inthecordreyhome: December 2009

So I have had several ask me, "How do you get good pictures of both girls?" So I thought I would include this typical shot. Mom, don't worry - I did get a couple of good ones of the girls . . . separately. However, I believe this will be a favorite!

Thanks for the dresses Meme!

So over it. . .

Looking at "Ms. Nancy's" lights across the street. Ella loves to leave her blinds open to watch them as she goes to sleep. Every year, we bake Ms. Nancy something special to thank her for her holiday displays. She seriously has the best Halloween and Christmas decorations in the neighborhood. Lucky for us, they are right outside Ella's window.

Kinsley likes to do just about anything Ella does. . .

Checking out the gingerbread house display at the Galt House. I just love Ella's hand on Kinsley's back.

Kinsley has a new trick - Point a camera at her, tell her to say cheese, and this is what you get!:)

Ella at playgroup making edible trees. Thanks Amanda!

What does your family value?

Ok, so this isn't one of those "rhetorical questions" that I am write in hopes you ponder and think about for awhile. I mean it - what does your family truly value? Never thought about it? Me neither until not too long ago. A book I was reading or speaker I heard or something - sorry to whomever I cannot give credit! Anyway, SOMEONE said that your family should have a few key values and every member should know what those values are. It made sense. One of my favorite Bible verses says, "Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also." To me, the two sort of tie together. So Ronnie and I talked about it. We came up with a few (in no particular order) - faith, family, serving others (kindness), education (at this age, reading), and another one is living a slow pace of life where we can enjoy each day. I don't want to wake up one day and realize the girls are now teenagers and the early years just flew by without us realizing time was passing so quick. So these are our values - so what? Well, in our house that means we prioritize

Faith (prayer, reading the Bible, teaching the stories, church, incorporating teachable moments to introduce the girls to who God is on their level)

Family (eat dinner together as much as possible, date nights with the girls individually, spend time together as a family in the evenings, try to do things for fun every so often on Monday Fundays)

Serving others (somewhat self explanatory, but we also incorporate what it means to be a good friend to others, and serve together as a family the 2nd Saturday of each month) However, I just started reading The Same Kind of Different As Me and it is somewhat making me think we have a lot of work to do in this area as far as building relationships with others.

Education (surprise surprise coming from a teacher, but this is something I want our girls to value. I believe education opens doors and the earlier we can instill a passion and love for learning, the better.)

Slow pace of life (This may sound strange, I know. I know some great parents who are so tied up in classes and activities for the kids that they feel overwhelmed 100% of the time. It is a hard decision, I know. Do you expose your kids to great opportunities to find what they love and enjoy? Sounds like a great choice. Or do you slow down and work hard to say no to great things in order to have free time? Another option. For us, we have chosen to try to prioritize down time into our schedule. It is amazing how that seems to be hard work sometimes! Ella loves to stay home, though, and have "jammie days", so that seems to be the better option for our family. Plus, it is on those days that I have special treasured memories that I know I will never forget. A wise friend once said to me, "Hurried people can't love." This is an extreme comment, but one that I feel is really true for me and one that I think about often. So for us, we value slowing down our schedule.)

Don't read any of these and think that we must believe anyone who doesn't do the same isn't doing something right or that any of these are the "best". Instead, they are ones we have chosen to best meet the needs of our family right now. So, I ask, what are yours? It is an interesting question to think about, at least. You probably already have them in place, just without thinking about it. Probably they were put into place years ago when you were younger - I know that is the case for most of ours.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours if I don't have another chance (or let's be honest, any cute photos) to post before the big day!!

The girls by the tree - Amazing . . . both smiling!

Ella's gingerbread house creation.

Ella and Kinsley getting ready for the last day of school / Christmas play at PDO. Look closely - one isn't as happy as the other about the upcoming events.

A new favorite game - stuff as much into her mouth as possible then try to manage to eat it all without spitting anything out. She is usually pretty successful.