We haven't been able to leave home too much this summer vacation since we are temporarily a one car family. We don't want to wake up early to bring Titus to work, so we've had to be creative in finding our fun right here at home. The kids haven't complained about it at all, and we've still been able to be adventurous.
The first week we were out of school, the kids surprised me with a Mom's Special Day. Gabriel told me they wanted to say thanks for all that I do for them. He said I work so hard for them washing their clothes, doing the dishes, and vacuuming the house every day, that he wanted to do something special for me. What a kid, huh?
I relaxed on the couch, propped my feet up and quietly read a book to myself. In the other room, the kitchen was alive with activity! Ariel and Gabe googled a recipe for cake and frosting, and put the entire thing together themselves. They mixed it, poured it, cooked it, frosted it, and even cleaned up after it.
I did nothing.
They spoiled me, and I was overjoyed to let them. It's in those special moments that you can feel God's love so overwhelmingly, and I often tell myself "This is what life is supposed to be like, full of love, laughter, happiness, peace, and pleasure."
The kids even went so far as to inquire what my favorite colors were so they could know what color to make the frosting. Not only was it a priceless moment because of the thought behind the gift, but the cake was delicious too. It tasted like a giant sugar cookie cake. Yum! Yum! They added a candle to the top for each of them.
During the baking, one of the kids made the mistake of placing the cake and oven mitt on top of a burner that was still on. They had a little mishap, as it caught on fire, but still it didn't ruin the beauty of what they were doing for me one bit.
We simply cleaned up the mess, talked about the danger of what happened, and how we could prevent it from happening again. The kids were the first ones to point out how God was there with them, and protected them. God is such an integral part of our lives, that my children are readily able to give Him all the glory and credit for what He's done for us. In the end, I was actually thankful for the mistake that was made because it showed me even more how beautiful my children are. I revel in their faith.
This week the kids had another surprise for me. They put together a treasure hunt that would send me around the neighborhood, house, and backyard. Both kids worked together on the clues and hid them all over the place.
There's a pond further down the road. We had a picnic lunch while we were there.
I had a bit of trouble figuring out this clue. It's our honeysuckle bush in the backyard.
Another bush in the backyard, just slightly larger...
We store all our old baby clothes in plastic bins down in the basement, so we were back in the house for this clue.
My daughter has a bird bath in the backyard.
Picnic table...
Grill...
Another tall bush in the backyard...
I had to dig in all of Gabe's short pockets to find the next clue!
We have two small bushes that sit right next to each other.
At first I thought this must be my treat, the kids wanted me to take them on an exotic vacation. However, after getting some help, apparently the dog next door's name is Cabo, and he always lives right next to our fence, where he stares longingly at our family.
We headed back inside to Valentine's birdcage. I had to grab the next clue out of her food dish!
Our dinner table...
Our shed in the backyard...
I did it!The hunt was a lot of fun, and I really appreciated all the time and thought that my kids put into it for me. It's amazing how something so simple can be so memorable.
After they put all that effort forth for me, I thought it was time for a treat. We put together some very tasty Banana Smores. I found the recipe in this month's Family Fun magazine. You just pile chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows on your banana, wrap it in foil, and grill it for 5 minutes. Very fun to make! We overcooked ours just a little too much that the bananas started to turn to liquid, but I still thought they were very scrumptious!
As I've been writing this, my daughter has been in the kitchen making me some snickerdoodle cookies, a favorite of mine! How could I be so blessed? My 3 little blessings just melt my heart.
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