936

At a recent MOPS meeting, one of the speakers shared that we only have 936 weekends with our children before they turn 18.  Her statement struck me and has stuck in my mind ever since. Of course I won’t get to spend all of those 936 weekends with my kids – especially when they hit the age where we are no longer “their world,” and they start spending more time with friends, attending sleepovers or youth group events, going on mission trips, participating in sports activities, and maybe even studying once in awhile. ;-)

[caption id="attachment_73" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunday afternoon baseball..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_72" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ellie on "first base";)"][/caption]

Brandon and I were talking about this last night, and about how desperately we want to make the moments count with our kids – investing in them, teaching them, discipling them, enjoying them, playing with them, creating memories and traditions with them, laughing with them, cuddling with them, and loving them.

[caption id="attachment_76" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Everybody tackle Daddy!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_70" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sliiiiding into first base... ;)"][/caption]

The fact that Brandon’s job often takes him away from home for extended periods of time or, as is the case right now, can be highly demanding time-wise even when he is home, puts a whole new spin on things for us. Family time comes at a premium, and we are quickly learning not to take it for granted.

[caption id="attachment_78" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="An attempt at a family pic...this makes me laugh!"][/caption]





Sometimes the challenges of parenthood – trying to figure out discipline, losing sleep, cleaning up endless messes, constant training – distract my focus away from the incredible gift I have been given in each of my children.  It’s so good to be reminded that this season of my life is incredibly rich, filled to the brim and overflowing with opportunities - to make an eternal difference in the hearts of my children, to develop a relationship with them that will last a lifetime, and to grow and be changed myself in the process.



Li’l B is almost 5. That means we have already spent nearly 260 of those 936 weekends with him.  Time is flying.  Life is short. I just want to make it count.

[caption id="attachment_79" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Photography by Li'l B :)"][/caption]

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ps. 90:12

School Days

This year the kids and I have embarked on our homeschooling journey. Since Brandon is still just 4, I opted out of doing anything super formal and chose to keep this year laid back, fun, and low stress. My goal this year was to teach him the basics academically (letters, numbers, etc.), work out some kinks and identify areas that I may need to work at for next year (making the switch from "mom" to "teacher," figuring out how B learns best, etc), and focus on character and heart issues. We don't do school every day, and we don't linger overly long on each subject, but we're getting our feet wet with the whole process. :-)

It has been SO much fun to invest this time and watch the kids learn. While we've had some days that have completely flopped ;-), Ellie has picked up far more than I ever imagined she would, and B is soaking up information like a sponge. It's amazing how capable their little minds are, even at this young age.



One of my favorite parts of the day is reading with the kids. Since B is learning to read, we normally start with his reading workbook, then move on to reading whatever book or novel we are currently working through.We just finished the first book in the Narnia series, and the kids were enthralled with the story. I have to admit, I kinda got into it, too. :-)



Normally, I try to do the bulk of our "schooltime" in the morning when Ethan is napping. Today that just didn't work out, but instead of being a distraction, much to my delight, he joined in! He had a blast eating ...I mean...coloring his first picture with crayons, and he sat at the table with the kids looking like such a big boy. :-) I couldn't help but smile watching all three of them sitting together doing "school" together and imagining many more days like this in our future.



Teaching the kids is also teaching me. I've learned that I have a ways to go in the "patience category." I've learned that the English language can be incredibly confusing. I've learned that jellyfish are  95% water! I've learned that sometimes the best way to learn is to just go find the actual answers to some of those crazy questions the kids ask (thank goodness for Google!!) I've learned that my kids are incredibly different in what motivates them and how they process information. I've learned that my attitude sets the tone for the entire day. I've learned that they are learning even when I don't realize I am teaching.

Yep, I think I just might be learning every bit as much as they are! And it's only the beginning... :-)

Snow Painting

So the snow that came this past week has now turned into a crusty layer of ice. The weather has hovered above freezing during the day and has dropped to the frigid 20's (;-)) during the night. As a result, our yard is now covered with ice and is not so conducive to outdoor play. However, my friend Adrienne gave me a great idea to try with the kids: snow painting! And since I am watching her daughter Juliana today, she brought all the supplies just in case we wanted to give it a try.

[caption id="attachment_58" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Our decorated snowman :)"][/caption]

Each child receives a squirt bottle with water and an added drop or two of food coloring in it. The kids then take the squirt bottle outside and spray patterns in the snow. All of the kids absolutely loved this, and we had to refill the bottles three times. Our snow man now has a tie dye pattern, and the yard has been decorated in assorted colorful rainbow patterns. :-D The kids really enjoyed combining colors to see what new colors they could make.

[caption id="attachment_57" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="They had so much fun!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_55" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ellie: "This is fun!" "][/caption]

Even better, they followed our one rule about keeping the colorful water on the ground/trees/bushes and not each other quite well. We only had one mishap - after which I found that good old regular shaving cream successfully removes food coloring stains from clothing and skin! I'll have to tuck that little trick away for future use. ;-)

[caption id="attachment_56" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Brandon"][/caption]

Many thanks to Adrienne for providing a great way to make an icy yard an artistic showcase! :-D

[caption id="attachment_54" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Jules"][/caption]

Snow Day!

