Partner In Parenting

"She'll thank us one day," my husband states, his brow is furrowed and I sigh relief because I'm feeling like the bad guy again. I hear footsteps in the hall and I know the child in question is lurking just beyond the kitchen. Tears and anger--some of them mine--had swallowed up the day and I sit exhausted, but grateful to have a partner in parenting. Some days I wonder how I'm going to raise these four (five) kiddos with my own sin blaring at me loudly as I call them out on theirs. Then, he walks through the door and I remember how--with him. Together with the Lord, we are a three-stranded cord, not easily frayed, but wound up with mercy and help in times of trouble. He knows it. I know it. That's how we do this thing called parenting. 

His favourite place to be and his favourite people to be with :)

Photos below represent the beautiful workplace Terry so diligently manages and we get the benefit of enjoying the quiet and loveliness of it all on a Sunday afternoon.

Happy Father's Day to the man I love, without whom I could not do this difficult, yet rewarding occupation of motherhood.

Remaining On The Dance Floor

The Master of Ceremonies for my cousin's wedding called into the microphone that all married couples must come to the dance floor and then the music commenced. We obediently took our places and swayed to the music in our spouse's arms, questioning each other what this was all about. After a minute, the MC announced that if any couple had been married for less than a year, they must exit the dance floor. A little bit later, she called on anyone married three years or less to remove themselves. She slowly whittled us down in increments of about two years until there were only a few couples left. My husband and I looked around and laughed, feeling very conspicuous that we were still dancing, along with my aunt and uncle a few older couples. The MC continued to call out numbers as the guests looked on in amazement. Bewildered, she leaned into the mic and exclaimed, "I'm actually so shocked! Can they [marriages] really last that long?" When she said, "Less than twenty?" we danced on, as we had agreed that being a mere one month from twenty years made us anniversary-worthy :) Then she jumped to twenty-five and we threw our arms down and laughed our way back to our chairs.

If we had been able to sit down with the MC and share how God took two broken people and put them back together, we would have. We don't boast in our own ability to pull off twenty years of marriage, we praise Jesus because we would never have made it this far without Him.

As we celebrate Father's Day, I'm also reminded that this man is an intentional, attentive, loving daddy to our kids.

 

Happy Father's Day, Terry.

I will remain on the dance floor of life with you for as long as we both shall live.

Peely Eggs and Mud Bikes

He rubs his sleepy eyes and pulls up a stool to the kitchen counter. I ask him what kind of egg he would like this morning and he dozily replies, "Peely egg... no, melty egg, please." I smile and turn to the frying pan to make an egg for my boy that drips just right, not too squishy, not a peely egg, which is hard-boiled. I think about prayer time last night when I stroked his stubbly buzz cut and listened to his words as he began, "Dear Jesus-God-Lord..." I love this boy's terminology for things and I never correct them (although he's quite correct in his prayer address :) I want them to last and last.

A few days ago, my husband took him down to the nursery parking lot and showed him how to ride his two-wheeler, which is a "dirt bike" given by his grandparents. Terry had barely a minute holding onto the back of that seat before that boy took off at high-speed, as though he'd always known how. His face was beaming and he happily declared to me that now he can ride his mud bike :)

A Man Who Leads

We're clamouring over steep rocks at the end of the trail and all the while my little boy is warning his sisters to be careful. He's telling them, "Hold onto the branches and don't slip", and "I'm okay, Mommy, you don't need to hold onto me." When we finally reach the end, the girls beat him to the path and begin to run. My desperate boy cries out, "Wait! I want to lead!" I have to call them back and as he runs ahead I give a quick explanation. I tell them that their four year-old brother is beginning to sense his God-given responsibility to take care of the girls in his life and that we should allow him opportunity to do that. I tell them it's good for them to lead too, in different areas of their lives, but with him being younger than all of them, we must look for times we can let him practice. A competitive spirit is not the same but it's pretty obvious to all of us he's feeling like a protector today.

Why is my son eager to lead his much older sisters? Because he watches his Daddy. My husband leads our family as a man of integrity. He loves to involve our children in his activities from fixing something to gardening to golf. He trains them by teaching them things step by step or by disciplining them. They feel secure in his love and in the boundaries he's set for them. His girls know they're protected and his son recognizes that one day this same role will be his.

On this Father's Day, I honour my husband who leads me to be a better wife and mother. And as the words of the song below state, you do lead us with strong hands. And it's all because you rely on your Heavenly Father for your strength.

Happy Father's Day, Babe!

...and to all the Dads who are leading their families with the Lord's strength.

Daddy's Girls And Other Blessed Things

In two different thrift stores, squeezed between bunches of kids' clothing, were these two shirts--perfect for the day that honours fathers. They donned them proudly and chanted in unison, "Read my shirt!", giggling the whole time. And he was proud too. Proud to be a daddy and proud that we all put effort in to show him our love.

And Gratitude keeps me filled with joy on good days like these and days when the good is not so obvious...

382. thankful for fathers: mine, my children's, my husband's, and step-dads too

383. for fun in decorating rooms on a tight budget

384. for my gardens that are filling in beautifully

385. for the first day of summer!

386. for a daughter's interest in and compassion for Haiti

387. for all the offers to swim in pools after I posted here (so not expecting that! :)

388. for paddle boat rides

389. for early morning tea on the porch with the sunlight spilling over me

390. for the bluest skies which beckon us to bask in lakes, to have picnics, swing at the park and lie down in soft grass

391. for Daddy's girls (and boy)

392. for my husband's satisfaction in a job well done (spring busyness is almost past at the nursery!) and the credit he pays to his Lord

"Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labour. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God." Ecclesiastes 2:24

The Making Of A Man

Someone once peered into my husband's truck while they were chatting. She chuckled a little and mentioned that it looked funny for a man to have baby car seats in his backseat.

He looked at her and without hesitation replied, "Those seats are what make me a man."

Terry shared this with me later that day and I've never forgotten it. He takes the honour of fatherhood very seriously. Our children know it and feel it in their bones when he lavishes his love upon them. So, today, I honour him, the father of my children, because I'm so proud to be his partner in parenthood and I can't wait to see how he'll father them as they grow.