I was motivated to hang a couple of inspiration wires after reading Amanda Soule’s book, The Creative Family. The kids LOVE this. Hanging their work with care shows an appreciation for their creativity and hard work. I’ve never seen such a flurry of artistic activity as I did after I hung up the wires and added some of the kids’ best work.

They’re taking their work as curators very seriously. The artwork has been much rearranged and added to and subtracted from since I took this picture. Making them responsible for displaying their work in an effective way has also made them more discerning about what makes a good picture and what would work in this space and what would be best displayed elsewhere. Currently, the kids are showing an “inspirationational people” theme on the wires: superheroes, mom, dad, siblings. It’s fantastic. Our refrigerator, on the other hand, is bedecked with a more eclectic batch of their creations, from crazy-looking cats to self-portraits.

Incidentally, if I ever met Ms. Soule in person, I’m afraid I might hug her for all the ways in which her book has inspired positive changes in our family life. First among those changes is starting each meal with what has become known here as “the thankful thing.” I often have tears well up in my eyes when the kids say something especially sweet and heartfelt. Last night, Sam was thankful for baking chocolate cake with his mom and sister, having his dad home after a long day at work and bringing home a cool library book. Claire was thankful for the good food we had to eat, especially the chocolate cake we made. I was thankful for having a good little girl who behaved so well while I was attending a tour for school library volunteers. There were a number of other children who weren’t nearly so patient or quiet (I can’t blame them, really–it was boring–but it was nice not to have to worry about Claire). Robert was proud to have a son who worked so hard to learn at school and was becoming an excellent reader. There were high-fives all around for this.

This is the decadently moist and tasty chocolate cake the kids and I made. They took great pleasure in watching their father eat a bite and declare it delicious–all the while knowing it had pureed beets in it and his aversion for that vegetable. After they told him about the secret ingredient, he swore he could taste the beets, but I’m sure it was just his imagination. I couldn’t taste them at all and it didn’t stop him from eating a healthy portion of the cake.