Archive for the 'Family' Category

Non-New Year’s Resolutions

Published November 7, 2010 Faith , Family 5 Comments

It’s not the beginning of a new year, but Kevin and I just made a resolution: We have created a monthly Family Night and Date Night, and we are committed to them! No more “We should go out more” or “We should have a Family Night”. We have picked the days for each month, and they are on our calendars!

Why did it take us so long to make Family Night and Date Night a priority? I have no idea. We have always been more spontaneous about taking the kids out, and Date Night? Well, we just fit that in when we could, which was rarely.

Individually, Kevin and I have a few weekly and monthly commitments that are always on our calendars, and nothing interferes with them, except for a serious illness in our family. These are personal commitments that do not include the rest of the family.

After listening to a message from Andy Stanley on time and commitments, I asked myself, “Why on earth are we putting all these other so-called “important” things before our marriage and our family!?!” We can fill our lives with so many “good” things that the truly important things might never happen. What kind of message are we sending to our spouse and children when we get so excited about Girls’ (or Guys’) Night Out, but we don’t give them a special night to look forward to?

So yay for Family Night and Date Night!

Two other things we are doing to make family a priority…

I put a limit of one TV show per day for Caleb and two TV shows per day for Chelsea. My kids have watched way too much TV in their short lives. Chelsea and I had a good conversation recently about how watching too much TV makes your brain turn to mush, but playing and drawing and building and pretending and going to school make your brain strong. She ate it up! We’re two weeks into our new TV policy, and so far so good.

A couple of years ago, Kevin and I promised each other we would sit down and talk for at least 15 minutes as soon as the kids go to bed. We stuck to our “talking time” for a while, and then we drifted away from it. Well, we’re back at it. We’ve put it in its proper place, and I’m so glad we have.

Marriages are crumbling and falling apart all around us, in our church and in our community. Kevin and I have had our share of tests and trials as well. Now is the perfect time to be intentional about strengthening our marriage.

Okay, now I want to hear from you! Do you have a set Family Night and/or Date Night? How often do you have them, and what things do you like to do? How has it improved your marriage and family?

Delayed Valentine Gratification

Published October 30, 2010 Family , Holidays 1 Comment

 

A few days ago Chelsea found her Valentine box in my closet. She pulled out each card and studied them. Then she calmly said, “Wow, a lot of people love me. All of these cards have my name on them.”

I love you, sweet girl.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV)

My Son, the Published Author

Published October 25, 2010 Family , Writing 4 Comments

Who would have thought at seven years old, Caleb would be a published author? What an honor and blessed surprise!

Several weeks ago, shortly after school started, all the children in grades 2-6 were asked to write an essay about why their grandparent should be Grandparent of the Year. All the students wrote their essays in school.

The second grade teachers and the principal chose Caleb’s essay to be submitted to a writing contest sponsored by the State Fair. After the submission to the fair, the assistant principal chose five essays from various grades and sent them to an editor at our local newspaper to see if she would like to print any of them on the Kids Page.

Of the five essays, the editor chose Caleb’s essay to be printed! When the assistant principal went to Caleb’s class to tell him the good news, all of his classmates cheered. Everyone was excited for him and proud of him. Caleb’s teacher told me this was the first time a second-grader at their school had been published in the newspaper.

I was very excited, but I was also very curious because I never saw the essay. I wondered what he had written that made it so special. I had to ask the assistant principal to email me a copy of the essay!

Way to go, buddy! We love you!

Puppyland

Published October 23, 2010 Dogs , Family , Pets , Piper 7 Comments

I’ve been lost in Puppyland for eight weeks now. If anyone tells you having a puppy is like having a baby, believe them. If anyone tells you it is a lot of work, take it to the bank. (Two-month-old puppies go potty 12-15 times a day!) It is seriously like having another child. So now I have three children.

But it is getting easier. I am no longer cleaning up potty accidents five times a day. Piper has only had two accidents in the past two weeks!

