the introduction

My better half has informed me that I should introduce our family, makes sense since this is our family blog. I will start with me (an obvious choice). I'm Chalan, Husband to Liz the nurse/future midwife/relief society president. I am a full time stay at home dad. Father of 5 rambunctios boys, and one spoiled little daddy's girl. When people ask I tell them I have my own basketball team and a cheerleader.

Chris our 14 year old is at that age when mom and dad are totally uncool. He has his own room, which I refer to as his cave. He basically likes to spend his time there. He is a good kid, great student, Excellent musician, and a big help around the house.

Alex is our 10 year old. He is smart, sometimes to smart for his own good. He likes to read, mostly fantasy books. He is a good athlete, espescially likes baseball.

Joey is 8. He is very bright and is cought somewhere inbetween being one of the "older" kids and the "younger" kids. He had a pretty good baseball season and is starting to develope into a good athlete himself. Joey is an analyzer. He has to know what everything is about.

Benny is 6. He is a really smart kid, but oh so annoying. He is loud, he is obnoxious, and I wouldn't trade him for gold. He can be sweet, and considerate. It's funny people always tell me how shy he seems, and it is true around strangers he is. But at home he is so loud and crazy at home.

Reagan our only girl is 4. She is both a girly girl and a tomboy. She loves to get dressed up and look pretty, while she is outside digging in the dirt. She is also very dramatic. I hope she grows out of it, or it may be rather tumultious during the teenage years.

And last, but certainly not least, is our baby Clayte. He will be 3 next Halloween. He is your typical rough and tumbly toddler. He is close to being potty trained, which means I will soon be out of the diaper business!!!!

That is a brief overview of our little, or not so little, clan. We live in Portland, TX. Attend the Mormon church, and are enjoying our lives.

You can do better then that

Our family has started a tradition of, every other Sunday, feeding the missionaries assigned to our ward. It has proven to be a real highlight to our typical famil meals. I, as the family cook, try to go a little out of my way to create a good bountiful meal. Espescially since I know our ward is small and member meals are not a nightly occurance. My kids look forward to "missionary night" since I always try to include some type of dessert, also not a nightly occurance in our home. While driving home from church I was discussing the menu with Joey (my 8 year old). I mentioned that watermelon would be the dessert for the evening. He lovingly looked right at me and said "watermelon is good...but you can do better then that". I had to chuckle to myself at this remark. I am sure I have said these same words to him countless times, though not in this context. Still his advise is true, we can all do better then that with something in our lives.