November 16, 2010

Once In Awhile...

Once in awhile...
I declare a "day off"!

Sometimes...
it's NECESSARY.

It's IMPORTANT!

Have FUN with your children!
Enjoy the time you have!
The time is short.

Soon there will be quiet where there once was noise.
Soon there will be clean clothes in the closet and none in the hamper.
Soon there will be six foot tall men where there once were three foot toddlers.
Soon there will be leftovers in the fridge! ;-)

Soon...

SO...
Capture these moments.
They are to be treasured.
Gifts from HIS hand.

Play games.
Read.
Listen.
Enjoy.

Make memories.
Build bridges.
Tie the strings of their hearts.


Snapshots of our most recent "day off"...


Daddy surprised us with "Twizzlers"...


I took a little time for this...


And didn't do any of this...


But we did take time for some of this...



The boys did some of this...


And we all played some of this...


And then Emma and I helped the boys with some of this...


I'm thinking it's just about time to do it again! :)
What are you going to do on your next "day off"?
AND...When are you going to declare one?

17 comments:

Wanting What I Have said...

:) YOu make me smile! Reading this is good for my heart, friend!

Intentional Living Homestead said...

Sounds great to me...I guess I need to figure out when I'm going to "declare one"...soon I hope. LOL

Unknown said...

That looks like a perfect day! We'll be taking a day off next week...and I'm looking forward to it!

Great post!

Nadine said...

Looks like a fun day! We call them lazy days! :)
One of the many joys of homeschooling!
I had been wondering if the winds & rain had headed up north to you! :) Just plain old rain today - it is suppose to get real cold this weekend though!

Blessings!
~Nadine

Heather said...

Oh, I love, love, love this post, Camille! The problem is, this epitomizes my life! I truly need to figure out how to pack more work into our time-offishness. I'm making memories left, right, and centre, but we need to buckle down a little more. Oh dear. You amaze me.

Christa said...

You are so right! Some day our children will be gone and it happens so quickly. My mother always tells me to enjoy them because the time goes by so fast. She's absolutely right. It really only seems like yesterday that I started homeschooling and now my youngest will graduate next Spring! I cannot believe it. I also know any day, Prince Charming can come and wisk one of my daughters away. A wedding? Oh my, it all going too fast, can someone stop the train?

It's good to take those days Camille. Our kids can always learn but they will not always be home. Savor these times!

Lord bless you and your family,

Christa

His bondservant said...

Camille,
Looks like you had a great day! I LOVE taking those days off every now and then. It means so much to me and the children. That is one of the great things about homeschooling...you can sense when those days come and then take them as the Lord leads!
Blessings,
Jackie

Camille said...

Dear Jennifer ~ I'm so glad! You bring many smiles to me...take a "day off" soon and enjoy it!! :)

Dear Treasures ~ Yes, when? :) I hope you do soon too...enjoy!! :)

Dear Jenn ~ How fun! Isn't it wonderful to look forward to those relaxing days? Enjoy your day off next week! :)

Dear Nadine ~ Oh yes...it is rainy and windy and stormy here too! Last night was especially windy and right now the winds are very high...it's worse than yesterday. And...enjoy a lazy day soon, on me! ;-)

Dear Heather ~ I have peeked into your homeschool life a bit over the last year (or is it more?) and I think you are doing a great job! Don't be too hard on yourself...you'd be amazed what they are learning through all the special times you have together! And wasn't it a math post you did recently?? ;-)

Dear Christa ~ Graduating??? Oh. dear. me. how the time flies by!!! I do wish to stop the train as well...but I'm determined to enjoy the ride! I tend to be too serious and need to slow down and take the time to just enjoy these days with the children. You are so right...they will be grown and gone so soon!! But then there will be grandbabies, right? :) I love how you said it ~ "Our kids can always learn but they will not always be home." So true!

Dear Jackie ~ You are so right..."you can sense when those days come"...isn't that true?? How precious it is that the LORD has called us to this life! I'm so glad you take a day here and there as well...what a blessing! :)

Thank you all for your sweet encouraging comments...it is a blessing to my heart that we are friends!

Have a wonderful day!
In His Love,
Camille

Cinnamon said...

Days off, gee what do I feel like most of our days are days off? Yikes..... :-0

Fruitloops - very fun :-)
Licorice - extra sweet fun!
Laura Ingalls - love it!!

~Cinnamon

Teresa said...

Camille,

Sounds like you all had fun enjoying each other's company! So important, isn't it? This is timely, because we just took the day off today so Abby and I could go to a Christmas show. We needed a break! We had a lot of fun just looking at all the creative things people had made, as well as buying a few for presents. The highlight of the day was talking to a Dutch lady whose mother sheltered Jews during World War II. Hearing some of her memories will really stick with Abby, I'm sure.

Yes, the time goes fast. Taking time to enjoy them is a big thing.

With grace,
Teresa

Camille said...

Dear Cinnamon ~ I have peeked in on your learning too...I know that many things get accomplished around your home! ALL of life is the classroom...don't you think? Hang in there and do enjoy these precious days!! :)

Dear Teresa ~ Lovely to hear from you! How fun that you had that special time with your Abby...Christmas already?? Where has this year gone?! What an incredible experience to be able to talk with a lady who had such stories to tell! I'm sure your daughter will remember that for years to come. :)

Blessings to you both!
In His Love,
Camille

Jill said...

Camille,

What a lovely post! So true we need to take time to treasure these moments. They will one day be the memories we hold dear.
Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Jill

Camille said...

Dear Jill ~ Oh yes..."the memories we hold dear" and how quickly it all goes!! I do wish to be able to freeze the moments and treasure them up!! I'm sure you feel the same way too!! Have a lovely weekend! :)

Blessings,
Camille

Anonymous said...

YES!

Camille said...

Welcome Courtney ~ Lovely to "meet" you! And I agree...YES!! :)

Blessings,
Camille

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

We just read "Little House in the Big Woods" and now we're halfway done with Farmer Boy. We're all enjoying those books so much. Makes us appreciate how good we have it, especially in the winter!

Camille said...

Dear Jackie ~ Oh yes!! We *DO* have it *SOOOO* good, don't we?? I'm so glad you are enjoying "Little House" too...they are such lovely books. :)

Blessings,
Camille