A summer of INTENTION

See you in September KOK!! 

Today is Emersyn's *real* last day of school. She had her last day of preschool three weeks ago, had a week off, and then returned to the school for a two week long day camp. It was a great experience and she got to do a lot of fun things. It was, however, exhausting to get up every.single.day and get her ready to go. I miss our lazy mornings! 

I had originally signed up Emersyn for a VBS with one of her buddies that would start the week after next but I've decided not to send her. (I feel like I may have already blogged about this but am too lazy to go back and see if I indeed have so just skim this part if it's a repeat). I miss my girl! I miss our mornings together. I miss running errands with her. I miss having quality time with her when Everett takes his morning naps. There is going to come a day (sooner then I'd like) where she will be gone Monday through Friday from 8-3 or whatever, and I will miss the days of no school. I want to seize this time and make the most of it. Everett is growing up SO fast too and I know that before I know it, they will both be in school and I'll be living the life of the stay at home mom with kids in school, eating bon bons and watching TV. (That sounds accurate, right?) Ha ha. I kid, I kid. 

I saw a printable on Pinterest of Ecclesiastes 11:4 and it perked my interest....

Obviously, this isn't literally what the Bible says so I looked up the verse for myself. This is what it read....

"Whoever watches the wind will not plant, whoever looks at the clouds will not reap". Ecc 11:4. 

Ouch. 

I immediately thought of parenting when I saw this verse. I always think that for me to have time to invest in my children intentionally I need to have my entire house clean, laundry folded and put away, and an area set up with educational resources for my children where they can sit and learn, dressed to perfection, hair combed and styled. Oh and quick, let me get a quick picture of this beautiful moment so that my Facebook friends will see how put together I am and commend me for my amazing mothering skills. ;) However, if I wait for such conditions to occur, I will never get anything done in the lives of my children.

I've decided to commit Everett's nap time to Emersyn this summer. Normally this is a time where I drink my coffee, maybe read my Bible, write in my prayer journal, send an encouraging email to a friend, blog, clean, do laundry, etc. However, while I'm busy *doing* things, *watching* my daughter grow, I'm doing nothing to plant seeds in her that can grow while I'm busy doing things that inevitably have to get done, such as taking care of her baby brother. 

Emersyn is at such a sweet, vulnerable age and is my mini-me to the core. She yearns to do whatever I am doing, absorbs tremendous amounts of information and lights up when I take time to praise and affirm her. I am her biggest fan in life but what good is that if she doesn't know it and see it demonstrated by my actions. 

So this summer, I'll be unavailable between the hours of 10-11:30 to anyone except my girl. There's books to read, crafts to do, projects to start and finish, tea time to be had, prayers to be prayed, letters to be traced, scriptures to be memorized, giggling to occur, chores to be done (together), pictures to be taken, and tickling to endure. 

Parenting is so much more then hanging out with your kids. It requires being intentional with our time and actions. It means not getting to do all the things we want to do sometimes. But as with any good investment, it yields a great return in the future. :)