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Sunday, April 4, 2010

Moments with Mommy

This weekend Joy and I had a wonderful time just spending some mother/daughter time.  It is so hard sometimes to find time one on one with our children.  What with homeschooling, the size of our family, chores, and everything else that goes along with managing a home, it is difficult to cultivate those special times to get to know our children and spend special time with them by themselves.  After talking it over with my dh, we came up with a plan to take each of our children out somewhere just one on one periodically.  I would start with the oldest and go down.  He would start with the youngest and go up.  I would be the first...and next time, it is his turn.  That way, no child is waiting too long before they have that special parent time.  In between some of these special times, we are going to be deliberate in making sure we plan times that we can all be together as a family and do things as well.  It looks as though we will not be able to take vacation as we had hoped this summer, so these are our mini-vacations!  It is a way to keep our children's hearts and hopefully it will provide lovely memories they will have for a lifetime.


This is before we left the house for our day out.  We had lunch at Jason's Deli.  Then, I took Joy to the yarn store to replenish her stock of yarn so she could finish her afghan. 

Aren't these yarn colors beautiful?  The store is a small one, but just lovely with all the delightful looking colors.

Once we left the yarn store, we headed downtown to the quilt store.  We were surrounded by so many different gorgeous fabrics, it was hard to see it all. 

There were quilts all over the walls as decoration.  I really like this one with the appliqued picture.  The flowers we made out of buttons!

This was another quilt on the wall.  I really like the colors of this one, too.

Afterwards, Joy and I went into a few more stores downtown.  We found some out of print Landmark books...that was a great deal!  Then we got a couple of drinks from a nearby gas station and headed to the park to just sit on a bench and enjoy the day together.

Now this was a most unexpected sight at the park.  At a distance...I thought this beautiful Macaw might just be fake...but it most certainly was not.  And when we arrived at this bench...his owner was no where in sight.  We were quite perplexed to say the least.

This is Joy "talking" with the bird.

After we had taken a few shots of the bird, the owner came back and allowed Joy to get a picture with the bird on her shoulder.  Then he talked with us for quite some time and we learned so much about parrots!  It was quite fascinating.  This particular bird goes with him lots of places, doesn't fly off and eats hamburgers, spaghetti, mac and cheese and while we were there he had a few french fries!
This is the owner showing us a few of his bird tricks.  We really enjoyed talking with him about his bird.

The next few pictures are of the nusery we went to after the park.  The flowers were amazing.  We both are extremely fond of flowers.  It is so nice to share some of these same interests with my children.  Joy has become a close friend as well as my daughter. 

We ended the day with aching feet, but happy hearts.  I have a feeling this is going to be one of the nicest alternatives to a vacation that we have ever had!  She thanked me many times for taking her and told me how much she enjoyed spending time with me alone.  But you know, I believe I was the one that was blessed the most!  I encourage you, if you do not already, make time to take your children out one on one.  It doesn't have to be for a long time and you don't even have to spend any money.  Just a time to let them know they have your undivided attention.  Just remember, you are investing for an eternity.  Shalom!

12 comments:

Stacie, A Firefighter's Wife said...

I'll be posting on my date with my little four year old. He said the cutest thing!

Steve and I have decided to start taking the children on one on one dates. We have a list going so that they will each get one with Mom and Dad. It has been such a wonderful thing to do. I'm just loving it!

His bondservant said...

Stacie,

I look forward to reading your post on your date. It was a real blessing to me and I look forward to time with my next child.

Blessings,
Jackie

redeemed diva said...

What a pretty day! So full of colour

Camille said...

I love this idea Jackie ~ especially that you and your hubby will alternate and begin at opposite ends of the family. You are so right ~ we are investing in eternal things and developing relationships with our children at the same time. What a lovely day you had with your young lady! It's also a special treat to see YOU...it makes it feel more like we are friends that way! :)

Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Camille

Gail said...

Such sweet memories you are creating! Good job mamma!

His bondservant said...

Camille,

Thanks for the sweet comment. I will be honest...I never like myself in pictures...it was at my daughter's begging that I put that picture in..so thanks for the encouragment.

His bondservant said...

Thanks Gail!

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

What a wonderful time you had. You can just see the joy in both your faces. I'm sorry you can't take a vacation this year, but you are right, these "dates" will be even better.

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

I'm glad to see some pictures of you, too. You are a beautiful woman!

Lois said...

I have been off-line for a few weeks, so I was delighted to see your updates, and I'm so happy your family is together again.

We've had father/daughter/son and mom/daughter/son time for several years. The bonding is priceless. By my calculations, your middle child will benefit from 2 parent times back to back! A rare treat for a middler. Anyway, don't forget husband/wife time too!

One thing my husband did for me when the kids were much smaller was to give me one mom's day out a month. He and the kids had so much fun together, and I got to shop, read, bike ride, whatever I wanted. He did the cooking and laundry that day too.

I agree with Camille. It was good to see your picture too....so different from your profile.

His bondservant said...

Jackie,

You are too sweet. You know how to make someone feel good!

His bondservant said...

Lois,

Good to hear from you again. I am glad you are back online. Yes, we are definitely going to have wonderful memories from these times. And although I don't usually get a whole day every month, my husband is very good about allowing me to take a couple hours here and there spontaneously to just have "me" time. It is a real time of refreshment for me. It is harder to have husband/wife time, because of the babysitting thing, but we actually have a lunch date planned very shortly...so we do that as much as possible too. So glad to hear from you again...been missing you!