Cherishing the Special Moments

There's nothing I love more than the thought of dropping my responsibilities at any moment and snuggling up on the couch with the kiddos and reading a good book together.  It is such a special time to be able to just sit and cuddle with the kids and as they grow older, the opportunities for that cherished time together will become less and less, I'm sure.  Reading to my kids is something I've done since they were infants and I'm so thankful that, no matter what they're doing, they'll drop what they're doing and come running if it's storytime.  It doesn't matter what we're reading, really...it's more the joy of just spending that time together.

Every day, we all look forward to our storytime (and sometimes we even have extra storytimes just for fun!)  Usually it's before bedtime, but sometimes it's also in the afternoon or on the weekends, on a lazy morning after we've all slept in.  On days where we occasionally have to skip storytime, we all miss it so much and feel like the day isn't quite complete without it.

Not only is it such a sweet time to spend together, it's a great opportunity to share ideas and things that I want to teach my children.  I love choosing stories that will teach them a great moral lesson or something that has really had an impact on my own life.  I also love experiencing different things with them through books...things we might never get to experience together otherwise.  Oftentimes these stories generate wonderful discussions about everything under the sun.  They give us an opportunity to share things with each other that we might never think to bring up otherwise.  And sometimes they're just plain fun and silly so we can giggle together!

I'm so, so thankful for the gift of time to spend with my children and so grateful that we can spend time reading and sharing in this way.  It is such a blessing!  I think I'll be taking an extra few minutes the next time we read together just to enjoy it even more!

History of Halloween

*Caution:  There are images and movie clips that are inappropriated for children in this film.

View with them at your families' own discretion.*

While the filmmakers of the documentary below see no harm in it, I don't advocate celebrating Halloween or participating in these practices because of where they come from.  However, I appreciated the thorough history they showed in this film about how the celebrations that take place on this day began...as well as how they evolved into what they are today, so I thought it was worth sharing.

The video has 5 parts, but the first 3-4 are the most informative about the actual history of why the day came to be celebrated.

This Is The Day

I LOVE summertime in the rocky mountains! Today was just one of THOSE days...the weather was absolutely perfect...not too hot, not too cold. Our view (as always) of the mountains was breathtaking. We had a little garden work to do this morning, so we headed out into the beautiful sunshine and were picking peas. After about 20 minutes of this, the kids were starting to get bored with our "chore," so my daughter, always the entertainer, burst into song. And this is what she sang,

"This is the day,
(my son and I had to echo) This is the day,
That the Lord has made,
(echo) That the Lord has made,
We will rejoice,
(echo) We will rejoice,
AND PICK PEAS IN IT!"

Well, needless to say, we all burst into laughter...I just love the spontanaity and joy that children bring into our lives! We're so blessed! It certainly was the day that the Lord made...and every time I pick peas now, I'll be singing a new song...