I didn’t have chance to do that on January 1 this year – didn’t even have the list made – but it’s not too late! I decided to make a brand new list just to keep things fresh. ; )
Here are twelve questions to ask your kids at the beginning of the year:
1. What was your favorite thing that happened last year?
2. What was the saddest thing that happened last year?
3. Where was your favorite place you visited?
4. Where is somewhere you would like to visit this year?
5. What did you most appreciate about your family last year? How could you communicate that?
6. What did you learn from the Bible last year?
7. Are there any specific sins that God convicted you about?
8. How do you think you could grow in your love for God this year?
9. Are there any things that keep you from loving God? any things that you find easier to love than God?
10. What did you most appreciate about your church?
11. What could you do to love your church family more this year?
12.What would you like to learn this year?
Zoe can wait a couple more years. = )
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This is just a place to start! I’ll probably vary it depending on the age of who I’m asking. Let me know if you try it!
Before you close your eyes to sleep I have a promise still to keep As I hold you in my arms. I pray your little frame grows strong And that faith takes hold while you are young; This is my prayer for you.
Hold my hand; I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years, May you trust Him ‘til the end. May you trust Him in the end.
This world is not as it should be, But the Savior opens eyes to see All that’s beautiful and true. Oh may His light fill all you are And the jewel of wisdom crown your heart; This is my prayer for you.
Hold my hand; I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years, He is with us ‘til the end. He is faithful ‘til the end.
You’ll travel where my arms won’t reach As the road will rise to lead your feet On a journey of your own. May my mistakes not hinder you But His grace remain and guide you through; This is my prayer for you.
Take His hand And go where He calls you to. And whatever comes, seek Him With all your heart; This will be my prayer for you. mmmm Father, hear my ceaseless prayer; Oh keep them in your care.
“I am the bread of life” was declared by Jesus here. Wow. This synagogue is built on the remains of the synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum.
He’s back.
Safe, sound, and scruffy.
As he held me close and my head leaned into his big, hard familiar chest I heard him whisper, “Hi, mommy.”
His eyes lit up as he saw the girls. I thought they might scream or run to him, but they waited with huge smiles for him to walk down the “Do Not Enter” corridor and then hugged him and watched him with their ever-adoring eyes.
I teared up when I first saw him coming. He’s here; he’s really here; God brought him back safely to me!
As we went to get his bags and the car, I was so, so, so, so happy to not be the only adult in charge anymore; to have another pair of eyes to watch the girls with, to have a friend to smile at, to know that he would be with me now.
He showered us with presents. If I can get good pictures of them, I’ll share them in a couple of weeks.
Even though he was exhausted, he stayed up to talk to the girls while I made lunch. We ate together and then he went to sleep… for fifteen hours.
But I didn’t care; the backpack in the middle of the living room, the maps and books and pictures everywhere, the zonked out body in the bed, the mountain of laundry waiting to be done, the smiles on the girlies faces, all said one thing: Daddy was back.
And for now, that was enough to be completely happy.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Beit She’an; this city is important because it illustrates the Romanization of the Jews at the time of Jesus. Seen here the “Cardo” or main street.Remains from the earthquake at Beit She’anTheater at Beit She’anViewing the old city of Beit She’an; Saul’s body was hung in disgrace on this hill.
(Hello and thanks so much for reading these reposts of the Israel series. If you’re new, I hope you’ve been enjoying them; and if you’re not so new, then we can all look forward to new content coming!)
It’s been awhile since I’ve really been able to buy Paul presents.
Gone are the days of being in love, single, employed, and able to buy things for the man you love. Not that I’d trade a big warm body to cuddle up to at night, no siree! But I do miss giving him special gifts.
Let’s see, last year I had this great idea to make homemade butter and other gifts to sell at our apartment office in hopes of making enough money to buy him a really great present. After covering the costs of materials I had about sixteen dollars left which I used to buy him The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough which he really liked, but it was not the kind of present I had hoped for.
But this year would be different! I still didn’t have any money, but because he was gone I made some executive decisions about how the money given to us by family would be used. (Haha! rubbing hands together gleefully) Of course, the girls would get their presents, but they already have so much and the things they wanted weren’t going to cost that much anyways. So the girls and I discussed it, and we made a plan to go shopping for Daddy!
Bottom line: it was a blast.
I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but here’s what we came away with. A laptop table from World Market, Hebrews from the New American Commentary series, a dress shirt and coordinating tie (picked out so lovingly and adorably by Hope and Sophia), and a stud finder (we are permanently and irreversibly diy/home improvement challenged). Yay for presents!
