Today was a glorious Family Day. We were delighted to have the oldest two children home again, and I was determined, now that they’re home again, to spend the day doing something as a family.
David and Sarah serve as poster-children for sweetness toward each other.
“Don’t go to the book sale,” I begged Kathy on Tuesday, as she considered a scheme to attend a home-school curriculum sale on Saturday. “The kids will finally be back — we should all stay home together.”
The weather reports have been rather conflicted about this Saturday — first they said it would be partly cloudy, then they said it would be fully sunny, then yesterday they claimed there would be showers. I got up late, just in time to see some clouds rolling in. “It’s been beautifully sunny so far,” Joshua assured me, as I staggered downstairs, bleary-eyed.
Although odds were running 3:1 in favor of the bush, Kathy prevailed.
“If you want to see the sun today, you’d better get outside,” I informed Kathy gloomily. How wrong I was! The sun shone all day long, and the sky remained blue and mostly cloudless.
Building the raised-bed garden was reminiscent of playing with Lincoln Logs.
We spent the day working on the yard and building a garden planter or two. It was a lot more fun than it sounds, and there were many chances for laughter and fun. The kids helped me plant a bunch of my never-ending crop of tomato seedlings, and Joshua shifted dirt from the driveway to the garden.
My oldest son returns home Thursday night, and six cubic yards of dirt are delivered early Friday morning. Coincidence? Maybe.
Kathy weed-whacked and pruned bushes and cooked delicious meals for us; whenever she could, she sneaked away to read her Dave Ramsey book.
Joshua was actually the one who filled the planter with dirt, but (since he doesn’t really like having his picture taken) Daniel and I horned in to take credit.
At one point, Rachel was playing an elaborate game of Trivia with the three younger kids — I just had to sneak up and take a few pictures, and to eavesdrop on their game.
These kids really know how to enjoy each other.
We had Slurpees™, ate fried chicken and (once it began to get dark) watched most of National Treasure 2, which Kathy bought for our anniversary. I provided sherbet and some Tillamook Mud Slide ice cream, which was every bit as good as it sounds.
There were a few design flaws on the first raised-bed garden, so I’m trying again. Besides, we still have lots more dirt.
One of the “Fathers Mandates” we’ve been studying in our Growing Kids God’s Way parenting study is the establishment of family identity. We joke about matching T-shirts, but I’ve often thought that a strong and positive family identity can serve as an excellent shield against many forms of outside temptation. While I read “the chapter” to the kids tonight, we all agreed: this was a very good day to be in our family.
Tim
Project 366, Day 115
