Last week our Homeschool Co-op went Christmas caroling at a local nursing home.  The week leading up to it I had my kids color pictures to take and hand out to the residents.

When we went, the residents, of course, loved all over my kids.  My daughter, M, particularly enjoyed the attention.  As we were leaving she said, “Mom, should I go live in the nursing home?”  And I said, “Oh, I hope you have a few years before that’s necessary.”  She pressed on… “But, I don’t feel so good.  I think I have a fever.”  Cutie.  She loved that attention.

So this morning, guess what my kids are playing…

Nursing home.

My little nursing home residents.

It’s pretty amusing.  M is the old lady laying on the couch covered in a blanket, talking in an “old” voice.  Hysterical.  I especially liked the part where she fell out of her bed and was giggle-yelling “Help!” -upside down – balancing with her head on the floor.  Poor thing. 

The boys are coloring her pictures, planning their caroling performance, and giving M tips for acting “old.”  “Pretend like you can’t move your legs!  Your voice should sound older!”  Excellent tips, if you ask me.  

Oh wait… now the boys are saying, “You’ve been the old person long enough!  It’s our turn!  Go color US pictures.” 

Oh, how I hope this game becomes a regular! 

Amazing what life experiences can impact a child, huh? 

I think, like everyone else, I’m feeling a little reflective tonight about my kiddos. 

Goodness, I love my precious ones.  I mean deep.  They fill me up with love and happiness.  They make me proud.  They make me laugh.  They are just cool little people.  

  Something that daily echoes in my brain is, “I never want to waste a moment.”  I don’t want to look back and think I should have hugged them more, or let “I love you” come more easily, or shown more interest in their “little” accomplishments.  I want to store up lots of good memories of being on the floor playing with them, being snuggled on the couch, or at the kitchen table doing something fascinating.  I want to say “yes” more often than “no.”  And I want to be a happy, fun, passionate mom.  I want them to “see” Jesus in me, to see the joy of the Lord, and I want them to have a taste of God’s character because they lived in my home.  That’s what I want. 

And I want to make the most of these sacred moments.  I want to hug them close, smell their hair, feel their baby soft skin, hold their little hands.  Remember their silly jokes, watch them sleep, hear them sing. I want to hang up their art, waste band aids on their “owies”, marvel at their false facts, notice their cute mannerisms.  I always want to remember their sweet and heartfelt prayers, and hear their wild stories.  I want their world to be a little brighter when we leave the Dollar Tree, and I want to kiss them every night.  I want them to feel important , cherished, loved, treasured… That’s what I want.

And I want one more day~ one more moment~ to try to do it.  Thank you Jesus for your protection over my family tonight.  ♥

Check out this post giving 25 Quick Ways to Love Them Right Now!

I LOVE these lacey shoes.  They are so feminine and pretty.  I saw them on Pinterest, and they are Christian Dior, so I knew the price tag would be a shocker to me, but I looked it up anyway, and, yes, was shocked.  

So, I decided to play “guess the price” with my family.  First, I showed these shoes to my son J.  As soon as he saw them he said, “EWWW!  Those look uncomfortable.”  Hmm… he did not find them as gorgeous as I did.  And he guessed $25,000.  Might as well be. 

So, I showed Tony.  And he sneered and said (I’m not kidding) “YUCK!  Those look like they would hurt.”  And then I forgot the game, and decided to test gender differences within my very own walls.

Then I called over E.  And he said, “Those are not cool.”  Why not?  “They look like a vacuum.”  Hahaha… leave it to E….  What? 

Finally, I showed them to M… my precious little girl.  And she said, “OOooo… those are BEE – U- TI- FUL!  You should get a pair like that!”  And she went twirling off into the other room. 

And THAT friends, is why I’m thankful I got at least one girl.  To share in the beauty of a pair of shoes. 

The end! ♥

Oh, the shoes are $750.  I’ll have some in heaven??  

This is just a quick story, because it cracked me up, and is too long to share on facebook, and I remembered I still have this blog!

So, the kids’ soccer ball went across the street to our neighbor’s yard.  I told J to go get it.  So, he went to get it, and shortly came panting back in the house without the soccer ball.  He says, “There is a scary cat in the ditch.  I cannot go get the ball.”

I’m like, “You are 8 years old, and you’re scared of a cat?”

“Yeah.  It was in pounce position, ready to attack me.”  I laugh… umm… okay??

Then my brave E proclaims he will go rescue the ball.  So we all go to the window to watch.

He takes off running across the street… all is going well.  Then he gets to the ditch.

Our hero jumps about 10 feet in the air.  We all crack up.  He’s reached the scary cat.

Then he slowly backs up, prepares himself, steels his nerves, and takes off at a full sprint WAY around the ditch to get the ball, all the while keeping one eye on the cat.  He grabs the ball, speeds back home, and busts through the front door to be met by our hysterical laughter.

“That was THE scariest cat in world!” he says.  That must be some cat…

I’m still laughing.  ♥

It must have been something like this…

One more catch up post! 

We took our family vacation to St. Joseph, MI!!

Time away with our family is something we really value. 

I mean, making memories on family vacations is SUPER high on our priority list.  So, we make it happen a few times a year.

One thing that makes it financially possible for us is the generosity of people in our lives.  Some friends of ours at church own a beautiful condo on Lake Michigan just outside of St. Joe.  They generously blessed us by letting us use it for our vacation! 

I love how God uses His people to bless others!  ♥

So here it is in review!

1.  We rented a bike car!  Aren’t we such a cute family?!    We cruised St. Joe for an hour making everyone super jealous by our coolness.  If you’ve never done this, you really should!  Our kids loved it!!  (Scooter Joe’s, downtown)  They have lots of shops down there.  My favorite… The CHOCOLATE CAFE!  Oooohhh yessss…. (went twice!)

2.  It rained one day, so we spent the day in Curious Kids Children’s Museum.  It had some rad face painting there.  M did this masterpiece herself!  I personally love children’s museums!  They are so fun.  Actually, I think I want to own one some day.  Wouldn’t that be a great job?  This one had a dinosaur exhibit, animal hospital, and so much stuff in the upstairs it was crazy!  We had a great time!

3.  Here’s two of the cutest boys in the whole world!  Swimming was for sure what we spent most of our time doing.  The condo had 2 pools and lake access.  Baby I was so cute in the pool.  One day he fell asleep on me on a raft and we just floated together.  I LOVED that!  He’s so sweet.  Tony taught the older ones to snorkel really well.  Seriously, we probably swam 20 hours on this vacation.

4.  We call Baby I “Baby on the Go.”  He just has to get strapped on and go with our family.  Here we are with a kitty that was all healed up at the animal hospital at the children’s museum!

5.  The Children’s Museum had two locations.  This one was down by the beach.  (My preference, if I had to choose only one location)  Here’s J rocking the rock wall!  This location had water play, disc golf, virtual surfing, and lots of fun stuff.

6.  This is my E playing on Silver Beach.  Super nice beach with a playground, beach volleyball, concessions, and a pretty lighthouse!  The water on our first visit to the beach was FREEZING!!  But with big waves, so the kids thought it was cool.  I love living in Michigan with all the beauty around.

I love getting away with my family. 

I think it’s one of the best things we do as parents to invest in our kids.  I love giving them experiences and adventures that will become sweet memories. 

Love my Dear ones.