Love Notes for Kids

We had a really amazing and busy summer.

And now it's almost over.

The older I get (or the older my KIDS get, if I'm telling the truth), the more I relish the slower pace even while preparing for crazy trips. I love having the kids at home and staying up late and sleeping in late.  I love having crazy busy schedules full of unusual things and days we stay in jammies all day. Summer is good.

During one of our trips this summer our youngest stayed with grandparents.  When my bigs were little I always made them some type of memory present when we left them.  One year it was a personalized handmade laminated ABC book complete with rhyming and pictures.  In most ways being an older mom of a preschooler is better (I wrote about it here), but that obsessive younger mom did great projects that I have simplified to the point of "projects that barely exist."  

So, here's an idea that was simple and really meaningful for our 4 year old this summer. I thought of it while buying last minute travel items.  I bought four small gift enclosure cards (the little ones you find next to the wrapping paper at Wal-mart) and one sweet little book.  At home I chose 3 books we already have that are special to our family; ones that had been favorites of my two older children.  I wrote notes in each of the cards sharing why the books were special.  Then I taped the notes to each book and wrapped the books individually in wrapping paper and put them in a cheap little Dora bag.  

While we were gone, my mom spread the four little "presents" out over the week and read the cards and books with her.....isn't that sweet?

Ahhh. 

She keeps this little bag with the books and notes together weeks after vacation.

We LOVE this book....so much, for real.

I still can't make it all the way through this book....it is so sweet!

Can you see where she added her name to the top of this little note? 

Sweet new book, just for Anna.

I also sent a water color painting set with her....to Grandmother's house.
Don't be mad, at least I left the kazoo at home!

Here's a list of the books I used:

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
• Kate Gleeson's Wonderful You by Caroline Kennemuth
• Jesus Loves Me All the Time by E. Elaine Watson
• I Love You More by Laura Duksta

I'd love to hear suggestions of your favorite books to use in a little project like this....

Kool-Aid Play dough

I made a mistake today....

I said, "Yes" when my daughter asked me if she could play with play dough, forgetting that I had thrown away every single tiny little bit I could find after the last time she played with it. [Feel free to insert mean mom thoughts here, although my socks would assert that play dough is really the mean one].

Since it's just the two of us today and she was very nearly bouncing off the walls I remembered this fun project and grabbed my camera.

When my 15 year old was little I found this Valentine idea in Family Fun magazine.  We made these cute little play dough hearts using this Kool-Aid recipe.  I also made this with my littlest one and blogged about it here, if you want to see the adorable pictures. 

I love this play dough because we don't have to get our hands in food coloring (mostly), but also because it adds color and fragrance in one easy step....heehee.  Fruit Punch is brightest, but any flavor works.  Just be sure to get UNSWEETENED Kool-Aid mix.  Sugar is not our friend in this recipe.

Here she is at 5, still loving the Play Dough!

Here are the main ingredients all ready to go.

Here is my little sweetheart measuring, she got all dressed up in her brand new school clothes even though it's 110 outside. Did I mention she was excited about making play dough?

Measure out the flour....

Measure out the salt.....

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and whisk in some water.....

Bring the whole mess to a boil.....

Keep stirring.....seriously, don't walk away from this stuff.

Don't get freaked out by lumps, this stuff is reverse gravy and it will all work out in the end....

Almost done....

See how it is a little bit darker on the bottom? That means it is almost ready.....

Once it has firmed up to a "moldable play dough consistency" dump it out and knead it to soften....

Then let those kiddos have fun with some super smelling super cheap [still super messy, but worth it] play dough!

This 4 cup container is the perfect size for storage.....

Kool-Aid Play Dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid (fruit punch makes the brightest color)
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 teaspoons cooking oil
2 cups water
Mix flour, salt, Kool-Aid mix, and cream of tartar in a medium sized saucepan and stir to combine.  Add oil and water and mix well with a whisk.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture darkens just a little bit and thickens to the consistency of play dough.  Turn out onto parchment paper or counter to cool and knead to soften.  Store in an airtight container.

An Advent Lesson

This post is about how we are celebrating Advent this year, sort of.  Mostly it's a lesson I learned while preparing to do Advent this year.  And by preparing I mean deciding on November 30th that we were going to have a little Advent lesson with our kids every night for 25 nights.

