Friday, July 25, 2008

This is the Time

As I sat here listening to the song from Micheal W. Smith called " This is the Time" I thought about the last 2 years and the 18 months of the 2 years that we've been without my husband in the home.
The time my daughter needed her father for a father/ daughter dance for her senior year in high school. the time my son micah needed his dad to teach him how to march and salute for his Civil Air Patrol squadron and the time my youngest needed his dad to show him how to hit a ball with a bat. Things normal dads can be there for, many of our men miss.
I can go through the list of missed things over the years, but This is the Time! The time my husband's home and enjoy's my kids life, teaches my son finally how to march, dance's with my daughter in the middle of the living room with it all dolled up like a dance floor just for her. And just last night my husband out showing my little Elijah how to hit a ball. This is the Time! for my children to soak up their time with dad.
As military families sometimes it seems that time between is so little. We must look at the time we do have, rejoice in what is given and use what we got. Our kids learn what life is about, and how important family is by the way we use the time that is given when the service member is home.
So if your waiting for your husband again, or sitting right next to him at this very moment. Use every moment as if it was the last. Use every moment as a precious gift from God. Don't waste it on arguing and fussing at each other. Allow the time to be used toward growth as a family, toward love to each other and toward time not wasted. THIS IS THE TIME...

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Summertime Blues

By: Stephanie

So I know that summertime is intended to be full of easy days filled with fun. So why do I feel like I'm barely treading water.

I was thinking today that beside holidays, summer is probably the worst time for families during a deployment. There isn't the structure and busy-ness of school to keep everyone occupied. The days are definitely longer making it harder to keep little ones entertained. My dearest friend and I were discussing things that help keep kids happy and in return moms are happier too.

Summertime fun activites:
1. Take a walk. Take this time to reflect on God's creation. Talk to your kids about the things they see and hear.

2. Take a trip to the community pool or let the kids play in the sprinkler! This is always a big way to keep your children happy. (Not to mention, it's good at wearing them out!)

3. Visit your local library. Most libraries have summer reading programs with rewards. Even if your local library doesn't offer these type of programs, what's to say you can't offer your children rewards for reading!

4. Plan a special outing once a week. It could be to the park or even to their favorite fast food restaurant (with a playland, of course). Anything to get them out of the house into different surroundings is always nice. Kids get cabin fever, too!

5. Encourage playdates. Call up a friend and see if they would like to come over for coffee and let the children play. Not only does it give the kids someone different to play with, you have someone with whom to have an adult conversation. We all NEED that!!

I think it is very important not to wish away the summer (I am very guilty of that)! There is this song that I love. Some of the lyrics say, "Let them be little, 'cause there only that way for a while." That is so true. We need to enjoy our kids' summers because it won't be long before they are too old to want to be with us or are completely out of the house. Summertime doesn't have to be dreaded. It can and should be ENJOYED!

Happy Summer!!