Breakfast

For almost a year now, I have been working up to this... having BREAKFAST together as a family each morning.  Not just any old breakfast, but a hot, homemade breakfast. The thought was first planted in my mind by my friend Jen, who does this. "Wow! That's amazing. And it would never work for our family," was what I said when I found out she cooks a hot breakfast for her family every morning. I had become the queen of cold cereal breakfast. No planning or preparation went into our weekday morning meals. It was each person fending for himself or herself -- choosing from the boxes in the pantry of processed, overly-sugared, expensive store-bought cereal.

The idea of providing a hot, homemade breakfast for my family kept working its way into my mind over the course of the next several months. I knew it was what I needed to do. I began to think of ways that I could make it work for us. Instead of laying in bed each morning until the last possible minute before my husband and high-schooler rushed out the door, I decided I could sacrifice some sleep and discipline myself to get out of bed earlier. I didn't tell my husband about my long-term goal just yet. He wondered in surprise when I started getting up a couple days of the week before he finished his morning routine, so we could talk and get ready for the day together. At first, I got out of bed just 15 minutes earlier than usual, then 30, then 45 minutes. By this time, almost a whole year had passed since I started planning for this big new goal. I prepped my children for this new routine several weeks prior to the start of the new school year. I told them I wanted our family to have more time together and to start the day off right with family prayer and a yummy breakfast. I told them it would require a degree of sacrifice from each one of us. In order for Dad to leave the house on time to get to work, we would need to all be downstairs by 6:00 a.m.  I was surprised that the response of my children was positive. Each of them said they wanted to do it. Next, I told my husband. He was a little skeptical about it, but he agreed that it would be nice. This part wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. This family of mine is pretty amazing. And they like good food too :).

Finally, I was ready to implement my plan. I successfully dragged myself out of bed when my husband got up at 5:15 a.m!  

For three consecutive days I have been doing this now. WE have been doing this now! ALL of the members of our family have gotten out of bed of their own free will and choice, and reported downstairs for family prayer and breakfast by 6:00 a.m.  I call that a mighty success :).  

I know it has only been THREE days, but now I know we can do it, because the Bowers family CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!

Bowers Family This 'n That

Life is so busy and there is always something exciting happening.

Here are a few snippets of the goings-on in the Bowers household:

Trent, our youngest, is having fun being a Cub Scout. As an assistant Den Leader in his Wolf Den, I have the privilege of helping out with the weekly meetings and monthly Pack Meetings. 

I teach piano lessons to my own children and also to a couple dozen wonderful young musicians. We have recitals a couple of times each year. I love to see the progress of the children I teach.  Music brings me great joy! Our house is always filled with music.

I am continually seeking inspiration for ways to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in our home, and for unique and meaningful ways to apply those teachings. Read about one way that our family did this:

http://kennewickstakereliefsociety.blogspot.com/2014_03_01_archive.html

The law of the harvest:

I love to be outside, and I've tried hard to pass along that love to my children. There is so much to be learned from caring for our little portion of Heavenly Father's beautiful earth. I especially love the lessons learned from raising a garden -- planning, preparing the soil, planting the seeds, nurturing and caring for the growing plants, and finally -- harvesting and enjoying the fruits and vegetables.  Successful gardening-- like anything worthwhile -- takes patience, diligence, and hard work. 

My sweet daughter is learning to experience the joy of service, kindness, and love. We are so blessed to have wonderful neighbors and friends!

My second son, Todd, learned about diligence and hard work as he trained for track season his Junior year of high school. It was rewarding to see him improve his times and reach his goals. I love to see him run.

My favorite time of the day

I work very hard to safeguard our family dinner hour each evening, otherwise there are a hundred other good things that try to compete with this precious window of opportunity to provide daily nourishment and nurturing of body and spirit for my family.

Following our evening family prayer, we always sit around the table for dinner. We put away phones and all types of media distractions. 

There are a couple of things I do to make sure we gather together around the table for meal time every night:

First, the food is delicious and nutritious.

There are exceptions to this, I will be truthful! Sometimes the food turns out yucky. Sometimes I don't plan ahead very well and have to pull something together very last-minute.  And sometimes, it's probably not nutritious either. But for the most part, I spend quality time planning and preparing meals to make sure my family enjoys what I place before them and expect them to eat :).

Second, it is enjoyable. 

I know this sounds very simple, but it's not always easy. We are a work in progress. But, overall, we all enjoy our time eating together. I try to make it a positive, happy time. When my children grow up and look back on their years at home, I want this to stand out as a wonderful memory for them.

This is our time to focus on each other -- we laugh, we ask questions, we discuss all kinds of issues, current events, and things to plan and look forward to; we give compliments and sometimes counsel; we teach and we testify of Christ and talk about what we did to share His love throughout the day; we discuss our "highlights" -- what we liked best about the day, and sometimes we talk about the things we did that were embarrassing, or made us feel sad or upset or frustrated. Meal time is a safe time for everyone to share.

Love is Spoken Here

We recently returned from a family reunion for the posterity of my parents, Lynn and Janice Child.  It was held in the mountains near Park City, Utah -- a gorgeous location! We stayed three nights in a big lodge with bunk house and had lots of crazy fun.  It was wonderful to see everyone and to be together for four days, all 37 of us.

Some of the highlights for me included our family photo shoot, which was interrupted by a rainstorm; the delicious meals (each family took a turn cooking for the whole group); spending an afternoon in Park City and experiencing the thrill of the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster; spending a day at Jordanelle State Park; and hearing my Dad's counsel and his humble, gratitude-filled prayer at the end of the reunion.

I feel so blessed to be a part of this eternal family. My parents are truly amazing. They inspire me every day through their example and continual kindness and love to continue to press forward with faith and with joy. I love them so much.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for everything... and for this amazing opportunity to gather together.