Yeah, right.

Years ago I started out with those intentions, and planned exceedingly and maddeningly accordingly.  Then I moved us to a weekly Advent (but that had to start by the last weekend in November), so I switched it to a "every night-ish for the four nights before Christmas" schedule which had to be modified and ultimately dropped.  I studied and researched and wrote and shared and decorated and taught it...but when it came time to actually do it at home, it never happened easily and I felt like a huge failure.  So I've been focusing on other ways to bring the true meaning of Christmas into our family the last couple of years and He's been sure (as always) to make Himself known when I look for Him.

When your life is about Jesus, 
of course your Christmas is too....

But Advent hasn't really been on my radar.  Quite honestly I'd grown a bit cynical about the whole thing.  I'd digressed to the point of eye-rolling and toddler fussing when I ran across a beautiful and involved Advent idea on a blog or on face book.  Something along the lines of "As if."

So this year, we finish Thanksgiving and my husband and I are out to lunch on the last day of November [the LAST day of November, my over-planning sisters are feeling my pain here].  We are talking about Christmas plans coming up and he says, "We should do Advent with the kids."  Insert previous paragraph running through my mind along with "yeah like we could plan an entire month of Advent lessons by tomorrow" and end with me saying, "Shuuurre, honey."  But he wasn't giving up this idea and started throwing out these fabulous ideas. So he paid the bill and we headed to Wal-mart to buy teaching props for 25 days of unplanned Advent lessons with our three children ages 4-14.  I did slow him down enough to brainstorm some ideas in the parking lot before we went in.  I grabbed an envelope that was lingering in my purse, wrote numbers down one side, and a beautiful thing happened.  We sat there and made up 25 little teaching points about real Christmas.  Not our favorite memories or reasons we love the season; 25 reasons we love Jesus and the story of His miraculous arrival to our troubled little world.  As we both threw out ideas and I jotted and scribbled, my heart filled with joy.  Not happy joy as all my little organized and researched Advent ideas went out the window, but humbly corrected joy. Joy because I was sitting in a car with a man who loves Jesus enough to know His story and creatively tell it to our children.  Seriously people, that could be The End.

As I happily drove home later, I began to plan how I would type up our ideas and add a few little things just to clarify and keep us on track, you know.  And then I was reminded of that humble joy and I knew that this was not to be messed with in any way.  I was only to follow, and I have. We've had six semi-planned, semi-spontaneous, semi-short, sometimes silly, Scripture-filled, amazing little life lessons about Jesus.

And the Mom-sized lessons keep coming.  I had decided I would just try to keep our youngest from being a distraction so the older two could really learn and participate.  On Day 4 we read the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew (I'm totally not teasing...we did that, we are such Bible nerds.)  When the kids opened the box that night there was a fishing worm and a butterfly ornament.  We shared the stories of the five women in Jesus' heritage and the truth that God takes things that are ugly and makes them beautiful.  As we hung the butterfly on the tree and asked our kids some questions to see if they understood our four year old piped up, "God takes mean things and makes them beautiful butterflies" And she said it like only a four year old girl can say the phrase beeyootiful butterflies.  Be-still my heart.

So here's an un-Advent lesson on marriage from my last couple of weeks of living:

If you love Jesus and aren't yet married; 

Marry a man that you can follow.  

One who, when he is really following God, 
is hard to keep pace with.

and will forgive you for ending a phrase with a preposition....

If you love Jesus and are already married; 

Give your husband room to lead your family.  

Don't over-plan, 

Don't smother him with expectations, 

Don't re-do his efforts.

Choose to follow.

Voices

My son just started high school.  Sniff. The end.

Not really, it’s going great.  I’m always astounded at the stress I put this kid through.  Being the oldest child is a challenge when your mom is a control freak.  We made it through the first few weeks and I’m feeling pretty proud of how low key I was.  I sent my husband to do all the neurotic things.  He makes it look like normal concern rather than mom paranoia.

