, so if anyone out there knows where I can find the originals please let me know! We had burgers for supper and the brownies we picked out from the bakery for dessert. Then we finished off the night reading some of our library books. Tomorrow is park day!