It’s a…

Thank you to everyone who commented on last weeks update video, we definitely felt all the love! It’s so fun to share this journey with you!

Without further ado it’s a BOY! A third Boy!

Yes, to answer the obvious question, we were trying for a girl. It was a little sad for me, at first, to know I will not be braiding the hair of a daughter of my own, but that’s ok, I have plenty of wee girlfriends to borrow!

I’ve also been having lots of revelations about being a #boymomforlife over the past few days and I realized it suits me. As my husband reminded me, I do actually like superheroes, Star Wars, and “boy” things.

I was also reminded that as a boy mom I have the honor of raising my boys to be good men. Men who are respectful, supportive, gentle, strong, loving, compassionate, and faithful. Men that could be humble leaders with integrity, wisdom, and discernment. Future husbands who would love and cherish their wives and encourage them to pursue their dreams too. To be fathers that would be present, involved, and willing to model THE Father’s grace-filled love for their own children. Simply put, to be men like their daddy (full disclosure: he would say to be better than him).

These are my prayers for my boys and I’m humbled at the task of raising these three arrows.

That said, we’re not perfect, I mess up daily, but that’s where the grace and loads of prayers come in. That’s why we have mommy mentors, grandparents, and teacher friends to lean on for help and to give advice. “It takes a village to do life well,” as Emily Ley says. What a relief right?!

Whelp, it’s going to be a wild, noisy, dirty, sweaty adventure filled with sweet moments and I look forward to sharing it with you, in addition to the usual creativity, inspiration, tutorials, and fun here on the blog!

cheers,

Inspiring Creative: Marissa Moss

Nurturing creativity in our children is one of the most important things we can do for them. Last week, Lindy-Ann shared an inspiring TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson. He eloquently and wittily shared that our public education system, around the world, is broken when it comes to this crucial skill set. For this reason, I am so overwhelmingly thankful that we are able to send our son to the American International School here in Israel, where he is given opportunities to flourish creatively and encouraged to embrace how his brain thinks. The most recent celebration of creativity was a week of workshops hosted by children’s author and illustrator Marissa Moss.

Marissa spent the week holding writing and illustration workshops for each grade. Through her stories and her own personal experiences she encouraged each child to embrace their unique story because, as she puts it, “everyone’s life is interesting.” Marissa also taught them the importance of making mistakes.

On Friday, at our monthly Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, she spoke with us parents about some of the activities they did and how important it is to help our kids hone their visual storytelling skills. She even answered questions on how to encourage our budding creatives in ways that would challenge them lovingly and encourage with sincerity, not false praise. She also encouraged us, as parents and teachers, to help the children harness their innate critical reading and thinking skills, because “kids won’t read bad books; if it’s not good, they’ll tell you.” This critical reading by her own sons is how Marissa knew that children would enjoy her books. She even told us that her sons are her best and most brutal editors.

There are two truths that Marissa hoped to leave with our kids that I think hold true for everyone, no matter what age you are.

Truth #1 Revision is your friend

In working with the second grade classes, Marissa had them work on crafting and revising a great opening sentence. As you can imagine most kids struggled with the fact that their sentence was not perfect the first time and did not want to revise it. In order to help them understand that revision is a good thing she showed them one of her sketches of a first draft – all lines and scribbles, and then the final published revision. Reworking and revising can actually be fun and exciting as you get closer and closer to that “A-Ha!” moment and the children were able to learn and experience that.

I asked my second grader about his sentence, and he exasperatedly told me he had to do it twice, but in the end it was a great hook: Peter has a big secret.  Did I mention Peter is a piece of toast. I’m intrigued, aren’t you?

Truth #2 Mistakes are opportunities

I first heard this exact truth from my incredibly talented artist friend Joy, as I struggled to perfect a craft we were doing for fun at a girls’ night. Silly Katie.

Back when Marissa was an art teacher she saw this struggle in her own students and she was inspired to use one of their true stories to help other children see the beauty of making mistakes. She wrote and illustrated Regina’s Big Mistake and has helped other children be bold and just get something down on paper. It is the ideal book for the little perfectionist in your life.

Funnily enough, even when signing the books I purchased, she misspelled my son’s name and beside it she wrote “sorry, I make mistakes all the time.” It’s truly a great life lesson for everyone, not just creatives.

“Let yourself explore, take risks, and make mistakes. You never know where a mistake will lead you.” -Marissa Moss

After hearing Marissa Moss and Sir Ken Robinson words I’m impassioned to encourage my boys and the other children in my sphere of influence to take those risks and be creative. I want them to be a part of this creative revolution we are experiencing and help shift the tide.