I’ve worked with teenagers since I was one (a teenager, that is).  I love this age.  I love their idealism and energy.  I remember learning a lesson about raising teenagers several years ago when my big kids were still very little.  One of “my girls” (I still think of that group of high schoolers as “my girls” even though they are grown with families now) called me and asked if she could come see me and ask me about some things she was struggling with.  She wasn’t having some kind of crisis of faith or morality.  She has a wonderful mother who had carefully and rightly instructed her. I think she just needed to hear someone she trusted echo God’s voice in what she was being told by her parents.  As we talked and I shared my short (then) years’ experiences with her she mentioned that her mom was a little confused that she wanted to come talk to me, when I would probably give her the same advice…..

I totally get this.  I have swallowed extreme frustration hearing my kids repeat the same instruction I’ve given them (which they seemed to ignore) with new words given them by someone else as if this advice is genius and breakthrough.  This also happens with husbands but that is for a different post called never.

Since then I’ve heard this described as the “voices” in our kids’ lives.  As I sat next to my teenage son eating Mexican food the other night, listening in as he talked and talked and talked to his youth minister across the table I remembered “my girl” from years ago. This is good stuff, because as he talks he also listens and I know he will be hearing true instruction and encouragement.  Instead of being threatened that my kids don’t bow in gratitude and hang on my every word (which is never going to happen and is probably why I talk to myself a lot), I should look up and be thankful that God is faithful to speak to my kids in lots of different ways which all echo HIS OWN VOICE!  That is the goal.  Instead of fussing at them for not listening to me, maybe I should just rejoice with them when they learn Truth and smile to the One who always sees and hears. 

Yes, I want to be faithfully instructing and sharing with my children.  It is a huge responsibility that is not to be pawned off onto others. BUT, neither is it meant to be completed by me. This passage should be a humble description of me as I venture for the first time into the high school parenting waters……

”There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” 
Philippians 1:6 Message

My kids need to be hearing this verse in my words to them and about them to others, in my hopeful and high expectations of their behavior, and my quick forgiveness of their mistakes.  Because in the end it’s all about God; He does, He is (to repeat a text from a precious friend recently).  So I will be diligent to instruct and be instructed, to protect my children from dangerous and lying voices, even while allowing other truthful voices to speak over them often and creatively.

This month I’ve been studying Psalm 107.  In verse 3, the people are praising God that He has “gathered them” from all directions where they have been scattered away from home and one another.  I learned that when He gathers them it is His action to “bring them together because they are attracted, not called.” 

This is good, really good and challenging, and irritating because my parenting technique is typically more about calling than attracting. 

So here’s what I’m learning; parenting isn’t about me doing a good job, it’s about God being free and abounding in our family because He is free and abounding in the secrecy and display of my own life.  Family is meant to be God reflective; full of echoes and glimpses that attract my children more powerfully than the voices of lies calling for their attention. 

“Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the Voices of those who celebrate.

I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

Their children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me….”

Jeremiah 30:19-20

Summer Intentions

June Craziness has begun!  I've just returned from Kid's Camp with my oldest daughter, such a great week.....and the wonderful crazy schedule continues on Monday.  But today we have a rare slow Saturday.   Right now our kids are all resting or playing.  It's a unique family day of unplanned activity.  My baby girl keeps asking me what we are going to do today, she's just not used to this!  I anticipate they will all begin to get pretty stir-crazy soon and we will find something to do, but for now I'm enjoying the quiet. 

I used to schedule and plan summer times and then send my kids back to school in August feeling like a frustrated failure because we never made it through our list and never stuck to the schedule.  I don't do that to myself anymore.  Instead I try to make the most of every teachable opportunity we are given.  I wrote about these types of intentions here, Cupcake Saturday.  I thought this Saturday was a good time to revisit those thoughts.

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity...."   Ephesians 5:15-16

Instead of trying to control our time, maybe we should see the time we are given as an opportunity to make a name for Jesus....and make the most of it.

Watching kiddos swim at Camp....

Graduation and a Milk Moustache

We are about to have our first graduation.  This year our son will graduate from 8th grade and move on to high school.  Our school goes from little bitties (4 year olds) to 8th grade, and has a graduation ceremony when they finish those precious years.  This morning I got to see an image that I think perfectly sums up this stage in life. 

It was just a normal morning, my big kids were sitting at the breakfast table eating leftover cinnamon rolls before they rush out the door for Monday morning school.  I asked my son about his week and what might be coming up that we both needed to be remembering as we did a lot of unfortunate forgetting last week.  His eyes shot open wide and he ran for his backpack and pulled out a plastic bag containing a royal blue cap and gown. 

