One of the hardest things about having a large family is finding the time to do individual things with each person. Doing this, obviously, comes at the expense of doing things with other friends, as a whole family, or pursuing individual interests. These times are treasured then, and seen as rare opportunities to bond in ways that couldn't happen otherwise.
On our walk, we decided to check out a local art gallery. Several of the exhibits were new, and we had fun looking at them and talking about them with each other. I feel like I gained some insight into the way she sees the world. One of our favorites were a series of mixed-media projects depicting birds from around our area, and Evelyn taught me all about each one as she saw it.
When we were satisfied with our time at the gallery, we headed back outside. Hand in hand we continued our walk down to the lake where we watched the raindrops dance on the water for a minute. She told me about the friends she had met a while back at camp, and how she was looking forward to a party she had been invited to. We walked around the park, through the resort, and then back over to the church where we had parked our car. It was a lovely afternoon, and will endure, I think, as a memory that stands out to me when I think of Evelyn.
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Here are some of the other "moments" we have been able to have since our last post:
Here's a picture of a date I took Maren on last week. We dressed up and went out to dinner at her favorite restaurant (the ever popular Golden Corral...*sigh*...Why can't my kids like real food?). Afterwards, we went shopping for some new pants for her. It might sound pedestrian, but we both had a great time. She is a charming young lady.
I got a chance to take Jackson skiing for his first time. It was a gorgeous day, and we spent the entire time together. In typical Jackson fashion, he took to the slopes like a maniac. Falling didn't seem to slow him down one bit. He actually did really well, and by the end of the day was skiing confidently all the way down from the top. On the way home he told me that he had the best day of his life. That made me smile.
Not to be outdone, Rachel went up a different day with Addy. She said that they had tons of fun together and that Addy made her goal of getting all the way down without falling. Actually, she did that twice. Go Addy!
Lindsey loves swimming. Unfortunately, the other kids have other interests at this time, and we don't get to go a whole lot. This was a fun opportunity then, for me to take Lindsey out for some daddy-daughter time. It was a great afternoon!
Of course we can't forget about us. Although we have a "date night" pretty much every night after the kids are in bed, we make our best effort to get out at least once a week for something special. This week we explored a nice new restaurant by the river (it was Restaurant Week in our area) and then went to the Comedy Club for a late show. It was a fun atmosphere to be in with my favorite person and best friend in the world.
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Of course we had other things going on in the week as well. Life doesn't slow down, but we try our best to take advantage of the eddies that it has to offer. I hope this post gives a little glimpse into how this works for us.
Have a good week!
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| PS: Rachel gets really into the dancing games on the Wii |
I'm impressed with the individual time you spend with each child and with each other. That's awesome. I remember the busy times. The secret is to enjoy them . . . and get some rest when you can. I've also learned that most of the best things in life take place in the eddies when we can reflect and look forward at the same time.
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