Christmas Time

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

it's only been five days...

look at me go... it's only been five days since my last post and i am at it again!!!

this weekend ross and i took on a little project. in our house there is this strange 48" empty space in the kitchen where i would assume a built in desk would go but that must have been an upgrade that the original owners did not go for. for the last year i have had our wine cabinet there but never really liked it in that spot.

i've wanted a desk there but i wanted something kinda old that i could fix up. i have been looking on craigs list and last week i found an old desk for $20. i figured some sanding and paint would really bring this thing to life...i was right. i love my new red desk in the kitchen!



on the subject of summer break...the first few days were rough to say the least but yesterday i sat down and typed up a schedule, or maybe i should call it, an outline for our days. you know:

6am up, dress, feed
7am swim team practice/lessons
10am chores
11am free play
etc., etc., etc.

i even included special things for each day of the week. monday we cook something together, tuesdays we do an art project, wednesdays are science days, thursdays are our ministry day- meaning we do something for someone outside of our family- like bake cookies, write letters to soldiers and missionaries and then friday is "anything goes" day.

well yesterday we cooked...sort of. we dipped pretzels in white chocolate and then poured sprinkles on top. they had a blast! i actually enjoyed it too. when i am intentional then i am not as quick to get aggravated at the mess.
today was art day...if you know me at all then you know that i am not really an artist. i am a doodler. that being said we pulled up some examples of pointillism and talked about. we stood close to the picture and then far away and talked about what the differences were. it was really need to hear their observations. we then got out paper and markers and tried doing our own pointillism pictures. henry and daphne both seemed to enjoy trying something new which was worth it to me.
after we had been working on our pictures for a bit anna wandered off to our room only to curl up on the floor and fall asleep. daphne grew tired of pointillism and so began to draw instead. this led to our first ever picture of non other than a porta potty. yes that's right people...my daughter drew a purple porta potty (try saying that ten times fast).
so there you have it- our week. we have had a great day. an intentional day. a fun day! i am thankful for each of my little knuckleheads and for the time we have together.


Lord, i thank You for every moment of today. for the way Your mercies are new every morning for each of us. thank you for hearing my cry and shining light in the dark places of my heart so that truth can land there, take root and bear fruit. this is the day You have made and i will rejoice and be glad in it!!

4 comments:

Emily Ryan said...

I love the new flair on art projects; I seem to be stuck in a cycle of painting, drawing, and play-doh. I'll have to try pointilism! :-) Love the red desk too! Hope yall have a great summer, although that 6 am start every day would scare the spit out of me! :-)

Elizabeth said...

Ummm. Will you be my life coach?

In all seriousness, I have been so convicted lately about being intentional with my time with the kids. I wasn't even sure to begin, other than coming up with a schedule of some sort. This post was exactly what I needed. Will you post even more details about your schedule since I am so hopeless? Or . . . er, e-mail me? How do you get your ideas (but assuming you are just creative person). How much time do you use to plan each week? How do you make sure things don't get too rigid?

R said...

oh my goodness...i LOVE the desk! desks are my love language. :0) i'd have one in every room if i could.

and the summer schedule? inspiring! i want to do something similar, even though none of mine are in school yet. but you hit the nail on the head..."intentional"!!! that needs to be my mantra.

laurie said...

I totally second Elizabeth...you are an amazing with with creativity just oozing out. Pass it this way sista! So can I send my boys to Camp Mandy? I love your ideas and the freshness of summer that you want to have with your kiddos.