Peace. That's what I am longing for. Summer is plugging along and my children seem to be farther and farther from peace as we go along. I sat up last night, crying...trying to think of someway to help them achieve peace. There is just so much bickering, whining, anger....it's out of control.

So here's what I came up with, our Kurtz motto(for now anyway)Take a Deep Breath and count to 10! When one of their siblings bothers them or does something to them, they will take a deep breath, and count to 10. If they can do this and avoid the inevitable yelling fight or physical reaction, they get a white poker chip. For every 5 white chips, they get a red chip. For every 5 red chips they get a blue chip. A blue chip represents getting to do something with Mom or Dad. My hope is that it will just become second nature and the chip earning will cease. Perhaps not. But it's slightly worth it for some peace.

Day 1 - Sydney has one white chip as does Emma. Molli has -2...God helps us!