Wise Men Still Seek HIM

When Matthew and I started having children, we had to decide, Santa or no Santa. It is fine to teach children to have imaginations me to believe in fictitious characters. However, we looked at how the world had pushed Jesus aside. We shouldn't expect non Christians to teach about Christ and His birth, but it was our duty as Christian parents to make sure that our children knew that CHRISTmas is about God loving His creation, and sending Jesus to redeem His people.

Matthew and I decided that we would begin by telling the story of St. Nicholas. We let the girls know that Santa Claus is based off of St. Nicholas. We never said Santa wasn't real, but we didn't make a big deal out of him either. In the end, the girls caught on quickly to understanding that Daddy and Mama are Santa.

When the elf started, it didn't make sense to me to start something like that with the girls when they really haven't believed in Santa. Also, I have reservations about how people make the elf so mischievous. I could be wrong, but I thought the elf was meant to be spying on the children to make sure they were being nice, not naughty. But the elf is being naughty! My girls would not get away with making the messes and such that the elf makes.

I liked the idea of the fun that the elf could be. My friend Jenn, who writes for Live in The Round (liveintheround.com), and I began talking about this one day, and we talked about doing something with the Wise Men. The thought was formulating. Here is what my family has done for the past few years.

On December 1st, I set out my Nativity set, minus 2 Wise Men. With the 2 Wise Men, I set them on the table with a note. Here is one of the notes:

We let the girls name them. Alice picked a name from the Bible. She chose Elijah because she sees him as a wise man. Now Bethany wanted a girl, and she came up with Belle. We talked her into letting that be short for Belshazzar, hence the parentheses.

The girls are fully aware that I (and sometimes Matthew) am the one moving the men around each night, but they look forward to finding them each morning. Here are some of the things I've done with these wise men:

They reminded the girls to brush their teeth.

They climbed up to the star to see if they could find Jesus from the star.

They consulted the Girls' The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski. (A favorite of our family)

They studied the stars.

They stopped for a snack.

They made a tent to sleep in.

These are just a few of the fun things that Elijah and Belle have done on their adventures. I can't wait to come up with more ideas for them to do this year! On Christmas morning, the wise men can be found in the Nativity scene, and yes, I know that they didn't find Jesus until He was closer to the age of 2, but I figure, they came with the set, I will use them since they followed a star to find Jesus. I guess you could use the shepherds instead.

By the way, yes, these guys are breakable. I'm currently looking for affordable cloth or action figure-like Nativity pieces. I'm limited as to what I can do with these guys. 😒

Traveling Husband; I need new ideas!

I have mentioned more than once that my husband travels a lot! I try to do something special for him when he is away. I want him to know that the girls and I still pray for him, miss him, and love him, even when he isn't here. Here are a few things that I have done. I hope this helps other women or men who have a traveling spouse.

1. This one took lots of before he left planning and secretivity. I had each girl draw him a picture for some of the days he was to be gone. I took photos of the girls and myself. I wrote cards of encouragement for him. I had envelops with the date to be opened on the front. I put the drawings, pictures, and notes in each envelop, and put them in his luggage. This was for mission trip to Nicaragua, and many of those who went with him told me how much he looked forward to opening the envelop each day.

2. When Matthew was gone for 18 days - the longest he had every been away, the girls needed something to help them cope. I was able to talk to him almost daily, but the girls were usually already at school or asleep. For the girls, I had strips of paper for them to write something they missed about daddy, and I did it too. We rolled the strips up, and placed them in a large mason jar. When Matthew returned, he opened the jar and read each one.

Here is one of Bethany's strips: 

And one of Alice's:

And one of mine:

This is the jar filled:

3. Matthew more recently went to the Philippines. The area he went to has problems with the Taliban. So to encourage Matthew, I wrote scripture and a prayer on an index card for each day of ministry. 

So, what to do now? Matthew has some more trips coming up. I haven't been able to think of more creative ideas. I have a little time. Ideas may come. If you have any ideas, please comment. I'd love to hear them and try them out. If I use your idea, I will give you credit for the idea on my blog.

End of Summer Family Trip

This year, our family did something that I hope will become a family tradition. For the last 2 days of Summer vacation, we went to Newport, KY, which is right across the border of Cinncinati, OH. We stayed in a nice hotel, where the girls swam until late the evening we arrived.

The next day, we went to the Newport Aquarium. The girls had a blast! They loved seeing all the fish and sharks. Our youngest loved being able to pet the turtles and sharks. 

 Look at these cuties!

After our fun morning at the aquarium, we looked around the Newport Levee, and ate lunch at Tom and Chee, a very good soup and sandwich place. And no, we didn't try the grilled cheese doughnut.

We decided to walk over the Purple People Bridge, which may I say, I really love that name! The bridge is a walking/bicycle bridge from Kentucky to Ohio. I wish I'd known that people take padlocks and attach them to the bridge with their loved ones; that would have been really fun to do. Hmm...wish I'd gotten a picture of padlocks while I was there, but oh well, you get a picture of me and my man!

