To Daddy

June 15, 2014 at 1:00 am (Children's perspective, Family Life)
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In honour of my father and husband – two men who fill my life with love.

Daddy and me

Daddy and me

To Daddy, from Me ~

All my life you have shown me what it is to have fun. I love playing with you, even now that I am grown. You have taught me to hold high standards, and strive to stick to them. Now I try to pass those standards on to my own children. You have been my provider, reflecting the way God is our heavenly provider. Thanks for being my friend and my father. I love you and miss you.

To Papa, from Prince ~

You are very fun. You show me what to do to have fun – like you are. And great Papa parades, riding on motorbikes in the back garden, and it’s SO fun with you, Papa! I can’t wait till it’s Christmas and you come to open presents with us. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! Well, Papa – thanks for being my fun and funny Papa.  Bye, bye! See you again soon! [Squeezy hug] Love, Prince.

The best Papa in the world.

The best Papa in the world.

To Papa, from Princess ~

I’ve got two teeth missing, but maybe I can find them! So – all I want for Christmas is them! And Papa, I really love you. Thanks for being our Papa. I’m very pleased about you. You’re the best Papa in the world. Love, Princess. ooo xxx

To my Husband, from Me ~

I love the way you teach our children to love God. I love the way they adore you, and can’t wait to play with you every evening. I love the way you show them how to love others – especially me. I love the way you protect us all, and work hard for us all. I love the way you support our home education, spurring me and the kids on in our learning adventures. We are so blessed to have you as the servant leader of our household, a role you fill so well. ‘You’re the million reasons why there’s love reflecting in my eyes.’ I love you.

To Daddy, from Prince ~

I love you. Thanks for being our Daddy. You are the best one in the world! It’s so fun being with you all the time, on very special days like Father’s Day and Saturdays. You’re very cool too – you can draw very well, and you make very cool Lego outlines for me too. Thanks! Love from Prince. [hug, hug, squeezy hug]

To Daddy, from Princess ~

I love you so much. Thank you for working for us. And Daddy, you are my very special daddy. I’m so pleased that it’s Father’s day. I love about you that you are so special to me, and you are my Daddy and I love you. Sometimes you are a bit like Jesus, I feel, because you save me sometimes. Love Princess x

Special times with Daddy.

Special times with Daddy.

 

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Lessons from my son

May 22, 2014 at 12:00 pm (Children's perspective, Guest Post, Parenting)
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With thanks to my dear friend Monique for writing her second guest post here at Writing on the Doorposts!

I became a mom two and a half years ago and I remember thinking, ‘I have so much to teach my baby boy.’ The thought was rather overwhelming at the time. Actually to be honest, I was scared of such a responsibility. My prayers increased as I cradled, fed, nurtured, burped, and changed him. Now that two and a half years have passed, God has shown me something amazing. While I am training up my child Thaddeus, he is, at the same time, teaching me life-changing lessons. There are several lessons I have learned, but here I will list three.

Beauty

“While I am training up my child Thaddeus, he is, at the same time, teaching me life-changing lessons.”

Open your eyes. My son Thaddeus has taught me to open my eyes to my surroundings. His curious nature allows him to point and say, “Look Mama, ant!” I can tell you that without my two year old’s keen vision I would have missed the opportunity to see the busy ant walking back and forth to its anthill (Proverbs 30:24-25).  Another example is when I’m carrying Thaddeus and he waves to the person behind us in the checkout line at the store. Without him doing that, I might have easily forged ahead with my errands and not stopped to speak to the person behind me in line.

Enjoy the moment. Thaddeus loves life! He is full of energy and doesn’t let things wear him down. As an adult, I get caught up in the worries of this life, such as paying bills. It is important, as an adult, to be responsible and take care of what God has given us, but we must also enjoy each breath God has blessed us with and live for each moment.

Keep looking up. Thaddeus looks up a lot searching for airplanes in the sky. When he sees one, he shouts with glee, “Airdplan!” This has reminded me to look up more, figuratively speaking. My Heavenly Father is up in Heaven and my life here should consist of “ups.” I should be living my life in such a way that people will want to look up and know more of my Father. My desire is to live one day in my heavenly home with my God.

I am so thankful to have been blessed with the role of “mom” in this life. It’s a beautiful thing to see life through the eyes of a child.

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Defining Moments

May 14, 2012 at 3:25 pm (Children's perspective, Creating memories, Parenting)
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When I think back over my childhood, there are certain moments, conversations and events which stand out in my memory. Usually they were nothing special at the time – just a passing comment or a one-off situation – but as I grew older they stayed with me. And now, when I contemplate them, I see that each one has played a part in who I am now.

It occurs to me that the people who said and did those things in my childhood had no idea they were forming such a big part of my character. I’m sure they didn’t know that their words would stay with me for the rest of my life. In all likeliness, they don’t remember the situation themselves now. But I do – clear as day. I can hear the words and recall the feelings from years ago.

If that is the case with me, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, then it is also probably going to be the case for my children. And for your children. Every moment we spend with them, every word we speak, might be the one to stay with them forever. We have no idea if it will be the careless cross word we threw out in frustration; the tender hug and kiss after a disciplinary issue has been resolved; the word of spiritual encouragement and inspiration.

How careful we must be. If the memories I want my children to live with are ones of love and joy, then I must intentionally create many opportunities to foster those experiences. Some of the memories that stay with me are positive – I remember one particularly encouraging comment made to me, that I still strive to live up to today. Some, however, are negative. There is one memory that still hurts to recall, as the unfairness is as clear to me now as it was when I was a child.

The defining moments in our children’s lives could come at any time. Are you and I armed and prepared with positive experiences for our children? We are not perfect, and we cannot guarantee that our children won’t have any unhappy memories. But if we can increase the odds. Let us stay aware of the influence each moment can have in the lives of our children, and strive to make as many of them as good as possible.

 

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In the mind of a three-year-old

April 30, 2012 at 1:15 pm (Children's perspective)
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Just for fun, here is an interview with Princess, on what life is like at three years old.

My beautiful, darling Princess - the light of my life.

Me: Can you tell me about your life?

Princess: Um, no. I don’t want to tell you about my life.

Me: Oh – okay.  Well, what are your favourite things to do?

Princess: I love to read these [Usborne books]. And I love to read the Tiger book that has lots of things to open in it.

Me: Nice.  What else do you like to do?

Princess:  To draw. Play.

Me:  What do you like to play?

Princess: Playmobile.  And I like to draw.

Me:  What do you like to draw?

Princess: Animals and princesses.  Even that.

Me:  When you get up, what’s the first thing you like to do?

Princess:  Draw.

Me:  What do you like about drawing?

Princess:  I like about drawing – drawing!

Me: Oh! What makes you happy?

Princess: God.

Me:  That’s a good answer 🙂  What makes you sad?

Princess:  Having my jumper on.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Princess:  A mommy.

Me: A mommy?

Princess:  Yep, a mommy.

Me:  And what do you think about dying?

Princess:  Come back to life again!  And Grandma and Papa die, and we die, and Timmies goes there, and we can meet Grandma and Papa.

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