This is the first summer that we are sending C5 to camp. A friend of hers has offered a great deal to join her at the dance camp that she enrolled in. We had to do it when we found out that many of her buddies would be at that camp, too. I am excited that she will see her friends for a whole week and get a chance to try out all sorts of styles of dance without making a commitment to any one in particular.

She ended up LOVING her first day, but drop off was a disaster. She clung to me and cried, begging me to stay with her. I asked the director to just take her from me since I knew she would be fine if I left the room. Of course, she stopped crying as soon as I was out of ear shot, and she did great the whole time. Tomorrow will go better because Papa is dropping her off. I’ll keep you posted on how the week is going!

Today Daddy had class all day, so I was on my own with the kids. It was a sweet day! I truly enjoyed being a mommy. We made some precious memories together.

We spent much of our day snuggled together reading our library books – a huge bag full. I think we read for at least an hour! C4 even read a couple of books to me and A2. I’m struck by the fact that the girls love reading much more than I ever remember reading when I was young. I suppose Mom’s doing something right!

We used up some scrapbooking paper that I have had forever. Someone gave me paper for a baby album, and I never got around to using it. There were great pictures in the kit that you punch out, and the girls were able to create collages.  I even made a simple book for C4 to read with the pictures. We chatted away while we created our works of art. (Those pictures are being sent to an auntie.) It was a great opportunity for me and the girls to simply connect and have fun together.

We went for a bike ride with Auntie P and her boyfriend J. They live in NY, so we get to see them from time to time. It was funny to watch all of them together. J and Auntie P took turns pushing the back of A2’s bike. Then they took turns chasing C4 on her bike. They even played a chase game together. It was priceless to watch them play!

Grammie brought a couple of baby birds over today, too. (She breeds birds of all kinds.) The girls love to pet her birds. I love how they have a unique opportunity to learn about birds. They see first hand what baby birds look and feel like. They are learning to be gentle and care for an animal. And it is a special hobby that they share with their grandmother.

A memory making day indeed!

Photo courtesy of djakartafotografi.com

Photo by nancybcrow

Balancing it all seems impossible in our busy world. I have been trying to find a way to organize my life so that I am able to finish the things that have to get done and still have time to do the things I want to do. Isn’t that everyone’s situation?

One clear answer that God has given me is to ask for help. We prize independence in the US, and that has been detrimental to our lives. God created us to be in relationship with Him and others. (Luke 10:27) We cannot do this thing called life alone! So I have been taking the initiative to ask for help. God has even blessed me and my family with the help that we need without us asking for it.

One example of taking advantage of some help is the winter clothes scenario. Switching our seasonal clothes has been a huge undertaking for me. It has actually taken me 3 weeks to complete the project! I have to remind myslef that we have two young children who demand a lot of attention and care. We also have very little storage so our clothes are stored in the attic that is only accessible with a ladder. It takes two people to put things up there and take things down from there. E is in school part time and out of the house 2-3 nights a week. Of course this project is time consuming! My wonderful father has been a huge help for me, though. From caring for the children to helping me organize the clothes, he has done it all. I could not have finished the project without him!

God graciously provided me with the help that I needed because I asked for it! I am eternally grateful for that blessing. I just need to remember that God wants me to remain in community with Him and the people in my life who He has blessed me with. I need to pray and ask for help. I also need to take the help that is offered.

I am learning to balance it all by asking for the help that I need to do the things I have to do. Along the way I am doing the things I want to do – build relationships with the caring people in my life!

My kids make me laugh. They are such funny little people. I love watching them play and listening in on their conversations. It is such a beautiful sight to see these two small, individuals develop a relationship with each other. It truly warms my heart when I see their kindness and their compassion toward one another. It is also equally heartbreaking when they cannot get along, or when they are intentionally mean to each other. It disappoints me so much when the mean and selfish side of them come out. I must say, though, that the benefit from having siblings is learning how to resolve disagreements. Siblings also learn how to accept other people for who they are. Have you ever watched that happen with your kids?

C4 likes to be in charge all of the time. A2, most of the time, gives in and follows. Our problems arise when A2 decides to assert an opinion. C4 does not take that well, so we have an explosion. It is interesting to watch the action, though. Today I spent time really looking at and listening to what was going on. The kids were playing so nicely, and both of them were part if the game. There was a great conversation about the game, too. Then C4 took over by changing the flow of the game. When A2 squawked about C4 changing the game, C4 actually started shushing and spent time explaining the game better. That actually diffused most of the disagreement. It was remarkable because, until recently, I always had to intercede to avoid a physical fight. Today they were able to work it out, though. We are making progress! It is amazing what you can learn when you have a sibling!

My husband and I have been together for what seems like forever – 12 years. We met when I was 19 and in college still. In retrospect, in many ways I am glad that I met him when we were both so young. We have been through many life changing events as a couple and really have grown up, so to speak, together. We don’t have to go into long explanations about our opinions or what happened in our families long ago. We even accepted Christ and got baptized together, so we know what we were both like before we were saved. This means so much to me and to us as a couple.

Sometimes, though, knowing someone for so long means that your old baggage gets carried around for the rest of your relationship. You both leave things unresolved, or you regret past mistakes and haven’t forgiven each other. The way that you as a couple solve problems may not have been very healthy in the past, and that behavior pattern might still haunt you now.

Then there is the inevitable transition to parenthood that turns your world upside down. As a couple you are used to doing things a certain way, or you can ignore and avoid chronic problems in your relationship when it is just the two of you. Once a little one arrives on the scene, though, things change. You cannot ignore your problems anymore. Things that seemed like minor issues before are magnified now because of lack of sleep and increased stress. The weak parts of your relationship are stretched to the limit. Having children forces you to take a long look at your marriage. What have we done about the stressful situations that test our relationship?

E and I have found that prayer is by far one of the most effective ways to make changes in our marriage. On the day we got married, we invited God into our relationship. Our marriage is built on the rock called Jesus, so we need to let Him do the work that we cannot do ourselves. For me personally it has meant that I pray for my husband, our marriage, and for me as a wife regularly. I ask God to change our hearts and to be ever present in our marriage. I have read and reread scripture (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:21-33) about the marriage relationship. E and I also pray together for each other at least 4 nights a week. We continually work on those areas that we find causing the most problems. We also try to have time alone without our children. Although we value family time, we know that we will continue to be married even after the children have left our home. It is essential for us to have a solid relationship because without that, there really is no family and we will be left with nothing after the children are grown.

I hope that this week you and your husband can find some time to pray with each other and for each other as well as spend some time alone building a solid marriage on the Rock.