moving on

Now for the real updates.

We have had another great month. Soccer has finally come to an end YAHOO!!! It was fun, I think, but it is so nice not to have to hurry after school to get everything done before soccer. Both girls improved and say they want to play again. I ask; are you sure? I know I am a lazy mom but I do enjoy having them around and not running all over the place with them.

Yep they still played and actually it stopped raining just as they got there.

Lizza loved to run fast to get to the ball.

Next we started something new in our family we started a parents kid date night. I have been stewing over this for a few years but just couldn't' figure out the logistics of how to do it. So With Daren's job change and no travel and less hours I asked someone else about it. Now the person I asked I absolutely worship and seem to ask her something about parenting monthly. She said that dates with their kids was probably the number one most important thing they do with their kids. I am reading 5 love languages of children and in the beginning (which is where I am) he list the 5 languages. One was quality time and it hit me that my kids don't really have any quality time with me. If we are together alone I am running errands, cleaning the kitchen, or helping them do homework, even when I read to them I am usually directing someone else to get something donw. So very rarely do I just stop everything I'm doing and give them 100% of my attention. That obviously made me feel bad hence starting the dialog about date nights. So we have moved family home evening to Sunday nights and every Monday either Daren or I go with one of the girls (Max is still to young) on a date. We have a rotating schedule to follow to keep it fair and it gives the girls consistency and they know what to expect. We go for 1 1/2 hours and we can only spend $3. Also it has to be all about what the child wants to do. We don't' run errands or run really quick to Albertsons for milk. We are trying to show them we love them enough to give them our complete attention and time. Well we started with Meg and since she was the first she could choose which parent to go with. She picked Daren. All day she was so excited about the date. She kept telling me they were going to dress up in their nicest cloths, go get ice cream, and find someplace to just chit-chat all night. So when Daren got home from work she made him put on a tie and she picked out her "prettiest" dress and added jewelry and a shiny purse and off they went. Daren said she just talked the entire time about everything.

This past Monday was Lizza's and my turn. I was all excited because Liz is usually our play it up girl but it wasn't as climatic as Megs. We had fun and she was happy for sure. She chose to go to Boondocks which is a video arcade place where you earn tickets to get a prize. She was excited to go my complaint was that it was so loud we really couldn't talk to each other. After that we went to the library to read books. That was fun and she just snuggled up and helped me read. I am excited about doing these and if nothing else it takes away some of my guilt about no quality time.

Lastly Abby Finally got baptized! I cannot believe she is old enough for this. Driving to the church I was saying this is it. Now everything counts. I hope we have taught her well enough. She was so excited and nervous about the whole thing. It was great though. We had family come for the weekend, which was great and really made her feel good. I am proud of Abby. She is a good girl and I hope she stays that way. We are grateful to have her in our family.