How to Play

I've been having a bit of a hard time.  Nothing major, just not getting the sleep I need and trying to get my day-to-day routine set up with three kids.  Mike and I have been focusing on losing weight and being healthy.  I've been trying to get my scripture study to be more meaningful.  I've been trying to keep the house clean and organized.  I've been trying to improve myself.  And I'm doing it in zombie-mode.  :)  But really, I'm not complaining, I'm just realizing that I need to be patient with myself and take things one day at a time.

One thing that has been driving me crazy is that my kids won't play with their toys much.  They're always asking to watch t.v.  They'll play outside and read books, but don't have much interest in toys.  I keep saying to them, "You guys have lots of toys.  Go play with toys!"  Or when I sit down to play with them, they still don't seem to be interested.  Then it hit me.  Do they know HOW to play with toys?  I got this idea after praying for a solution to feeling more connected to the kids.  I just sat there with a dumb look on my face for awhile and then realized that they probably didn't.  I mean, they are creative and have good imaginations, but anyway.  They just have a hard time incorporating that into their play with toys. 
 So today, I sat down with blocks and made a "road" out of them.  Andrew looked over and asked what I was doing and then joined me.  Then we played for an hour.  During that time, I saw him start to understand that he could play differently.  Emily watched for awhile and then joined in.  It was such a great morning, and it made me so happy to see that the inspiration I received worked in such an easy, natural way.

And Charlie helped by pretending to be Godzilla and knocking over blocks, etc.  He might not have had any idea what was going on, but the three of us thought it was funny. :)