(Photo: Derrick Salters/WENN.com)

In the June 2014 issue of Essence, Amar'e Stoudemire and his wife, Alexis Welch, open up about their family traditions and how the New York Knicks' star dotes on their four children. While the family has the luxury of living in a 9,000-square-foot penthouse duplex in New York City's meatpacking district complete with a personal chef and amazing views, the family still makes time to check in with each other and maintain a sense of normalcy in the middle of all the lavishness.
"We look forward to dinner," said Welch, 31. "Especially when Amar'e's not on the road. We all like to sit at the table and talk about our day."
The family practices Messianic Judaism and their children, Ar'e, 8, Amar'e, Jr., 7, Assata, 6 and Alijah, 1, bicker like most kids do, but it's usually about who gets to pray before dinner.
"They don't get into physical fights," Stoudemire, 31, said, "but they always want to be the first one to pray."
"There's this game we play that I started years ago," he said before explaining how he'll go through his children's homework assignments to see what topics they're focusing on. "Once we're at the table, I'll ask them questions about what they've been studying."
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