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After a great day of shopping for daddy, I noticed that I was really feeling anxious about him flying home. So much for my unshakable trust in the sovereignty of God that allowed me to not worry at all when he was flying over there.
Basically, I think that knowing he was so close to coming back just made me really want to know that nothing would keep us apart any longer. Everything had gone so well; it was nerve-wracking to think about what would transpire if there were any major calamities now, on our end or on his end. My solution? A night of crafting.
I am not a crafter whatsoever, but I had heard that felt flowers were really easy to make and I wanted to actually make something to give the girls for Christmas. After putting it off for two weeks, I decided that I might not get any sleep that night anyways, so I would do something to occupy my mind.
Unbelievably, they turned out in such a way that you could recognize them! It was tons of fun and I will hopefully do more in the future. I confess one that was supposed to look like a rose ended up looking like a really bad outie belly button, but other than that, I was happy with them.
Now to go to sleep, and wake up, and hear that he’s in the states.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Inside the caves in ArbelCaves in ArbelRock climbing up Arbel; I want to do this!
(Repost)
A few things have surprised me during this time of taking care of the girls alone. First that it’s been… relatively easy. At least a lot easier than I thought. Second, that Gracie seems to be missing Paul the most out of all the girls. Lastly, I’m beginning to be exhausted. The thought of that possibility never occurred to me.
Apparently there’s been a physical and emotional drain that I haven’t noticed because everything seemed to be so normal. I thought I was doing well going to bed and resting all night. But it’s not good for woman to be alone; or least this woman.
Come to think of it, this is how I felt the first week Paul returned to work and seminary after the summer. I had gotten so used to him being around, to sharing the load of work, and (most importantly for me) to feeling the emotional support of not being alone, that back-to-schooltime was a shock.
Again, I cannot help but think of single moms or parents who do this every day, all year.
Our pace is definitely slowing down during the day because of me, but we’re still trying to keep up the “fun.” So far it’s working minus Gracie being a little off.
Counting the days ’til he gets home? Not yet; I don’t think I could stand it.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Mckayla? Happy as long as she has her food, her mama, and a chance to run around the house and play.
I must say the answered surprised me.
Ever since Saturday night, Gracie has been asking for Paul. Not whining, not crying, just asking, “Where’s Daddy?”
She doesn’t know where Israel is. She doesn’t understand a study trip. She just knows Daddy’s not at the dinner table. And she’s getting tired of it!
I’ve noticed a change in her behavior. Like I said, asking for Paul; also becoming super clingy to me. How many times can one girl come in the kitchen and ask me to hold her? So far there haven’t been any meltdowns, but we still have several days to go.
Hang in there, Gracie; Daddy will be home soon.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Inside the main gate of Caesarea Maritima, built during the crusader era
(Repost)
There I was, Sunday afternoon, with a decision to make.
Eat with friends? or eat by ourselves?
Sounds simple, but for me it’s not.
The afternoon before I had texted my friend E to see if she had plans for after church. Her text back was not what I was looking for: D is actually off work tomorrow and we’re eating with N and K since we haven’t seen them since before Thanksgiving, but you’re welcome to come!
Not a fan of being the third wheel. Especially when said third wheel is a mom with four kids eating with two other couples and only one of them have a (singular) sweet little baby.
All right, being honest here; I had agonized about it all Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. I didn’t want to go; but, I did. They were my friends. Not just my acquaintances, my friends. But without Paul, I’m all kinds of shy. The excuses my mind came up with were numerous: they could go somewhere more fun or closer to where they live if we didn’t go, maybe the girls would be misbehaved or I’d spend the whole time taking them to the bathroom and leaving the others at the table, and on and on.
It really was ridiculous.
But now I was walking down the nursery hallway from picking up the girls and they were all waiting for me. How could such a small, simple decision make an adult woman want to melt into the ground?
I went with them.
And I was super glad I did.
The girls were so good; and it felt so good to just be the person that needed some encouragement and support and to be okay with that.
Goodbye ever-lurking independence. Goodbye odious voice of insecurity. Goodbye you nasty monster pride. All of you, I will see again; but for today you were defeated.
Hello to the other side of friendship. Hello to being okay with the fact that you have four kids and your life doesn’t quite look like everyone else’s. Hello to letting others be there for you.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
I do remember praying before I went to bed the night before that God would somehow give me the strength and joy necessary to take of the girls the next day. Everything had been going so well, and then with the news of the shootings I felt all my physical and emotional stamina just caving in.
I woke up not feeling great, but determined to do my best regardless of my feelings. The girls all woke up early, except Hope, and they were pretty much ready by the time I heard my phone ring.
It was a long, weird number and I strongly suspected that Paul was on the other end.
