Girls To Grow

As our children grow, we celebrate many “firsts” and “lasts” in their lives. From the first time they sleep through the night to the last day they walk out of high school, a range of emotions mark these milestones.

Many of the firsts are happy – the first smile, the first step, the first word. Firsts, however, can be sad as well.  I’ll always remember our oldest daughter’s first day of school.  It was a strange mix of feelings – I was happy because she was so excited, but I was still sad as I realized how quickly she was growing up.

Lasts can be happy or sad as well – the last diaper you have to change, the final nursing session, the last night they sleep in their crib.

Many firsts mark a new stage of independence.  The first time they feed or dress themselves and the first time they spend the night away from you are all exciting events, yet often bittersweet.  The child has risen to a challenge, passed a new milestone – and is growing ever closer to taking care of himself.

Be they large or small, all of these “firsts” and “lasts” make the job of mothering so precious!  How thankful I am for a heavenly Father who gives me grace and strength for each of these steps and who walks alongside my children as they begin their own journey through life.

What first or last have you celebrated with your child lately?

In this, our first year of homeschooling, I am making plans to celebrate our 100th day of school, which falls on Friday.  I’m excited that we’ve been enjoying homeschooling and have made it this far!

Here are some of the activities I’m planning.

• Do a physical activity (jumping jacks, running in place, hopping, etc.) for 100 seconds.
• Put together a 100-piece puzzle.
• Thread 100 pieces of O-shaped cereal on a piece of string and wear as a necklace (and use as an instant morning snack :).
• Fill three small jars with mini chocolate chips and let them choose which jar they think contains exactly 100.
• Using an advertising flyer from the Sunday paper, make a list of items you could buy with $100. (I will have my 5th grader calculate tax and include that as part of the total.)
• Research what happened on this day in history 100 years ago.
• Write the number 100 on a piece of paper and incorporate it into a drawing.
• See how many times you can bounce a ball in 100 seconds.
• Write a paragraph on the following subject:  If I could, I would have a collection of 100 ______
• Glue 100 sunflower seeds to a piece of cardboard. (Admittedly, this is to use up a half bag of sunflower seeds we have in the pantry!)
• Make a chain of 100 paper links and string across the “schoolroom.”
• See how quickly you can answer 100 math facts (using flashcards).

Have you ever celebrated the 100th day of school?

Sometimes it’s scary to see how much like you one of your children is becoming….

One evening last week, our eleven-year-old said she’d run out of things to do, so she organized the bookshelves in the playroom. She arranged the biographies alphabetically, grouped all the series together and put them in number order, then put all the random books in categories.  This is exactly the type of project I would enjoy doing!

On Saturday night, she told me she had planned her clothing for the coming week.  Sure enough, she had written the days of the week on a piece of paper and noted the outfit she would wear each day.

I am a planner who enjoys organizing and I think these traits are definitely part of her makeup. In considering this, though, I asked myself the following questions. What if she’s like me spiritually?  Am I setting an example that I want her to follow?  Does she see me reading my Bible, praying, and memorizing Scripture? 

I know I am human and often fail.  Yet with God’s help, may I develop my walk with God in a way that not only I, but He, would be pleased if she were to be just like me.

Their sleeping bags littered the floor, along with a pile of pillows and blankets, remnants of their “sleepover” the night before.  Hand-lettered signs adorned the walls and furniture in the playroom, announcing stations for playing games and making crafts.  My order-loving nature balks at the scene, wanting to call them in immediately to put things to rights and restore the room to its normally tidy state.

Then, as I step across the mess, I am reminded that before I know it, this room will be neat all the time.  There will be no blond-headed whirlwind to scatter scraps of paper as she cuts out dresses for her paper dolls.  My literature-loving eleven-year-old won’t have stacks of paper and notebooks on the shelves, waiting for her next attempt at a poem or a story about characters from long ago.

All too soon, the room will be clean and organized – and stay that way.  It will be quiet, perhaps even peaceful.  But the constant chatter accompanied by whispers of hope and the airy clouds of dreams built in spurts of imaginary play will be gone, too.  And I know I shall miss the messes, and the energy, and the girlish touches that fill this space.

So let me stumble over the disheveled heap, listening to their voices and laughter in the room next door, and embrace what our home looks like in this stage of life.  We can always clean it up tomorrow.

Yesterday I put our Christmas Craft and Baking Day plan into action.

We started a little after 9:00 A.M. with the Clothespin Christmas Trees. This is the state of our dining room table after about fifteen minutes.

Next came the button wreaths.  We actually had many more beads than buttons, so we ended up making bead wreaths instead.

My favorite project was the circle garland.

We took a break from crafting to bake our Chocolate Holiday Bears.

The Hands and Foot Reindeer turned out very cute!

We also made the String Balls and Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments.  Since I had an extra bag of Hershey Kisses, I made Peanut Blossom Cookies instead of the Chocolate Peanut Sweeties.  They are a bit easier to make and still satisfy that chocolate and peanut butter craving!

We finally cleaned up around 5:15 P.M.

The girls enjoyed the day and now we have a lot more Christmas decor around the house!