Apple tree

Do you ever daydream about what you had as a child and want to recreate it for your own kids? 

I was daydreaming last year about how we had an apple tree in our backyard when I was growing up.  The apples would fall off the tree and we would bob for apples right out of the pool. 
It was the very next day, I showed up at Home Depot and bought our own apple trees!  There is no pool for them to fall into, but the apple trees are there and my kids love checking for the harvest. They are few and far between but we are patiently waiting for it to flourish!

I have to say, I love seeing the harvest too!  So much so, that I have both my kids their very own apple trees for their rooms!

I wanted a visual aid

&

 positive reinforment to really LIVE OUT 

Galatians 5:22-23.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.

It has been so rewarding to see God really speak into my kids' hearts.  I love seeing their delight when they add an apple to the tree.   When the tree is completely full of fruit, the kids will be treated to a date of their choice with Dad!  It really is a win-win for everyone. 

Talent Show

My son came home from school very excited about his first day.  He filled me in on the activities of the day.  He began searching through his room and gathering up his toys.  When I asked him what he was doing, he said he needed to bring something to the talent show!

 I was thinking to myself, isnt that a little ambitious to have a "talent show" on the second day of school?!  But I thought, well maybe the teacher just wants to get them excited about their new class. 

So, I let him go through the toys and pick out what he wanted to bring.

The next day, we are dressed and ready on time.  We head out for school, first to drop off my oldest, then my youngest.  As we are half way to my daughter's school, my son declares that we have forgotten his supplies for his "talent show".  I knew I wasn't going back home, so I told him that he had many talents- we could come up with something else.  It didnt take long before my son came up with a Plan B.
He asked if I could bring in his favorite CD (Toby Mac) so he could dance for his class! To this idea, I thought well...I think I need to walk in and talk to the teacher.  When I got into the classroom, I asked his teacher about the "talent show", she just looked at me with a blank stare unsure of what I was talking about.  Then she began to smile and informed me that they had just talked about the Fruits of the Spirt and how God gifts us with TALENTS.  Apparently this discussion had made quite an impression on my son.  So, when I told her about his idea...she ran with it! 
As I pulled up to pick him up from school, his teacher had a glowing smile.  She informed me that not only did he dance for the class, he even performed with his air guitar.  She proudly said, "Well, at least I know he was listening to our talk about fruits of the spirt, he just took it to a whole new level". 

What a great way to start his first week of Pre-School!

Fruits of the Labor

I have been teaching Kendall about the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). 

Today, she was bearing fruit! She had an eagerness to help, she was patient through our school work, and filled with kindness throughout our day! Every time I turned around, she was asking, "Mom, how can I serve you?" and  "How can I help".  It was such a great day to really see her shine that I wanted to feed back into her.  I couldnt think of a better way to "feed" her spirit than to feed her belly with a good ice cream party! So, that is exactly what we did!

Brenon got in on the action as well.  Kendall did a great job sharing the limelight with her litter brother!