Making Miles and Memories

     Well, I didn't make the July blog post, but it is still officially August, so I made this month's at least!!  July was a really busy month for the Lipskoch family!  Between summer school prep, family get-togethers, and cross-country road trips, there wasn't much time for blogging! 

     We managed to pull off another road trip for two weeks in the middle of July.  It had been three years since our last trip out West to see Daddy's family, so we decided it was about time to pull out the suitcases and get packed up.  And it takes a lot of suitcases for 6 people to take a two week road trip!!  But finally we got it all together and got on the road!

     One of the main purposes of the road trip was to visit family we don't get to see very often.  The kids enjoyed spending lots of fun time with cousins they don't get to see very often.  Good times were had by all!

    Travel is an important thing for you to do with your kids, as much as you are able.  There is so much of the world to see, and you'll never see it if you never leave your own back yard.  Observation, planning, flexibility, and confidence are just a few of the things kids develop when they are exposed to new places and things.  Not to mention the sense of reality it brings when they can compare their experience to the things they may learn about in school.  Those covered wagon journeys don't seem so far removed when you driven across the country for a thousand miles!  "Big" takes on a whole new meaning when you stand under the shadow of a mountain.  "Wild" seems a whole lot more real when you're looking at the claw marks of a bear in a tree on a trail you are on!   And prairie dogs are really cute up close and personal!

     We ate sandwiches on paper towels as we drove down the interstate.  Daddy and First Born stopped in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere to see the Milky Way.  Middle Biscuit and Stitch taught Little Sister to play 21 in the back seat.  I got flattened pennies where ever we could find them.  (The best souveniers!)  Miles were traveled, memories were made, and that was the whole point.  It wasn't a resort Disney vacation.  We didn't stay in five star hotels with pools and wi-fi.  (We didn't even have cell signal most of the time!)  But I hope they remember it as one of their best times.  We know we don't have much time left with all of them together.  Soon enough we won't be able to coordinate everyone's schedules to take the time to go somewhere together.  But until then, we'll keep traveling and talking and laughing and arguing and being a family.  Because that's what's important.  :)

   

Summer Days!

    I can't believe we are halfway through the summer already!  It's been one thing after another around here lately...and I'm sure y'all can relate!  For not having our normal schedule, it sure does seem like we are just as busy around here.  Not sure how that happens...

     We had a couple of firsts this summer.  The two older boys went to a local church camp for the first time this summer.  They had a great time, and are looking forward to heading there again!  You might be thinking that 14 and 13 is a little late for the "first summer camp" experience.  Confession: I am paranoid about who my kids spend time with when I'm not there.  It amazes me that some people can just drop their kids off at a day camp, or zoo camp, or ball practice or whatever and not even bother getting to know the people who are in charge of their kid!  I want to know and I want the people in charge to know that I want to know.  I don't think that this is "helicopter parenting"...just intentional parenting.  Thankfully, we are good friends with the people who work at this camp, and so the boys were able to enjoy this experience. 

     They went to Scout camp this year too.  (Not by themselves, though!)  Spent lots of time learning and growing in new experiences.  Came back with bruises, bumps, bug bites and a bit of sunburn, but also with memories and confidence in new skills.  The first was that First-Born filled out his first job application to work there next summer!  Side note: how do I already have a kid who is old enough to fill out JOB APPLICATIONS?! 

     Stitch has been growing and learning how to be a big kid.  He is in that middle stage of childhood where he feels too big for some things, but is too little for other things.  But he is weathering it fairly well... he is our hands on kid and has been learning how to use the grinder to make wooden swords.  He also spends a lot of time climbing trees and "adventuring" outside.

     Little Sister has had a couple of firsts this summer too.  She started taking piano lessons, which she was excited about.  And I don't have to nag her to practice!  (Yet...)  She enjoys doing something "big" like the boys.  She also learned how to paddle and steer the kayak all by herself.  I was really impressed that she was able to manage it on her own!  This week she will get to do one first she is really excited about....her first library card!  She is really looking forward to this important day! 