She is growing way too fast. We keep saying, “Slow down!” At nine weeks Piper weighed 2.1 pounds. In just three weeks she almost doubled her weight to 4.1 pounds. Now at 16 weeks she weighs 5.7 pounds. Can’t believe she has almost tripled in size in just 7 weeks.

10 weeks

11 weeks

14 weeks

16 weeks

(Compare this picture with the first picture.)

Craft Happens

Published September 8, 2010 Family , POTD 1 Comment

Sometimes crafts can get a little messy. Oh well, it happens.

Sleep Deprivation and Cuteness

Published September 4, 2010 Dogs , Family , Pets , Piper , POTD 4 Comments

Our new little Piper: Two pounds of pure adorable. We’ve had Piper for five days, and we’re getting quite attached to her!

Sure she cries at night, but somehow her tail wagging, playfulness, and outright cuteness make us forget about all of the sleep deprivation.

The kids love her (except for her nipping), and we’re so glad she is part of our family.

She is nine weeks old.

Local friends: Please stop by! We’d love for you to meet Piper.

Where Have I Been?

Published August 25, 2010 Family , Friends 3 Comments

Summer is over for us. The kids went back to school on August 16th. What did I learn on my summer vacation? I learned it is difficult for me to write when I have my kids 24/7. They exhausted me (mostly in a good way)! So, I had little time to write but lots of time to enjoy my kids.

Here are some highlights of our summer:

 Chelsea’s dance recital in the beginning of June.

Trip to NY in June.

My favorite thing about NY (beside seeing my family). The best pizza in the world (IMHO).

Hanging out with my new friend at Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in S. Deerfield, MA.

If you love butterflies, check out Magic Wings. Thousands of beautiful creations flying all around you and sometimes landing on you. (My kids weren’t too excited about the landing-on-you part.)

 

Free car wash for Mommy!

Caleb’s third year of baseball at the Y.

Fifth tooth lost while Mommy was at She Speaks. Daddy had to be the Tooth Fairy!

Romantic weekend get-away to Chateau Elan for our 10th anniversary. Woohoo!

Summer was also days at the pool, s’mores, running through the sprinkler, 4th of July concert and fireworks, morning devotions, playgrounds, Friday nights at Grandma’s, reading time, Backyard Bible Club, picnics, the zoo with friends, a day at the water park, and lots of ice cream!

Freedom

Published July 4, 2010 Faith , Family , Holidays , POTD 2 Comments

We celebrated our freedom a day early, and today we’re relaxing. For the third year in a row, we enjoyed local fireworks along with a patriotic concert from our city’s symphony orchestra. The weather was perfect. The music and fireworks were wonderful as always.

I couldn’t resist including last year’s picture because it is one of my favorites, and I love to see how much they have changed in a year.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1, 2

I am grateful for the freedom we possess in this country, but I am also thankful for my freedom in Christ, which cannot be taken away.

Spike

Published June 25, 2010 Family , POTD 7 Comments

Caleb wanted a new look.

Before and After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to stop at a drug store after his hair cut to get some gel to re-create the look. He loves his new ‘do!

How To Eat a Rainbow

Published June 23, 2010 Disney , Family , Food , Health , POTD 7 Comments

We’re baaaaaaaack! The kids and I spent 11 days in NY visiting family. Fun time. Kevin was on a mission trip in Ecuador. Blessed time.

I saw this fruity rainbow in a recent issue of Family Fun magazine. (We don’t subscribe to Family Fun, but they have some neat craft and activity ideas.

EDIT: As of October 2010, we do subscribe to Family Fun. I got a 12-month subscription for only $2 through US Airways. So far, I like it–great craft, game, activity, travel ideas. This is a Disney magazine, so if you boycott Disney, you probably won’t want to get it :-) .

So how did they eat their rainbow? One color at a time, inside out.

I tried to go against the flow and sneak a strawberry, and they screamed, “NO!”

I can’t believe they ate almost the entire rainbow in one sitting. (I ate about five pieces.) All they left was a few strawberries.

Enjoying lots of delicious fresh fruit is one of our favorite things about summer!

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