He is so good looking!

Here are the girls:

Oldest in KY; youngest in OH.

In Ohio, we rented bicycles, and had a blast riding around beside the river.

We were doing all the pedaling while the girls got to ride in the back.

The in-laws on their bicycle. Hope they don't kill me for including them! Haha!

We had such a great day away! Somethings to take note of:

1. This trip was a good day and a half trip away because Neport is a couple of hours away from us. Find places close by that may have places to tour.

2. We got 2 free adult admissions to the Newport Aquarium from the hotel for each room booked. Results: 4 adults and 2 children at the cost of only the 2 children. Score!

3. We tried Tom and Chee for the first time. Try new food places.

4. We walked across a bridge and bicycled. Find a way to exercise that is fun and relaxing.

Most of all, enjoy the company of your family every time you get together!

Dates Across the Big Pond

If you have read any of my other posts, you know that my husband travels a lot! So, when he is gone, I try to be creative on ways to keep in touch.

I love the Instagram App/Social Media. I decided to do something fun with it for Matthew on one of his long trips last fall since he uses it as well.  For those who aren't familiar with Instagram, it is a way to connect with friends and family through pictures.  You post a picture and then tell about it and share it.  I love to take photos of all kinds of things.  If you want to follow me, you can request to and you can find me under tracysdavison.

So this is my first pic which I typed in notes on my phone and then screenshotted it so I could post it on Instagram:

Lots of my friends got a kick out of the G rated disclaimer.

 

Here are my other days in order with the caption I put with them:

Day 1: I miss drinking an evening cup of coffee with you.

 

Day 2: I miss sitting in front of our electric heater with you on this cold day.

 

Day 3: I miss cooking with you.

 

Day 4: I miss walking downtown with you.

Day 5: I miss spending time with you and these people!

Day 6: I miss having you beside me while we hear about what God is doing through Gena in Scotland.

Day 7: I miss tucking these two in with you.

Day 8: I miss snuggling up to you in bed and watching Downton Abbey.

 

Just because we aren't in the same town, or even the same country, it doesn't mean that we can't have dates!  I love doing these cute things for Matthew, and I hope to share more ideas with you in the future that will help those who have a spouse who travels.



Work Trip

Geez, I am not good at keeping up with a blog.  I really thought that since it had been a dream of mine to write, I would be consistent.  Boy was I wrong! I go months without posting anything.  Oh well, if I don't pick it back up, it will become another failed attempt at a project and life dream.  So, here I am! Back at it so I can't become a failure!

Ok, so this date was a weekend away date.  I realize not everyone can do this, but when Matthew was asked to preach at a church in Grand Cayman, he made sure that he did it on a weekend that would work for me.  He is such a great guy! Or did he fear my wrath if he had gone without me on this trip?  Either way, I was able to go with him for a long weekend.  So, try not to be jealous as I share photos from our wonderful trip.

We stayed at a really nice hotel that was owned by a church member. This was waiting on us on our bed. Now look at this living room area!

We were very cozy, but spent very little time in our room because there was so much to see and do while we were there.  Seriously, look at these views!!!

We went to the Sea Turtle Farm, too.  We got to hold some turtles and swim with them as well.

Can you imagine being Baptized here?!?!  After church we all gathered at this place for a baptism and there was another church waiting to do the same thing! So awesome!!

And some other pictures from our tour of the Island, which you can go from one point to the other in less than a couple of hours. So, we really did see all of Grand Cayman!

So does your husband ever travel for work? Or do you? See if there is a way to travel together and during free time make the most of spending time together.  You will see more pictures from Grand Cayman (if I can get my butt in gear) because we loved this place so much we wanted to return.

Lunch Date to eat Sushi

First, I have to say that I can't believe it has been so long since my last post!  I have so many dates and family activities to post about! Yikes!  Don't think for a moment that our dates have stopped since I have posted.  Oh no! We have done so much this year.  Some more expensive than others, but I will post them all!

So, todays Hunsband and Wife date is an easy one for many of you.  Matthew and I love Sushi, but the girls aren't too fond of it.  So we like to take our lunch at the same time and go eat sushi.

 

We have actually done this several times this year.  It will always be a favorite date.  Plus, since our girls are in school, we don't have to get child care!

 

Speaking of the girls, they don't have to know, but once we finished the date by going to the new bakery in town and getting cupcakes! Shhh!

 

Sometimes you need a break from work to spend with your husband or wife.  I love my job, but getting to break up the time with seeing my hubbie is awesome!  Where is your favorite place to eat out?  Is it close enough to go during lunch?  If not, maybe somewhere close by may make a better option.  No where close or no money?  Pack a special lunch and meet at one of your work places to eat together.  Not close enough to have lunch together?  Make a phone call to each other?  Don't have lunch at same time?  I have no idea, but maybe there is another option.  Don't ever give up on trying to make time for each other!