    As I think about these milestones I am reminded of that saying about how the "days are long but the years are short."  Seems so true as I look back.  What happened to all those days that I thought would never end?  Where did they go?  Now, my kids are big enough for another first...one I though would never get here.  They can stay home by themselves.  I can leave them to run to the store, or even go out for a lunch date with Hubby.  Y'all... I remember thinking that time would NEVER come!  And now that it's here, I wonder where the time went. 

    So, my thought for today is even if you're stuck in the middle of something stressful (potty-training, juggling toddlers and babies, working on a specific "attitude adjustment"), take heart.  Even though it seems like it will last forever, it won't.  I'm not going to tell you to "enjoy every minute" because really...that's a little silly.  I'm never going to enjoy cleaning up bodily fluids or stepping on toys I've said to pick up a MILLLION times or reminding someone (not so nicely) to do the chore I've already told them to finish 25 times today.  But I will tell you to take that 5 minutes at the end of the day (when they are all in bed!) and sit and think about the day you just had.  To remember that it is done, and tomorrow is a new day.  For new starts and new mistakes and new grace.  And it's one day closer to not having those little people under your roof every minute of every day.  Which, frankly, sounds amazing most days...but one day it will be reality, and you'll be busy in different ways, and you'll long for those days when they were little enough to pick up and hold...even if it was just for a few seconds.  Enjoy those moments while you look forward to the new ones that seem so far away.  And when those bigger "firsts" start happening, enjoy those too!  :)

Crops or the Cross?

     Well, it is nearly the end of a whirlwind month!  May is always an extremely busy time for our family as we wrap up school, Scouts, and a few other things.  Middle Biscuit turned 13 a few days ago... I now officially have two teenagers!  How did that happen so fast?

     We didn't get to celebrate with him on his actual birthday, because we are on a school trip.  For the last two years, our school has attended the International Student Convention hosted by ACE, which is the curriculum program we use in our school.  So, every year at this time, we prepare to attend this major event.

     This year, we have First-Born with us, and two other school students.  They have competed in events ranging from chess to table tennis to music performances. It is a very fun, although tiring week!

     Confession time: when Hubby told me several years ago that one of his goals for our school was to attend Regional Student Convention, and then Internationals, I admit I was reluctant.  (Read: whiny.)  It was too much work; too much money; not enough time; encouraged bad attitudes; I had a million excuses.  But he was persistent ( no surprise there!) and so I finally caved and said we could work on it.  Five years later, here I am, 5 Junior Conventions, 4 Regionals, and 3 Internationals under my belt.  It is work.  It is tiring.  We do have to be apart from the younger kids.  But he was right; it's totally worth it.  (Shhh...don't tell him I said that!!)

    Because it's about more than the competitions.  It's about more than the new experiences.  It's about more than the fun and games and new friends.  It's really about getting away from the comfortable box you've been in.  It's about being away from other influences that distract you.  It's about the time every night that God speaks and moves in the hearts of the people sitting under the sound of His Word.  Which brings me to my title...crops or the Cross?

     The speaker last night spoke about Cain and Abel.  Everyone knows the story.  Cain brought an offering; Abel brought an offering.  God accepted Abel's offering; Cain grew angry and killed Abel.  But he brought out an application that really spoke to me.

     You see, what Cain brought was the sum of his efforts.  His sweat and hard work.  "Look what I have brought.  I worked so hard for You.  I did my best."  It was beautiful.  It was fragrant.  It was his.

    Abel brought what he was asked.  What hurt him.  He loved these little lambs.  His sacrifice was messy.  It was bloody.  It was hard.

    Cain brought crops.  Abel pictured the Cross.  And it made me think.

     What am  I bringing?  During the message, raising kids came to my mind.  Am I raising "crops" that will reflect my hard work and effort?  Am I working to make them good, and helpful, and nice so I can say "There's my hard work.  Look what I worked hard to raise."

    Or am I raising up the Cross?  Am I being a reflection of God's grace and mercy?  Am teaching and training, not so it is a testament to my effort, but so that it a testimony of God's love shining out?  Am I offering a picture of the Cross to those around me?

     So, maybe take a minute and ask yourself the same question I did: crops or the Cross?  And really stop to listen to God's answer.  He wants our sacrifices, but He wants them the right way.  Not our own efforts and struggle.  He wants our trust and rest in Him.  He wants to see the Cross, not our crops.  :)