Learn more about Marissa and her books here. I also recommend the After School Monster, which I bought for my 4 year old. It’s a great story of being brave and conquering your own monsters.

A NOTE OF THANKS

Marissa, thank you for your time and your heart for our children. I know all you taught them will impact how they see their {art}work going forward. Hoping the all best for you and your new authors!

Cheers,

Goodbye 2017 – my personal reflection

Cheers to 2017

Advent-ures in 2017

When I was reflecting on what to write about this last Tuesday of 2017, I could hardly believe the year has flown by so fast! My dad used to tell me that time would fly as we got older and I never believed him. But I definitely do now.

This past year I focused on being more joy-filled and joyful {#morejoy}, as well as being intentional with “all the things.” It was a growing experience for sure, as I pushed myself to focus on the little things that bring joy, surrounded myself with positivity, and tried to find balance in my planner. Time management is still a struggle for me. However, most of the time I made it through the crushing deadlines and early morning design sessions, in the midst of and in-between parenting and adulting, with a joyful heart and a cup of coffee. Let’s just say being intentional will still be a goal in 2018.

Although I may not have mastered time management this year, I have been intentional in other areas, especially in my faith walk. I host a weekly Bible study and, together with some amazing women, we dove deep and really basked in the richness of living in the Holy Land. My co-leaders and I knew we wanted to help our ladies establish their hearts during the Christmas season with an Advent study, but we couldn’t find one that fit our needs as a group. I did, however, find one for my family. Two things resulted from our collective searching. First, I committed my family to doing the She/He/Kid Reads Truth 2017 Advent study. Second, we co-leaders decided to create our own tailored Advent study.

Family Read{ing} Truth

If you are not familiar with the She Reads Truth community, you should definitely check them out! Their goal is to simply bring people to the Bible daily and everything they do is designed intentionally and beautifully. I highly recommend their Open Your Bible study and the SRT Bible, both have encouraged and taught me so much about the Bible and how to read it.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to see their Advent Study on Instagram and to find that they had something for the whole family! The materials truly helped us to focus and find peace at a time that has been especially busy and chaotic for us. I just love that our mealtimes were filled with discussions about the true reason for the season!

A true Advent-ture 

Back to our group Advent conundrum:  In all honesty, the advent-ure of creating a study was an amazing experience! We specifically needed a study that would connect the overall narrative of the Bible from Eden to the manager in a concise, but meaningful, 3 weeks. At some point in 2018 I will share more about my mentor and co-leader, Anita, but for now I will tell you that the Lord has called her to write – and write she did for us. She compiled the text, scriptures, and questions while I designed the first draft layout of the book and the accompanying Advent ornaments. It was a true labor of love for us and we were blessed by the response we received from our group.

Needless to say, it has been a busy, but abundantly blessed season of anticipation for sure! I hope as you are coming down from the highs of Christmas and preparing for 2018 that you may find moments of peace and reflection.

Join us again in 2018 for more tutorials, inspiration, adventures, and travel.  We invite you to let us know how we can encourage you and walk through this colourful world with you!

Cheers,

 

What binds your family?

Photo credit: Katie

How many of us fall victim to talking AT our children instead of talking WITH our children? I do. I recognise this and certainly do my best, where I can, to carve out intentional moments for conversation with my 3 littles. But lets go a step further, what do you talk about with your kids? First thoughts may be conversations around them, their day, their school, their friends, their activities or possibly even their favourite foods.

A lovely friend of mine sent me this article on Wednesday “The Stories That Bind Us” by Bruce Feiler, The New York Times, which touches on just this. In this article the results of the research conducted showed that a child who knows more about their family, i.e.: the history of their mom and dad, their grandparents, their aunts, uncles and cousins etc, proved to be more resilient, more self-confidant with a better mental health and were ultimately happier.

“The answers have to do with a child’s sense of being part of a larger family,” – Dr. Duke.

The author encourages us to think of a family motto, I challenged my eldest with this task and this is what she came up with:

“Live kindly, love completely and protect ever after.”

I’ll take that, thank you.