I answered, smiling before I even heard his voice. But the smile after I heard his voice probably made the other smile look like one of Gracie’s scowls.
What he said hit me out of nowhere. After hearing the news about Connecticut, he said he needed to talk to us. He? needed? to talk to us? But you’re in Israel – the coolest place ever!
Why was I surprised? Of course I know how much he loves us. Of course I know how close he is to the girls. He would have had all the same thoughts and feelings that I had.
It was so good to talk to him. It was amazing to watch the girls excitement as they held the phone and talked to their beloved Daddy. It was so familiar to hear his excitement and love as he talked to them.
God could have answered my prayer in many ways. But He chose to give me strength and joy through my very favorite person, Paul. And once again, I was terribly excited for him that he was in Israel; and completely okay with taking care of the girlies alone.
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At dinner Gracie asked, “Where’s Daddy?”
“In Israel!” I replied.
“No,” she disagreed, “he’s at school.”
This was the first time that any of the girls had expressed concern over his whereabouts.
When thinking of how to best handle this time of them being away from him, I had thought about watching videos online of Israel or having some sort of countdown where we would eat candy out of a jar for every day he was gone and watch the amount dwindle. In the end, I did none of these things. The girls were handling it famously. They knew where he was and it felt best to just carry on and try to occupy ourselves with fun things.
It was interesting to me that Gracie had been the first to ask about him, sensing that it was weird that he was gone. Everything was fine, but I wondered what this second week would hold.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Viewing the Jezreel Valley from the Nazareth ridgeNazarethNazarethPaul’s view from the hotel in Nazareth (oh yes, I am jealous)
(Reposting the Israel series due to technical difficulties) = )
Today really was fabulous. The morning was great; lunch has been fine (as that was a concern seeing it is the biggest time the girls see Paul). Naps happened early and then we were off to do an errand, which led to a surprise visit to the park, which led to dinner with a friend and her little girl. Hooray for unplanned happy occasions!
Even coming home and bath time went great. By the way, the girls really climbed at the park. I was so proud; being a lover of climbing myself. It was so fun to see them try things that they had never done before.
Anyways, what I’m about to tell you is going to seem like it has nothing to do with what I’ve said previously, but just hold on:
We only have one santa hat in the house. Doesn’t sound like a problem? Oh, it has been. Especially between Hope and Sophia. Let’s just say that Hope decided she wanted to wear it first today and that gave us a great little opportunity to teach Sophia about being happy and content even when someone else has something you want.
Right before bed, Sophia grabbed the hat and put it on, planning to wear it to bed.
“No, no santa hats in bed.” I took the hat and put it out in the hallway.
At some point in the middle of the night, Sophia came into my room, crawled in the bed and asked for a drink. I’m not as tough in the middle of the night as I am during the day.
“Okay.” We got the drink and then visited the bathroom. (Did you know that’s one of the hard and fast rules of parenting? It’s okay to give a kid a drink in the middle of the night, but always take them to the bathroom as well. You’ll never regret it. = )
After walking back down the hallway and entering her room, I realized that she wasn’t with me. “Where…what…” my groggy mind thought.
All of the sudden, she came around the corner… wearing the santa hat!
I don’t care.Wait is there a way that it could be dangerous for a three-year old to wear a santa hat in bed? Because if there is, then I’m going to have to say no and that would be really sad.
Before I had time to decide, she pulled off the hat, wadded it up, stuck it under her arm and dove in bed.
Smiling to myself (and not a little unrelieved that I didn’t have to deal with it), I tucked her in and left the room.
You know, sometimes when your dad is on the other side of the world… you just need a santa hat under your arm in bed.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Harod ValleyHarod ValleyHarod ValleyPlace of the spring where God tested the men of Gideon, Judges 7:4-7
(Hope you’re enjoying these reposts from our time at home while Paul was in Israel last December. My computer should be up and running by the time they’re done!)
Not much to say for today, we went for a walk in the morning (my very favorite thing to do). Mckayla even walked with us most of the way instead of being carried. ***cue Halleljuah chorus***
Lunch was good. Naps were good. Playtime was good. Dinner was good. Bedtime was good. And though I still don’t enjoy going to bed by myself, it’s going fine, and by God’s grace, I’m getting rest.
So I’m starting to wonder, is something wrong with me? Should this be harder? Should I miss Paul more?
Except for the last hour or so before going to bed, everything feels normal. I guess we’ve just gotten used to the seminary schedule.
I still haven’t heard from Paul, but I know he’s fine through the social media grapevine.
As it stands tonight, I just hope he’s having so much fun and not worrying about us at all. And I’m looking forward to more fun time with my girlies tomorrow.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
small steps, big picture 