Don't they all look this way?

Seriously, don't they??

A few months ago we instituted a Chore List for each kid. Allowance is tied to doing these chores. No chores. No allowance. Some chores. Some allowance. Do all your chores, you get all your allowance. We're all about teaching our kids how to function in real life here.

We're also trying to teach the kids about tithing. (We believe that God has blessed us with all we have; we may possess what he's given us, but we don't own it....He does. And he's asked for just a little bit of it back to help others learn about Him.) So out of our kids allowance, they take out 10% for their "God Money", and the rest they keep. You'd think with how greedy kids can be that they'd resent having to give up some of their allowance, but it's quite the opposite! They love being able to give their money to God. Eric loves it so much, that many weeks he gives more than 10% with such a willing and glad heart. He's an example to his parents, that's for sure!

But I digress.....

So, back in June the kids wanted to go to the store. They'd been saving all the fruits of their labors for a couple months, and their allowance money was burning a hole in their pocket. So we took them to the store where they both found an MP3 player that they'd been wanting and that was within their budget (you should've seen the look on Eric's face when I had to explain the whole concept of T-A-X to him.) Anyway, got them home, charged them up, and to get them started, I put about 80 songs on each of them. I loved being able to handpick songs. Some of that music out there.......seriously questionable for little kids! This allows me to do my job as parent and filter out all the garbage while they get a little freedom to listen to whatever they're in the mood for, be it rock, country, pop or easy listening (lol - Eric loves Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte; who knew?!)