I have graduation on my calendar and on the fringe of my mind.  Knowing that it's coming and feeling both excited and a little afraid of my reaction has kept it on the edge.  It seems for us that 8th grade is that year when I can begin to see glimpses of the adult he will be and want to burst with pride; but still relish (or roll my eyes in exasperation) at the childishness that shows up on a daily basis too.

This morning he finished up his breakfast and carefully unwrapped his graduation cap.  He tried it on after several questions and a tutorial from mom.  As he looked up and grinned at me I saw the image that perfectly encapsulates 8th grade.  He had a very distinguished look on his face as he gazed up toward the corner of the room and sported his most impressive smartypants grown up face -  
Complete with a milk moustache. 

I hope I never forget, every single day is a gift.

"Train up a child in the way he should go

[and in keeping with his individual gift or bent],

and when he is old he will not depart from it." 

Proverbs 22:6, Amplified Version

Jesus says.....Drink your milk.

Our baby who is 3 preaches some great sermons. Our big kids did similarly spectacular and hilarious things which I swore I'd never forget - but, I have.  We have a few stories that we recollect on occasion but I know it's not even close to the delightful stories they actually gave us.  I'm determined to remember more, especially since my memory is worse now than....well, before.  So I wrote this whole exchange down the last week......

I was cleaning the kitchen while my youngest was coloring at the kitchen table.  She found this wonderful coloring book that belonged to her sister years ago.

She was re-doing her sister's past efforts and exploring her discovery and began asking me questions.....Guess who comes to your life Momma?  (after a few attempts to follow and answer we got on the same page).  She then launches into this little sermon.

"Jesus comes to your life momma because he loves you soooooo much.  He likes to ride on a donkey and tell everyone about his family.  He tells us to not to be afraid, to use your power, and drink your milk."

Seriously, could this be any better?  I love this because it is so very much her own words, which means it comes from her own heart - she's beginning to understand and remember stories about Jesus.  And He is pretty irresistible once you start knowing His stories and the undeniable fact that He does love you sooooo much.  I've been mulling it around all weekend and I just wonder what would happen if we followed her advice?

If I really let go of fear;
"But when I am afraid,I will put my trust in you." Psalm 56:3

If I really relied on the power He has given me;
"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." 2 Peter 1:3

If I really took care of myself.
"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

Yep, that's a great sermon.

Sure do love that girl.  Her life has already taught me so much - can't wait to see what else He has in store.

Hope she encouraged you today,

Jamy

Here she is practicing what she preached, "Jesus says eat cake?"
Oh, never mind.

P.S.

Here's a reward for reading to the end.  Lest you think we have it all together here in the Fisher home.....the next day we started a new conversation with "Momma, guess who comes to your life?"  Answer......Curious George - the coloring book of the day.

More Prayer for the Kiddos

I've been convicted about praying more for my kids - this is the closest thing I have to a New Year's Resolution.  Maybe like me you believe in praying for your kids but would like to move past "Please  Lord, let her go to sleep"  or "Guide my child to remember to hang up his jacket before I explode mom guts all over him" or "God, if you will help us to make it out of the grocery store without needing a mop or an ambulance I promise I'll volunteer in the church nursery Sunday."   Now don't get me wrong, God hears mom-crisis prayers in all varying degrees of lucidity.  I'm convinced that the little pleas for "help" I send throughout the day keep me connected to Him and often provide just the deep breath I need.  But there has to be more. 

I want to see the miraculous reality of my kids' lives reflecting the content of my prayers over them....  the deliberate and Scripture-filled prayer that echoes God's own plans and desires.

So today I fished out this little copy of verses to pray for your kids out of my Supermom binder of good ideas and intentions and picked out a few to help me remember to make this privilege a priority.  I believe that my kids are held in the hand of God, but even as I trust Him with these precious ones I want to be cooperating with His goals for them.

Here are some verses I love, with some comments because I can't help myself.  I like to read and especially pray verses in different translations to keep them new and thought-provoking in my heart and mind. 


Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

"Guard your heart above all else,
      for it determines the course of your life."
What a great verse for kids as they face battles for their attachments every day.

 

Psalm 33:20-22 (English Standard Version)

"²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD;
   he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you."
This is a great family passage full of pleas for protection and statements of trust.

