We had a great summer in Ukraine!
Dad was busy with running the SBS, but we decided it didn’t mean that the summer wouldn’t be full of adventure…
and of course he joined us when he could.
Cassie made this short video with the highlights.
One thing that we often think about is how to teach our children about money and work. It isn’t just chores through which we want to teach them. We also want them to see how as we work to benefit mankind and God’s earth with creativity that we can create wealth which can in turn be used to benefit mankind and God’s earth that he made.
So we were really proud of Cassie as she took her creativity in photography and made something that can benefit others. Beautiful greeting cards. Check out her work as an almost-nine-year-old. www.CassiesCreations.ca
Thank you to everyone who prayed! It really meant a lot. Ben arrived today back from India at lunch time safe and sound. The kids were thrilled to get home from school and be welcomed with a big hug from Dad! It is amazing how much we all missed him. We just snuggled on the couch together for awhile… enjoying just being together.
Cassie made this video to tell her Dad all about the three weeks he was gone.
She would love a word of encouragement if you have time to watch it and leave a comment.
It will show you a few glimpses of our family life if you are interested.
I know… cheesy title but I couldn’t resist!
Whenever someone asks Ben or I to come and teach, whether it be in a DTS, or on an SBS we always pray and ask God if this is the right decision for our family. Especially because we live on support, so every trip we take is using finances that others have blessed us with.
Well this trip was no different. A past SBS graduate who is now leading a DTS in Wales asked me (Angela) if I could come teach a week on holiness to the students. After praying about it Ben and I both felt that it was to be me and Cassie! Her first trip with one of her parents to teach. We had a great time! I wanted to share what one of the students wrote to me, not because it is about me, but to say thank you to those who send us overseas.
Angela is very passionate in teaching holiness. What she brings in teaching is what she is also pursuing in living out so I was encouraged to listen all the more carefully. She is very creative in making her teaching interactive, and the thought and effort she put in to that made me feel loved and special. We are so grateful that she and Cassie were able to come.
Thank you to the many that pray and send us! We would be unable to do this work without all of you!!!
Below is one of those mass consumed articles about relationships. Of course its oversimplified and ignorant of the realities, the challenges and valleys that normal life experiences. But to celebrate my little girl growing up, I mean, she really isn’t a baby anymore.
Even though it isn’t perfect, some of the great things I want to be for my little (not-so-little) girl are:
Here are the 25 most-mentioned things that a daughter really needs from her dad:
1. Time (“To show interest and involvement in my life,” “To be available”).
2. Affirmation (“Approval,” “Praise,” “Hear him say out loud, ‘I love you'”).
3. Affection (“Hugs,” “Physical touch”).
4. Unconditional love (“For who I am regardless of my failures”).
5. Apologies.
6. Be proud of me (“To know I’m not a disappointment to him,” “No judgment,” “Less criticism,” “Faith in me”).
7. Tell me I’m beautiful (“Compliment me, especially about my looks”).
8. Talk to me and open up about himself, his pain, his faults, his hopes (“Let me see that he is human, that he fails, that he makes mistakes, and then show me how to make it right,” “Time alone where I get to know him and his childhood”).
9. Pursue me (“Desire to get to know me,” “Interactive conversation where he is asking me questions about myself,” “To actively seek me out and find out what I am doing, what I am interested in, WHO I am”).
10. Prayers.
11. To work on his temper so I can feel safe (“Not to crush my spirit”).
12. Not to change me (“To let me be me,” “Be accepted for myself—not for what I did or failed to do”).
13. Honesty (“I need him to be honest with himself. When he’s honest with himself, it frees him to be honest with me”).
14. Just listen.
15. Guidance.
16. Protection.
17. Sense of humor.
18. Teach me about things.
19. Be an adventurer … with me.
20. Instead of not being there, please be there (“Instead of handing me money, ask to come with me and take me shopping or out to lunch”).
21. Tell me you love being my dad.
22. Believe in me.
23. Never give up on our family.
24. Show me how a real man treats a woman.
25. Support my ideas and dreams.
Raw. Vulnerable. Honest. And every single response comes from a daughter’s heart longing for connection and relationship with dad coupled with love and affirmation from dad.
For the original article, visit drmichellewatson.com (“25 Things a Daughter Needs From Her Dad” by MICHELLE WATSON).
April and May become birthday season around here, are three kids celebrating within 35 days. That means cakes and presents and parties, all things we love – and our kids too!
This years birthdays included a day at the park with close friends, a superman party and a day at the zoo, also with friends.
