flower sales

One thing I've always loved about Spencer is his eagerness to try new things. When he turned eight, he was so delighted to start Cub Scouts and got right to work on passing things off.

As a new Boy Scout, he still has that same eagerness. To earn money for camp this summer, his troop sold flowers and vegetables.

I personally really dislike fundraising and really discourage activities that require door to door sales. I don't like people coming to my door, and figure most people feel the same way. Nobody likes to feel obligated to buy something they don't need or want.

I was leery of the flower sales, but figured it was something many people are interested in this time of year and a worthwhile way for him to earn money.

Since he was new to this whole thing, Brad and I did a little coaching about how to approach people, what to say, etc., but left the bulk of the project up to him.

I'm learning to let go more and more and let the kids take on more responsibility for themselves. I believe that is key to building confidence and empowering them to excel.

I believe kids need to learn how to work and earn the things they want. It helps them be less impulsive and really think before they act. They start to calculate what it's going to take to buy something special and analyze how bad they really want it.

Spencer spent over four hours just pulling the order once it arrived and then got to work at delivering.

I was really proud of his "stick-to-it-tiveness" and enjoyed watching how he handled the process from start to finish.

I think this boy is going places and I just want to shout and cheer (and usually tear up a little) when I see him work at and accomplish his goals.

He's setting a great example in so many ways for his younger siblings.

I loved listening to he and Charlie talk about what their favorite flowers were (which they're holding below) and what they wanted to plant in our garden.