Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy. Sometimes they are awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
It’s amazing what a difference a week can make! This week was so much better and when I did feel tensions rising and moods getting ready to turn to the negative I knew what needed to happen. I’d put down the housework, turn on worship music, and we’d cuddle on the couch. Or we’d turn on Just Dance Kids and wiggle until we giggled. It broke the hold that the stress of homework, housework, or whatever else had on us and gave us a chance to simply be together.
1. Mommy Son date
Last Sunday it was Anders’ turn for a date and he chose a pizza place for “pie-apple” pizza. He’s an easily distracted little dude so it took a good thirty to forty minutes for him to finish one piece but we got to chat, as much as a three year old can have a real conversation, and then stopped by Target for new toothpaste – super exciting! But he always feels like such a big boy when he gets to walk through the store without a cart. If you aren’t doing dates with your kids I highly encourage it! It doesn’t need to be anything extravagant or even spendy – just find something you can do one on one with them so you can really get to know them.
2. Dollies
Mercedes tied these two babies together because she wanted to make sure they were never lonely. She set up a table with “snacks” and the pink case she pretended was a TV. I walked in as she was feeding the dolls their snacks and had them chatting to each other. She never used to really play with her dolls but in the last few months it’s about the only thing she goes for during quiet time.
3. Bible journaling
Micah got me a journaling Bible for Christmas and while I haven’t gotten to do a huge amount of pages I’m trying to pull it out once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. This week I decided to use coloring sheets to help my doodling. I printed off a sheet from Jo Ditt that came in last year’s Ultimate Homemaking Bundle and used it for the stars on this page in Philippians. Bible journaling used to be so intimidating but now that I realized it’s about spending time with God and not about how incredible I can make my page look I’ve come to love it.
4. Mom scavenger hunt
Last Thursday was Mom’s Night Out for my MOPS group – a chance for the moms to get together with no kiddos and do something fun! This month our activity was a scavenger hunt at the mall – it was soooo much fun. We split into groups and had a list of 30 tasks. We ran around like teenagers and laughed so hard. Most of the store and mall employees thought we were also hilarious but there were a few that weren’t so amused. Ultimately my team wasn’t the winner but we did come in second. I’m so blessed to have such a great group of ladies to learn and do this whole motherhood thing with.
5. Mommy son date number two
Two dates in one week! Cade and I went to the same pizza place on Friday because obviously what one twin does, the other twin needs to do as well. Cade chose pepperoni olive pizza while I went for BBQ chicken. He had all sorts of things to tell me and he managed to eat three slices of his pizza before it was time to go. These boys are definitely as different as they come!
6. Exhausted kids
Friday night our church’s youth group offered child care for date night until 10pm and you know we had to take advantage of that! Then we were up and out of the house by 830a to take the two hour drive to Micah’s sister’s house for our nephew’s second birthday. We hung out most of the day then headed back home just before 4pm. It didn’t take long for three of the kids to conk out. Taking a picture was a challenge so it’s not super clear but obviously these boys were TIRED! And Parker tried to argue that he wasn’t sleeping – ha! Thankfully we got a low key Sunday and stayed home for the day once we returned from church.