Kids in the kitchen

I love having kids underfoot when I'm working in the kitchen. I find it's a great time for conversation and teaching. I've always had the children do homework, projects, whatever at the kitchen table, so I could oversee and lend a helping hand while I cooked and cleaned... and involved them in those projects, too.

Now, my family is a bit larger... just a bit :-)

This afternoon I was in the kitchen mixing up some chicken salad & tuna salad, and just generally preparing for the arrival of our Nov. mission team. Yes, even in Haiti I had a gaggle of kids all around me involved in all manner of projects, games and helping. It suddenly dawned on me that there were more than a few of them gathered around... and that they were no more trouble than the 4 or so that I'm used to in the US. 

Melina and Esterline were helping me with some ironing;

 Nadege had a fever and was sitting reading quietly to herself;

a few boys were engaged in a game of Battleship;

 Davidson and KC were running around pulling stuff off of shelves & generally wreaking havoc;

 two older girls were playing Uno and some younger ones were playing a matching game;

 the others were playing with balls, balloons, whistles and other toys.

I lost count at 20. I really enjoyed my day, just being a mommy to many. It's a blessing too often taken for granted. I'm thankful I noticed today!