Time is going

WAAYYY too fast.

I'm holding on to each each 'first'.
Ponytails
Painted Nails

Silly smiles
Legs who can now run a mile

Ornery boys
who want electronic toys

.Life is good.

Thank you God, for allowing me the privileged of being a mom!

2011 Resolutions - A Childhood Worth Remembering

When my children grow up and become parents, I want them to have memories of
inexpensive
enjoyable
simple
activities we did while they were growing up.

Why? Well, for starters I want to give my children a childhood worth remembering. I want them to enjoy being a child, to enjoy their carefree days, and to be able to look back and be thankful they were apart of our family. I also hope their memories will act as a starting point in creating their own activities when they have families.
I want my children to learn, fun comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't matter what corner of the world they are living in or what their living conditions are; laughter and a joyful heart can be found anywhere.

My 'bucket list' of activities is listed below. Many of them we currently do or have done, some are new ideas I plan on starting this year.

*Daily Devotions
*Sledding/tubing behind the four-wheeler as a family
*Personalized notes from dad & mom
*Building with Boxes
*Frequently have their friends over
*Put candles on cinnamon rolls,pancakes,casserole,muffins, to celebrate a great test score, newly mastered skill, or simply that it is Monday
*Have an indoor snowstorm, canceling school for the day. (I've been dreaming about this one, I'll be sure to post pictures when I do it!)
*Sponsor 4 children, one for each of ours. We recently started this, we will be doing a Unit Study about the culture and country where our children are living. More to come later.
*Movie Night~ allow eating in front of the TV, something we rarely do
*Game Night
*Celebrate: Valentines Day, St Pat's Day, Presidents Day... incorporate activities into our school work
*Pray Daily for my children by name~ Not only when we tuck them in, but during my personal prayer time
*Have secret siblings (sometime other than Christmas) where no money can be spent, only good deeds will be given
*Try foods from other cultures, allow the children to help pick the menu
*Make their birthdays a holiday, no school at our house!
*Dinner backwards, start with dessert
*Head somewhere for the first week of school to kick it off
*Roast Smores & marshmallows on the beach
*Take our school work: outside, to the woods, in a barn, to grandma's basement... just to mix it up
*Go out for breakfast in the middle of the week, simply because we can
*Take a 'field trip' to see dad at work


I'd love to hear what YOU do or what your parents did to make
'A Childhood Worth Remembering'
So don't be bashful, please share!