Please give this quick article 10 minutes of your time today, it may encourage and inspire you as it did me. {article}

Cheers

An American Patriot Abroad

Growing up as a military brat has impacted my worldview in so many ways, probably most significantly when it comes to patriotism. The sight of a the American Flag makes my heart swell with pride, the National Anthem chokes me up, and I stand a little taller with my hand over my heart while reciting the pledge of allegiance. I am so thankful to my parents for instilling in my siblings and me that sense of patriotism in so many ways including the American decor around our home, always celebrating the 4th of July (especially when we lived abroad), and allowing us to be a part of our dad’s military service – I am not kidding you when I say I grew up climbing on tanks.

Isn’t my little bro a cutie with his tough guy face?

It is a legacy that we are passing down to our children, although their perspective will be different as expatriates. By the way, when I first heard the term “expatriate” or “expat” I was appalled – moving abroad did NOT mean I was breaking up with the United States of America, ha! The term simply means a person living outside their native country for any reason, not that they don’t still love their native country. Living the expat life may even strengthen one’s patriotism as we experience life away from all that we know and love.

It’s amazing to think that 240 years ago when the American flag was designed and made by Betsy Ross, it branded the country. Just like a company logo, we see the stars and stripes in red, white, and blue, and associate different things with it. Talk about long lasting design, right? For our boys, as with other kids I imagine, it symbolizes the US embassy, making it through customs when we fly home, where we come from, and reminds them of some of the people who love them the most. When I asked my big kid what he thought of when he saw the American flag he said: “I know where my family is, it means home.”

As they grow up as citizens of the world, it is important for us to keep them tethered to their country, its history (the good and the bad), and a deep appreciation of the civil and military servants in our family tree. Therefore, we are intentional when we are back stateside to visit National Parks and museums, share family time and stories, and experience the conveniences like Target – ok that last one wasn’t patriotic per say, but we miss it a lot! We want them to be proud and humble to be American, to realize they come from the land of the free, and be brave, like all those heroes who have sacrificed for it.

Today, on our Independence Day abroad, we will wear our red, white, and blue, cook out, and toast to the freedom our fore-fathers planned for us. We will share stories about our favorite past 4th of July’s and help the boys make their own memories. {Not to mention a little patriotic photo fun!}

How will you spend your 4th? Are you stateside at a BBQ or at a fellow American expat’s celebrating? Whatever you are up to, try to snap a few patriotic images and firework shots to share in the comments! We would love to see them!

cheers friends,

Thanks for this adorable quilt Aunt Courtney! They love learning the US geography with it!

Check out Courtney’s amazing hand-made quilts here!

Flavors of Fatherhood

{Guest post by: Jenny Delaney Frickie}

Fatherhood is not something you can easily define, for the seasons of fatherhood are as fluid as the cold beer he drinks after a long hard day. There are many different kinds of fathers in this world. There is the stoic father who laborers tirelessly for his family, expecting his actions to speak the words he can’t seem to share. There is the goofy dad who seems to be as young and carefree as his kids, exemplifying the art of playfulness at all stages of life.  There is the adventurous father who is only satisfied exposing his family to the wonders of the world, instilling a life long fascination of exploration. There is the handy daddy who can fix anything he sets his mind to, especially the treasured toys of his children.

A father can be each of these and more at one point or another. As the seasons of life pass from one to the other, and the challenges of each season wear heavily upon his shoulders, a father never ceases in his labor of love for his family. He will move from the season of “daddy” to the season “dad”, just as spring all to quickly turns into summer. The summer years will fade to the brisk fall evenings, as pre-teens begin to push against authority. Then suddenly a father must weather the blizzards and winter storms of the teenage years with the hope that the spring of adulthood is just around the corner- when once again he will be a wanted voice of wisdom and encouragement.

Through it all, a father’s heart carries the burdens of his family with pride. He takes great care in providing shelter and food for his little tribe. Yet his provision goes so much deeper. His encouraging words and cheering smiles provide the very confidence that will propel his children into world in search of success and prosperity. A father’s love fills his children’s souls and prepares them for the day they will encounter the enormous love of their Father in Heaven. A love they are able to receive and believe in easily, for they have been loved unconditionally all their lives.

A father instills within his son what is means to be a good man; devoted and loving. He helps define the man of his daughter’s dreams, as she will seek a man who embodies the positive characteristics of her daddy. 

Fathers instruct their children, raising them up with honorable character and setting ever-widening boundaries that prepare for adulthood. Father’s are caretakers, providers and lovers. They are hard workers who make investments not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually. No, fatherhood is not easily defined for it encompasses all aspects of life and is displayed as uniquely as the beers displayed at a store.  Fatherhood is determined by the man’s personality and season in which he resides; his flavor and color is unique- but a refreshing cold beer nonetheless. 