Proverbs 1:10 (American Standard Version)

"My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not."
This one kinda cracks me up and I love this translation....this one definitely "prays" well.  It lectures well too! Personally I might add an "est" to the end of "consent" for added flair.  This is just too true and rolls off the tongue so easily.

 

1 Corinthians 15:33 (Contemporary English Version)

"Don't fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you."
A favorite of our youth minister....and a great truth to pray over kids especially on those panic days when it seems my influence is fading compared to that of friends!

Isaiah 54:13 (Amplified Bible)

"And all your children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children."
Ah, great peace and undisturbed composure in the lives of my kids?  Yes please, and some for me too.  What great specific requests!

Colossians 1:9-12 (Contemporary English Version)

"⁹We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.

   ¹⁰Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better.

   ¹¹His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

   ¹²I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light."
An all-time favorite and my life-long goal and prayer for my kids.  This is a unique list of qualities to pray over children.  With all my heart I pray that this can be a eulogy for each of them at the end of lives well-lived.

So maybe you will join me in praying for the kids around you - your children or grandchildren, kids you see in your neighborhood or that give you a hug on Sunday mornings - what a privilege to talk about them to the Father.  Truly the best kind of tattling.

Heritage

This is another of my Christmas treasures.  It's a photograph of my Grandmother and her white Christmas tree.  Although she smiled and laughed often, she did not like having her picture taken and usually looked very serious in photos.  We think that my aunt took this picture and that perhaps Grandmother thought it was just of the tree not realizing she was the real target.  She looks like herself in this picture, relaxed and content.  It must be a Saturday morning because her hair looks great - she'd probably been to the beauty shop on Friday.

My husband noticed this picture the other night and commented on the amount of presents under her tree.  She loved Christmas and made it very special.  I have lots of memories of knee deep wrapping paper chaos in that room.  She and my Pappy were farmers and lived just outside of our hometown.  We loved visiting the farm, but loved visiting them more.  She loved bright colors, like purple and turquoise blue and had a  flamboyant classy streak as evidenced by the peacocks that roamed her farm.  She also was a good ole' gal who could help feed cattle or pull fence if she had to.  She loved God and loved people and they loved her back.  She wasn't perfect, but she was so very special to us.  When she died we were astonished at the number of people we (her family) didn't know who came to the funeral, she served many anonymously.  I'll have to save those stories for another day.

My Grandmother died on my Mother's birthday my junior year at college.  One of my treasures is a green envelope that holds the letters she wrote to me those three years I was away.  This envelope has a particular place in my closet and they are beyond dear.

They are all very brief, one says,

OK, Sweetie,

I love you,

Grandmother

This is my favorite.....

It says,

"The greatest notion I can give you is to make the most of the hours you live.  God is faithful and to be trusted.  He provides every wonderful blessing.  My dear one, stand on your tiptoes eagerly awaiting His next surprising blessing."

She made the most of the hours she lived and she trusted God, not perfectly but consistently throughout prosperity and loss.  I think of her everytime I see a stalk of wheat or a white Christmas tree or a peacock.  Her legacy strengthens my faith and the faith of the generations to follow us both....a blessed heritage indeed.

"You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name." 

Psalm 61:5

Psalm 131 Thanksgiving Moment

Today was our Baby Girl's Thanksgiving Program at her Mother's Day Out Class.  Isn't she goofy and adorable?  This is our true girl, funny and smart - you'll see why this little disclaimer is important in a minute. 

I showed up early with my camera ready to take pictures.  All the little turkeys marched into the room.

She was ready for action - a cute little hat wearing giggling turkey.


But somewhere along the way, she got nervous about what was happening and started to cry......loudly.  So I went to her and tried to encourage her to hang in there and sing the turkey songs she'd been practicing.  The only thing she could say is, "I want you."  Sweet and lovely when it's time to go home, but irritating when she's supposed to be doing something else.  We talked a little bit and she let me walk her up to the stage.
 

Talking it over while her friends are on stage.

Our friend Shannon bribed her with chocolate and she made it. I sat on the floor right in front of all the three-year-olds.  She never even looked my way as she sang her heart out.  Her Daddy took a bajillion pictures (93 to be exact) and we all smiled and laughed. 

