The importance of sitting down for dinner....

Even with our crazy, busy schedules...when we are all at home, we sit down to dinner. I can't tell you how important this is to our family. It is the best way to start a conversation with our kids (and we have them captive for at least 20 minutes!) We've literally had some of the best conversations that started around the dinner table.

Tonight was a classic Sunday night meal (minus Dean who is fast asleep because he has to get up at 10:15 PM to go to work). We had pot roast with carrots and potatoes. We had warm bread with butter. Elle set the table with a table cloth and cloth napkins, and to touch it all off, she lit candles. I love making the table look pretty even when it's just a Sunday dinner. Elle has become my go-to girl for table decs. We have a book that shows you how to fold dinner napkins (it was a gift, I would never buy that), and she follows the step-by-step directions to fold beautiful napkins.

I love that my girls know how to cook meals and know how to set a nice table. I love that we talk about everything from church to sex at our table. I love that we laugh, make fun of each other and play rousing games of "remember when" when we sit around our table.

The week Dean and I got married, we bought our table. It's fallen apart, and Dean has put screws in the bottom to hold it together. It's a mess of a table...the shellac is all coming off...it's had super glue permanently affixed to it; it has been gouged by sharp knives (don't ask), nail polish remover has ruined various parts of it....but it's our table. The age marks on it are all earned. We've done countless craft projects at that table. We do homework at that table (even me). That ragged, old table is part of our history.

One thing that I hope my kids will do is try their very best...as often as possible to sit down to dinner with their families (when they have them). It's so, so important.