Family Traditions

I am all about traditions in a family. I feel that since our family is going to be living a life of chaos most of the time, having simple traditions will be important. Noel Piper wrote a book about traditions and it got me thinking. She says the most important part of making traditions is planning. So I am already planning ahead. Here are some I am planning on doing with our family:
Daily:

• I plan on giving each child a "life verse". I will give it to them when they are born (or adopted) and speak it over them every night. Our normal routine at night is bath, bottle, bible story, two worship songs, prayer and this verse. As they get older, this will probably be the first verse they memorize.
• I sing a "good morning song" every morning when Wyatt gets ready to play....this just seems to start the day off right. I don't do it as soon as he gets up because I am not a morning person so I wait until he is fed, changed and ready to go. As he gets older, the morning song will change but I do want to make sure I always start the morning off right for him by saying the same thing over and over.
• Every week or two we will have a new bible verse that I will put up somewhere in the house and I will say it throughout the day (probably at every meal so I can stay consistent) My mom recorded me quoting Genesis 1:1 at the age of 3. She felt that memorizing scripture was very important and I am so thankful for this!
• we will have dinner together at the table. My parents did this with us and though not every dinner time was a pleasant experience, it is a great time to really talk and to teach kids manners, ect.

Holidays:

• Birthdays- every kid gets a "special plate" This plate is reserved for birthdays but can also be used for very special occasions in the kids life. My mom did this with us and we loved it! We thought that plate was so awesome because we had to save it for special days.
• Christmas- levi's mom gave the kids 3 gifts and I really like this idea. I know this is controversial (even with my siblings) but I LOVED Santa when I was a kid and some of my best memories are of Santa so we will definitely have Santa bring the 3 gifts and write letters to the kids. We will also make him cookies. I know that we will read the Christmas story and watch the Nativity Story every Christmas too...just not sure when yet.
• New Years- I plan on having a special dinner the night of New Years. We will get dressed up and either go out or dine at home but it will be really nice. Each child will get a letter telling them special moments we had with them the previous year, ways we've seen them grow, and what we look forward to the next year.

These are just a few I've been thinking about. Are there any special traditions your family has? I love hearing new ideas!

Wyatt is 3 months!

Wow! Time is flying by! Our little newborn is not so little anymore! He is grabbing his toys and my hair, he is smiling all the time, cooing and making all kinds of noises. He will play and play until he is so tired he is crying! He is a great sleeper now and sleeps most of the night! He takes only formula and he eats so well. Oh how we pray for him! We pray that the Lord will change his life early enough to protect him from the nasty world out there. We pray that when he makes mistakes, he will be humble enough to admit it. We pray that God will use him to change the world. I really feel that God is changing our world every day. Some days, some weeks are wearing and we feel like we are doing nothing, then something amazing happens and we are reminded of His power and grace....I pray that Wyatt also experiences this in His life. How I pray for his life! I pray that he will be so passionate, so humble, so loving, so tender hearted....yet so strong, so tough, so manly....I pray that if God wants him to marry, that He will provide a wife who is the perfect partner. Who is patient when Wyatt struggles, who respects Wyatt even in the hard times. I pray that God will already be preparing Wyatt to do mighty things in the Kingdom. That he will live out his name and he will be a mighty warrior for Christ.

Wyatt's Routine is set, it is time to play!

I feel that our family has been on the go since Wyatt came into our lives, but for a long time Wyatt didn't really need a schedule. He just ate when he was hungry and slept most of the time. He also cried a lot because of his gas pains. Now we are in a new phase where this little guy needs his naps and by 6:30 he is out. If I don't get him to bed by then, he is fussing until I do lay him down! All I have to do is lay him down and he will whine for a few minutes and be out! I don't have him on a strict schedule but he is on a routine. He eats, plays, and then sleeps. Normally he stays awake about an hour and a half and sleeps the same.

Anyway, last night we went to see some very close friends. They live way down the mountain so I haven't been to see them since I was big pregnant. I dreaded the visit because they wanted us to come at 6 which meant that Wyatt would soon be fussy, they would want me to feed him and I would know that he needed to sleep, it would be loud and busy, ect. Levi and I have to keep reminding ourselves that a baby would just add to what we do and I would never let Wyatt turn into a reason for me to stop doing what we do. So I changed my attitude and took him. He was great! He played and smiled at them for about 30 minutes, got fussy and they told me to feed him but I said he was just sleepy, I laid him down and he was only woken up once by a 3 year old who went in the room and shook him. I was able to spend great time catching up and encouraging these friends who are working so hard to change the darkness to light.

So now it is time. Time to get busy doing what I came here for. Time to bring Wyatt along beside us as we go out. Time to teach Wyatt how to make a difference and change the world. Everyone tells me to start as I mean to go on concerning Wyatt's routine, sleeping, ect....I feel that we should start as we mean to go on in this area as well. It will not be easy now..I will have to be very careful concerning germs, ect....but it will be worth it.