  

See how happy she is?  (follow the yellow arrow)  Little kids are just made for programs like these, I luuuuve them.  When she was doing what she had prepared to do and had been instructed to do she was happy and confident.

Right after she sang with her class.

As we drove home after an especially yummy Thanksgiving Dinner Preschool Style, I began to think about my girl's reaction to my presence there.  It wasn't enough for her that I was in the room watching.  This time she wanted to be right with me, on top of me in my lap.  The only reason she could give for her fear was that "I want you."  Doesn't really make sense from my point of view, because the whole reason I came is to see her and support her; to take pictures of her and clap ridiculously and even dance a little jig when she sang her turkey songs. 

God reminded me of this passage, one of my favorites:

Psalm 131 ESV

 ¹O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
   my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
  too great and too marvelous for me.
²But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   like a weaned child is my soul within me. 

 ³O Israel, hope in the LORD
   from this time forth and forevermore.



I love this little three verse chapter because it reminds me that God gives me hope and comfort and security for my future.  I love it more because it reminds me that there will be times when I don't get what I want.  Times when just knowing Him and the fact that He is the One looking toward my future and equipping me to live well today is enough.

I think about how many times I prepare for something He has called and instructed me to do (like Baby Girl's turkey songs) and let fear hold me back just as I take the stage.  I may be saying, "I just want you" to God, but that's not really it, I'm afraid. God has no great stake in my singing turkey songs, but He does want to teach me to walk without fear knowing that He is always with me because He knows that a life lived that way is the most powerful testimony.  He may be taking pictures from the front row sometimes instead of holding me on His Heavenly Hip, but He is there and He is intentional about the things He allows into my life to help me grow up. 

So sing those turkey songs,

and enjoy the miracle it is to share life with your Creator.

Happy Thankgiving!

Forever Family Day

This week we celebrated Family Day.  This is the anniversary of the finalization of our youngest daughter's adoption.  This tradition started (as is my manner) with a complicated idea that I have since simplified to be something my family actually enjoys.  We go out to eat somewhere nice and talk about family over the last year then have dessert together at home.  Part of our tradition is taking a family picture using the timer on the camera - which always yields funny results.  Dad and Baby Girl got to be the "focus models" before the real picture.........she loved the sound of the camera clicking on its own.

 How cute are these........she looks like an adorable cartoon. 

Fisher Family Day 2010

I would encourage you to choose a day to celebrate Family apart from your usual birthday and holiday celebrations.  Maybe it could be the anniversary of Mom and Dad's first date, or a special time when you know a miracle happened in your family - maybe a special accomplishment or gift that shaped your family. 

Each year our family picture goes into a little album that starts like this:

On this day every year we will celebrate what it means to be a family.  There are five of us.  Two of us chose one another to be the start of a family.  Then two were born into the Fisher home.  After that one was miraculously given to us to make our family complete.  And on November 8, 2007 her adoption was finalized.  On that day we became a Forever Family of Five.  And so each year we will celebrate the gift it is from God to have one another and to share our lives together.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (and in the Fisher Family) throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. 

Ephesians 3:20-21

And so we add a picture and a bunch of memories, lessons, stories, and goals to this book each year.  For us, adoption is a family miracle.  As one of my close friends who is also an adoptive mom said recently, "it fills me up to the top".  Yes ma'am!

Fishing

Our oldest has really become a fan of fishing.  I am a fan of him, and my girls are both fans of being outside......and the usual snacks and goodies that go along with such a trip. 

One of my favorite childhood memories is when my parents would pick up KFC and our family of five would go to a nearby lake.  There was a really fun spillway nearby and picnic pavilions that were probably within my mom's eyesight, but we had to cross a stream to get there and felt we had hiked several miles on our own.  We could crawl up on top of this particular stone pavilion.....I loved it, still do.

Happy memories.

October has become a crazy busy month for my husband, and we were really thrilled to have an evening to sneak away to go fishing last week.  We picked up a bucket of KFC (thus the nostalgic earlier ramblings) and headed to the pond.

We all had fun - the boys fishing, the girls playing in the mud and the little boat, the Mom taking pictures and eating KFC biscuits.

I had a great time taking and editing the pictures from that evening. 

These sweet little evenings are treasures.  Doesn't it seem that the ones we plan out in detail often pale in comparison to these "KFC fly by the seat of your pants" adventures?