save, spend, and share

Yesterday the boys and I enjoyed a fun outing to our credit union, our church, and finally to Target. When I worked in Marketing at FORUM Credit Union, I regularly wrote articles and created promotional materials for youth accounts. One of the awesome lessons the credit union advocated was teaching kids the three principles of money – saving, spending, and sharing.

I have tried to take these lessons with me into my career as a stay-at-home-mom. Both of our boys have piggy banks, and typically their Nana or their Grammy gives them dollars or change when they visit. Sometimes the boys also might earn some money from us (Gavin helped me dust baseboards last month!).

So, yesterday, we went to the credit union first where the boys deposited a portion of their money (saving). They also received stickers on their youth savings cards that the credit union offers. Once they complete their sticker cards, they’ll receive a credit union prize. I'm pretty sure their favorite part was receiving suckers! ;) I highly recommend FORUM Credit Union if you live in Indiana.

We then traveled to itown church, where we stopped into the front office. Both boys gave a portion of their money to the church (sharing/tithing). We talked about how the church would use their money to help people who may need clothes or food. If you live in the Indy area, we'd love for you to join us at itown sometime. All people are welcome here. God loves you immeasurably, and you can learn about that here. 

Next up, Target (spending)! We spent quite a while in the toy section until both boys found the perfect toy – teenage mutant ninja turtle bandanas and plastic weapons! Gotta love boys!!! When we checked out, they each handed the cashier their money (Hudson needed a little bit of nudging to let go of his $10 bill).

I have to say, I’m not that mom who is awesome at planning crafts or coming up with fun games, but I feel pretty good about this activity. It got us out of the house. It teaches some pretty important money concepts. And, the boys got toys at the end to keep them occupied at home for the rest of the day! We’ve done this activity a few different times over the past two years and I love that Gavin gets excited about it! Spending comes pretty naturally for most of us, but I would love it if our kids also learn that it can be natural to save and share, too!

life with littles

In the hustle and bustle of life with littles, there are so many things I want to remember. But with a terrible memory like mine and the general passage of time, I know it’s impossible. Due to that reality, I’m hoping to keep a few of these memory treasures on the blog so I can look back some day and remember the sweetness of these days.

When Gavin was one and still in his crib, sometimes he liked to stay in bed and request certain books from me when I came into his room in the morning. Primarily he used to request the “Bibey” – his name for the Bible. I found this absolutely precious and I took a photo of him reading the Bible in his bed about two years ago.

Gavin - April 17, 2014

A little over a month ago, I came into Hudson’s room in the morning, and he also requested a book from me. From his crib, he asked me for the “Biba” – his name for the Bible. My heart was full of joy thinking not only of Hudson’s request, but also of the memory of Gavin doing the same thing. So, I of course gave Hudson the Bible and took a picture of him, too.

Hudson - May 30, 2016

I pray our boys would always know how very much God loves them and how very much we love them.