[caption id="attachment_48" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Our Sweeties!"][/caption]

The kids and I had a wonderful surprise this morning when Daddy returned home from work at 9:30! Yes, that's what happens when you get snow in the south. Haha, just a couple of inches and the whole community literally shuts down. In their defense, the rarity of such weather makes it quite bit more challenging to handle it well, and no one here is comfortable driving in it. Still, being from MI, we can't help but laugh at the panic that ensues whenever we get the faintest dusting of snow...or even talk of it.

[caption id="attachment_39" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Trying to get kids dressed and outside!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_49" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Three peas in a pod... :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_44" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Now he's lovin' it!"][/caption]

The kids were unbelievably excited about the weather. Ellie woke up and came running to find me, "Mommy! Can I show you sumpin'?" ... and proceeded to whip back the blinds and show me the "SNOW!!!!" :-) Since we aren't around snow much, I'll be the first to admit I'm not very efficient at getting all of the kids (and myself) bundled up to head out there, but we made it happen and spent a good chunk of time out there this morning. Since we don't own a sled, we used trash can lids (you gotta improvise!), and Brandon and I took turns pulling the kids around while they sat in the back yelling, "Go, Rudolph!" :-) I noticed some neighbors pulling their kids around in laundry baskets, so at least we aren't the only house on the block without actual sleds! haha. :-) We closed out the morning outdoors with some yummy hot chocolate. The whole morning took me back to so many fun, snowy outings I had as a kid. I often say I don't miss the cold living down here, and most of the time I don't, but having a snowfall every now and then really is a lot of fun. :-)

[caption id="attachment_47" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="No sled? Use trash can lids!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_46" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="He has no problem driving in the snow! ;)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_45" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Me 'n my girl"][/caption]

While looking out this afternoon on the world of white, I was amazed at how different our yard looks now that it’s covered in fluffy, white snow. I have to be honest, before today, the yard was beginning to look like quite an eyesore. It was covered with sticks and dead leaves just begging to be removed! To make matters worse, our neighbors are very diligent with their landscaping, and their yards always look picture perfect. In comparison with their yards, ours looked hideous! Not today, though. The snow served as the great equalizer – now all of our lawns look the same – peaceful, serene, and lovely.

[caption id="attachment_42" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Making letters in the snow"][/caption]

As I looked out at our neighborhood today, I was reminded that God does the same thing in our lives. While some of us may look more lovely or put together on the outside than others, deep down all of our lives are much like our poor lawn – full of grime and junk that needs to be removed and cleansed. How thankful I am for the blood of Christ that covers us, cleanses us, and allows us to come before the Father without blemish or spot. In that sense, His blood serves as the equalizer – no matter who we are, where we’ve been, our how dirty we’ve become, there is nothing His blood cannot cover, nothing His sacrifice is insufficient to pay, nothing beyond the reach of His grace.

[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I told Ethan..."smile!" :)"][/caption]

The Bible often uses snow as a reference to purity and cleanness. Watching the snowfall today reminded me again of how thankful I am that the precious blood of Christ washes me whiter than snow. I’m thankful that it’s not my own efforts that purify me, but that I find grace in Christ alone.

[caption id="attachment_43" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="snow angels!"][/caption]

I also made it my prayer today that God would give me a heart tender to following Him so that my life would be pure, clean, and refreshing; that when others see me, they would see I am covered by Christ. And that, like today's snowfall, is nothing short of beautiful.

Ps. 51:7…wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

[caption id="attachment_41" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ellie in her eskimo hat! :)"][/caption]



 

Quotables

I hear over and over again that I need to write down the cute things the kids say because I will forget them someday. :-) I recently looked back in an old journal and laughed aloud at some of the quotes I had completely forgetten. I'm so glad I wrote them down.

And so in the interest of keeping these documented, here are a couple that made me smile this weekend:

• While making homemade pizza for our family pizza and movie night, Li'l B was working with me to add all the toppings. His little mouth was moving far faster than his fingers as he chattered and asked me endless questions that I could never have possibly dreamed up concerning pizza preparations! My favorite question came as we spread the cheese on the pizza: (B) Mommy, is this pepper john cheese? (Me) Nope, not pepper jack, Buddy. It's mozzarella. ;-)

[caption id="attachment_20" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="B during a family bowling outing"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_23" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Sweet Ellie"][/caption]

• And then there is Ellie. She asks over and over if she can have "lemontines" for a snack. It's too cute to correct her that the fruit is actually called a clementine.


• I have the same response when Li'l B calls booster seats "blooster seats." It makes me smile every time, and so I just let it go.


• And while Ethan doesn't really talk yet, I hope I never forget how he frantically rubs his chest with his hand (sign language for please), while pointing frantically to what he wants so badly (yes, this is accompanied by grunts and groans as well ;-).) It's so stinkin' cute that I find myself wandering in an out of rooms with him trying to figure out what he so desperately needs. ;-) I'm not sure if he knows half the time, but he seems to enjoy having mommy in tow anyway... :-)

[caption id="attachment_21" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ethan and Mommy at the Children's Museum"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_22" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Speaking of Ethan, guess who's walking now?! "][/caption]

Somehow right now it seems insane to suggest that I could forget those moments. Somehow I know I will unless I make a point to remember. How I love those little crazies! :-D

New Beginnings

With all the twists and turns that our lives have taken in the past months, we've come to the conclusion that the time has come for a new start in the blog arena. We've both determined that it was time to take some steps to find a more secure environment to post pictures and family happenings, especially considering Brandon's job endeavors. While it will take me a bit to get things set up, I look forward to blogging again and hope you'll enjoy seeing some new posts as well! Be back with more soon!

Sending love!