On Fridays I like to capture sweet family moments...
On past Fridays, I've shared about trips we've taken as a family.
Wonderful, monumental type trips to places to Hume Lake and Disneyland.
As precious as those moments are in our memory banks, they are few and far between.
There is a LOT of life that happens in between these sweet once-in-a-while kind of opportunities.
Today I wanted to share the day to day.
Most of the photos are fuzzy, taken quickly by the not-so-great camera on my phone as I rushed to grab it in time to capture the moment!
This is the real deal..the day to day...the moments that make up the fabric of the childhood my kids will remember as our "normal."
These are not the type of photos that most put up on the wall in a frame, but honestly, they are the memories I treasure the most...
Celebrating as Rylee joined us at the big table in her "big girl seat" for the first time...
A track the boys loved so much that they begged us to snap a photo so we'd remember how to make it again...
Taken this past Fall, when we sought to find leaves changing color - we missed our Illinois fall!
My girl with her new trike from Babi and Deda!
The girls "fort" keeping them safe from the boys :)
Silly girls :)
"Water for Sale!"
One of my favorite recent moments...Ryder reading his latest Accelerated Reader book - getting ready for his test, while everyone else gets to hear a great story!
I love when these types of moments abound...when they do, that's usually a great indication that we're not too busy, but savoring the moments together as a family. We purposefully protect ourself against business so that these moments have all the ingredients they need to bloom...
Family + Imagination + Time = the sweetest memories :)
More than the latest toy, my kids just love having each other.
Toys get old, but dear family and friends always grow more dear and more vibrant over time.
The single most precious reason we're excited to begin homeschooling next year is to give our kids and our family the thing we all love the most...the ingredient we find ourselves in lack of most often...
TIME
We're so excited to plant the kids God has given US in the soil we feel He's calling us to.
The soil of TIME,
watered with individualized learning opportunities for the diverse way they were knit together,
shone in GRACE by the One who made them,
we pray will = glory for the One we love.
Happy Friday to you!
I pray the Lord blesses you with the gift of TIME this weekend...even if it comes in hour long chunks, may it be filled with sweet moments together, born out of the inner workings of your child's imagination! There's a reason God asks us to have faith like a child...they have some incredible thoughts! Lord give us the space to delight in the thoughts and imagination of your children this weekend. And as we engage their deepest wonderings, may we find you somewhere in the midst of it all. To think that you delight in US too! Make us more like you, Lord....finding delight in our children. They truly are your gift, to us. We praise you as we love them.
Thanks for this sweet reminder, Danice! In the midst of my sleep-deprived fog I needed this today!
SO glad this blessed you Traci! Hang in there, friend! You are doing the most important job in the world right now with your sweet girls and precious little man! What a gift :)
HI! This is my first comment on your blog, and I feel I must introduce myself so you know I'm not a stalker or something. I went to APU and graduated in '05, and "knew" you guys because I was much younger and knew a lot of the same people you did from being in UCO during my time there. I was also in the same class as your sister-in-law Erin... So...through a couple of different people posting a link to your blog, I've visited a few different times, some with lots of time to read lots of posts, others in the midst of a busy day, reading just enough to remind me of what really matters. This was one of those posts! We are considering homeschooling, and you are so right about TIME and the space to really delight in our children and watch them grow.
Anyway, much too long for a comment, I know. Maybe I should have emailed this. But I wanted to say hi, say I kind of "know you" from afar, and am delighted I found your blog! I've now bookmarked it!
Melody, it's so nice to meet you!!! Thank you for introducing yourself! I wish everyone would give such a fun introduction! I'm so thankful you've been blessed by our journey! I'll be praying for your decision with schooling...it's a TOUGH one! We wrestled with it a long time before finally feeling peace. God has the right way for YOUR family and I'll be praying He speaks that to you in His time :) I'm glad you left a message!!! I hope this won't be the last!