ONE (more) TIME!!!!

Feven and I were at a new park this morning.  The park had a GREAT slide, among other things.  As we were approaching the time we needed to leave, I told her, "You can go down the slide one more time, then we need to go home."

We went down again and it was the best ride of them all!  When we got to the bottom I picked her up to take her home, but she frantically squirmed and tried to get out of my arms whining and yelling, "ONE TIME!!!  ONE TIME!!!"  She wanted to go down one more time.

She's got me thinking.  What are the things in MY life that I feel that way about? What are those things that as soon as they're over I find myself desperate to do again?  Do I have enough or even any of those things in my life?

I don't know if I have answers yet.  I need to do some more thinking.

How about you?

MegaFort!

Last month our family was invited to a birthday party for our friend's three kids.  That's right, a triple birthday party!  When I was thinking about what gift to give each kid, I remembered my friend saying that when they came home from one particular family Christmas this past year, they had to pack the kids in the van first, then pack the gifts in around them.  They had received so much STUFF they could hardly haul it all home!

I knew that getting them more STUFF wasn't a good idea, so I started brainstorming what I could give that wouldn't be a thing.  Then it hit me - Family Fort Night!

We gave them a birthday card the day of the party that promised a family fort night, complete with make-your-own pizza and a MegaFort that covered the entire basement.  It probably wasn't the most exciting gift to open that day, but we hoped to make up for it with a really fun experience!

To prepare our basement to transform into a MegaFort, we purchased eye hook screws and 48 feet of rope.  We placed the screws into the studs at various distances around our basement.  We tried to place them at a height that would be high enough so kids wouldn't bump their heads on the screws when running around the basement, yet low enough they would be able to reach the rope in order to help build the fort.  When we strung up the rope, we made sure that it crisscrossed the basement for maximum fun.  That way we could break the MegaFort into multiple rooms if we wanted.

We set up a small tent and tunnel in a different part of the basement for the youngest children, in case the bigger kids wanted to play in the MegaFort without the smaller kids. 
 

Once our friends arrived, we started hanging up the walls and ceiling of the MegaFort.  With clothespins we hung up tablecloths, bedsheets, and other pieces of fabric we found around the house.

We used this row of scarves as our entrance into the tent.  It also worked great for peek-a-boo.

 

Once the fort was complete the kids began to do a lot of crawling, chasing, giggling, and squealing.  The canopy of fabric above made it feel cozy inside, and the MegaFort entirely transformed the wood-paneled basement into a magical space.  As much as I dream about remodeling that basement, I know I wouldn't have so easily placed screws all over the walls had it been newly-finished drywall instead of old wood paneling!  I guess the basement is good for something after all.  :)

 

I hope it was as much fun for the kids to receive the gift as it was for us to give it.  We sure had a good time!  This has me thinking about gifts in a new way, and I look forward to seeing what else we will do in the future.

Feven's Rendition of Twinkle Twinkle

The Value of Reminiscing

Has this ever happened to you?  You start cleaning out a closet and happen upon old photos, notebooks, or prayer journals and suddenly your 30-minute project turns into an entire afternoon?
 
Running across old keepsakes is one of those situations for me where everything stands still and I'm transported back in time.  I'll sit on the floor for hours looking through letters my best friend and I exchanged in 6th grade or pictures from family vacations 20 years ago.

Reminiscing serves to remind me of special people and experiences in my past.  It shows me the many ways I'm blessed, and makes it clear to me that God has been there for me time and time again throughout my entire life.


I'm facing a bit of a predicament, though.  If reminiscing is so special and valuable to me, why don't I do it more?  What's keeping me from reminiscing on a regular basis rather than waiting for enough junk to collect in a closet to motivate me to open up those old boxes?

I want to find a way to build it into my life more, this business of reminiscing.  I think it used to happen more in days gone by, maybe around kitchen tables after Sunday church.  Maybe on front porches in the early evening as the sun was setting.  Maybe in the middle of the grocery aisles or on the sidewalks or at the park while pushing swings with smiling children.  I think our fast-paced culture, live-in-the-moment mentality has expanded so much that little things like reminiscing get bumped out.

In my own life when I can't seem to part the Red Sea of toys to make a path to the door or when I struggle to find enough counter space to prepare a snack because of all the dishes piled up, reminiscing is quickly bumped to the low-priority list if it makes it on the list at all!  What can I do to promote reminiscing but avoid getting lost for hours in old photos?

What ideas do you have?  How do you reminisce?

Resolve

Resolve: firmness of purpose or intent; determination

Winter is hanging on with a death grip here in Minnesota.  While friends across the country post pictures on Facebook of their children playing outside in shorts and flip-flops, I look out my window and see angry snowflakes hurtling down from the sky.

To say it's depressing is an understatement. 

Two things this past weekend cheered me up and gave me hope.  The first was a Facebook page entitled, "Meanwhile in Minnesota."  Last I checked, it had some pretty creative pictures taken by Minnesotans over the last month that help me to laugh at the snow instead of cry.

The second thing that cheered me up was the view of my flowers in the backyard.  Granted, I came across this beautiful scene when Feven and I were playing IN OUR SNOWPANTS in the backyard, but still.

Those Irises gives me hope that Spring will come.  Also, the more I reflect on those Irises, the more I appreciate their resolve.  The snow was spinning around them when they broke through the ground, and they peeked out to find a very different April than normal, but they decided to grow!  They did not give up because circumstances were difficult.  They knew it was their time to go for it and they did!