Blessings in a Basket

We recently joined a produce co-op where we receive a laundry basket of fruit and vegetables every week. I have been excited about this because even though I always intend to work more veggies into the meal plan, somehow on busy nights the veggies are the first to get bumped. I have challenged myself to not only use all the veggies (even the mushrooms) in the weekly basket, but plan meals around them. Since I get them on Thursdays and paydays are Fridays, it works out well.

We got our first basket today. The boys were particularly excited about the fruits because I tend to buy fresh fruits only on a really good sale, and now we will have some every week. I know, I know, I have to be doing better than that. Budget just rules the meal plan these days, but that's why I'm doing the co-op. So please don't judge me too harshly. The apples we got were crisp and delicious just like we prefer them.

Tonight after dinner, I began to pull all the produce out to put it away and I thought of a little book we have in which Dora the Explorer counts fruits in English and Spanish. I said to Little Guy, "Look, one pineapple, Una pina." And because he is in the phase of learning and repeating new words every day, he repeated after me. Then we took everything out of the basket together counting each group of items one by one. When we were all finished I carried the laundry basket to the back of the pantry to return next week. I went to clean up a few more things (I did finish cleaning the kitchen tonight), and when I turned around Little Guy was standing behind me with the basket in his hands saying, "more, more." He wanted to count with me. Those are the moments that should always make us kind of weepy, even if we are in the midst of crazy busyness.  Our children love interaction and want to be with us, even if it's counting vegetables.

So our Noisy Rabbit produce basket was a nourishing blessing both to body and spirit. Thank you Noisy Rabbit! We have our meals planned and can't wait to grill pineapple. We're already excited about next week.