Count Down To California!

Looking forward to a trip can be so much fun for children. I can remember as a child thinking that the trip was so far off and was never going to come. I want to share with you our count down chart! This has been a fun little thing that has helped my girls look forward to our trips and grasp how far off the trip is.

We did this for our trip to California in March and just started one for our trip to California coming up in a few weeks. My girls have fun pulling off the little sheets of paper to see how many days there are left until we leave. This little chart is really simple to make!

This little chart is made out of some construction paper and part of a post-it-note pad. All you do is start at the bottom of the note pad with 0 and then count up to how many days your trip is away. For us yesterday was 17 days to go. I also make a little note in the bottom right corner of which date that number falls on. This way if we miss a day, I will know with out having to do the math were we should be. Then we tape it to the frig were the girls can watch it and start pulling the papers off. It is so fun to see their excitement each day as we get a little closer to leaving.

Mommy & Miriam Date

This weekend Miriam and I went out together. We got some dinner together (Milk was her one big request for the night). Then after our dinner we did some shopping together! Miriam has became our little shopper! She loves looking at everything, she makes Ohs and Ahs over everything she sees.

Chris and I have been making a point to schedule dates with our daughters so that we are able to get some special one on one time with them. We have enjoyed this time with our girls. The time that we have with them will be gone before we know it. Right now they are too young to have long personal indepth conversations about what is going on in their lives, but for now it is a time for them to know that we love them and want to spend time with them.

Chris and I have been trying to look to the future in our parenting. By that I mean we are implementing those things now that we want to do with our girls when they are older. We want them to know how precious they are to us and that we are always available to talk with them. We want to impress this upon them from a very young age.

These dates are not elaborate or expensive but just special little things that we know they will enjoy doing. With my date with Miriam I had a couple of stores that I needed to go to and I knew that Miriam would probably enjoy coming along. So we added on a dinner (something I knew what she would enjoy) and made it a date. These dates can be as simple as an ice cream trip or a trip to the park. The important thing is not what you are doing but that you are spending time together.

Backyard fun!

A few days ago we had plans to go to the pool to swim until we realized that there was a storm coming our way and it was going to hit right when we had planned to go to the pool. Well, the storm ended up just missing us and by this time it was too late to get things together for the pool, so we just made it into a backyard water fun and picnic time. It was a little overcast but it was still warm so we all had fun. Here are just a few of the pictures from that evening.

Madisen and Miriam enjoying their dinner.

Macaylee enjoying her dinner too!

Miriam telling us she is cold

and Madisen joining in

(they had just been playing in the water minutes earlier and were not cold).

The looming storm to the South.

The clear sky to the North.

I Will Rejoice

I Will Rejoice, by Karma Wilson has fast become one of my girls favorites. A couple months ago I read about this book on this blog and knew that I wanted to get it for my girls. You will see that I have it listed on our side bar under the books we are reading, not because it is long and has taken us so much time to finish, but because the girls want to read it everyday.

This book is based on Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it". The little girl in the story goes through her day finding ways to rejoice in her good morning kiss, in her dad coming home and in her bed time prayers.

The illustrations are sweet and beautifully capture the everyday happenings of a little girl's day. This book has served as such a great reminder to my girls (well, mostly Madisen even though Miriam does enjoy reading it) as to what her attitude should be as she goes throughout her day; even when she does things she would prefer not to do like going to bed. What a great reminder even for me.

I hope that if you are able to read this book with your little ones it will be a blessing to you and that it will also help turn your little one's eyes to the Lord.

Verse of the Moment

"But he said to me "My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly

about my weaknesses,

so that Christ's power may rest on me."

1 Corinthians 12:9

Our Work at Home

There are so many tasks, as a mother, that we do over and over again; such as the laundry just to have it get soiled again, the dishes so they can be dirtied again, changing diapers for them to be dirtied again, and on the list goes. Today in girl talk Carolyn Mahaney gives a great reminder as to why it is that, we as mothers, are doing all of this repetitive work. Here is just a portion of what she said.

"I realize that all of the mundane, repetitive days were actually full of significant, enduring work. A home was being built. A family was being knit together. Four souls were being shaped for eternity."

As mothers we are shaping the souls of our children, even through the everyday mundane and repetitive work that we do. It reminds me of Mark 10:45 "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve". We get the great privilege of showing our families Christ's sacrificial love through every repetitive and mondane task we do.

If you get a minute head over to girl talk and read all that Carolyn Mahaney has to say and take encouragement that all repetitive work you do as a mother is not in vain.