Cheers to you dads!

Along with being Katie’s little sister, Jenny is a Christian author, a home school mama of three, and Marine wife. In between parenting and teaching, she uses her limited free time to write inspirational devotions and children’s literature. Her first published essay was chosen for the I HEART MOM anthology of motherhood.

This is Jenny’s first guest blog post on IACW and we look forward to her sharing her heart and inspiration with us in the future!

 

Here’s to the Volunteers

This post is dedicated all those mamas and papas who volunteer on behalf of their children. To those of you coaching little league, helping in classrooms, volunteering with the PTA, and the other countless and thankless tasks, we salute you.

We are huge supporters of our children’s schools and both volunteered at many events thrown by our fearless parent associations. We know first hand how disheartening  negative people can be, especially those who also never seem to step up themselves to help. It can be defeating, frustrating, and just plain sad. It’s in the spirit of cultivating kindness that we had to write this post to say THANK YOU.

Thank you to all of you who have at some point borne the brunt of the naysayers and negative feedback. Who’s hard work and hours spent was ignored by the Monday morning quarterbacks and playground mom-squads.

We also challenge those of you who have stayed on the sidelines thinking your positive thoughts were known, we encourage you to say something. Tell your people you appreciate them. A little goes a long way, and you never know who may need a little affirmation on the day you cross their path. Their hearts need to be filled up and appreciated and your words of kindness and encouragement will be welcomed!

Anne Taintor

We also wanted to share our most recent experiences with our respective International Days. Expat communities really know how to host a good International Day! They are colourful, lively, and educational. It is a fantastic day for our kids to share in, and  learn to appreciate, other cultures and countries. It breeds tolerance and acceptance, which we all know this world could use a little more of.

Funnily enough, we shared similar roles of logistics and graphic designers at our respective schools’ events merely a week apart. There was drama and unintentional hurt feelings, but, for the most part, both events were successful and the children, for which they are ultimately for, had a fantastic time and learned a great deal. That really is all that matters in the end, right? It’s why we volunteer for our little people. For them to have a good time, but also to show them how to serve.

International Day 2017 – Kuwait Style

International Day 2017 – Tel Aviv Style

We are all called to serve, in one place or another, and our children need to learn that lesson and look outside themselves, as well as recognize and appreciate the efforts of others. It would be amazing if we could teach our kids that it’s not always what we get out of this world, but it’s what we can give back to it, that matters most.

link

So here’s to all of you volunteers.  We are cheering you on and supporting your efforts! A special shout out one of our favorite volunteers and crafty friends, Kate: as always, anything for you friend!

In the spirit of John F. Kennedy’s famous words, the next time an opportunity to serve comes your way ask not what it can do for you, ask what YOU can do for your others.

Don’t forget to thank a volunteer today, they will really appreciate it!

xoxo,

Have the last word

No one stops to think what their last words may be to someone they love. No one stops to think about the last words written either. I do.

The reason…

My mother Meryll, passed away due to complications from surgery at the age of 49. I was 27. My mother never got to meet my children. They will never get to know their grandmother. The last written words I have to remember her by are found in a hand written journal from her time in hospital. When she had a pipe down her throat she used this journal to communicate with visitors and nurses. Sadly, these are the last words I have from her. Not words a daughter would ordinarily choose to keep, but precious words none-the-less. The content of some of her sentences are really hard to read but just seeing her tangible hand writing makes me feel closer to her.

My brother Warren, Meryll, Me

I sit here almost 8 years later reflecting on my own little family and I am faced with the reality that tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I have so many questions for my mom and would give anything to be able to sit down with her, I would drink coffee and she would have her favourite Rooibos Honey tea, as she always did, and we would talk for hours. I would ask her not only questions about parenting, but questions about marriage, too. She died 3 months before my wedding. So many things were left unsaid. So many big issues in life I have had to figure out for myself, moments where having my mom around would have come in handy. No offence Dad, but advice on birthing, delivery, and postpartum really can only come from a mom 😉

My last spoken words to my mom were “I’ll speak to you soon” – I never did.

Below is the last entry she ever wrote in that book, what bothers me more than her last few written words, is the fact that there is more than half the book left blank; so many things left unsaid and still so many pages left open, waiting to be filled with words never written.

My plan is to leave my 3 kiddos a journal specific to each child. Of course when it comes to generic news I will most likely type something up and print out 3 copies to insert, dated, into each book. I hope that one day when they’re old and grey these books will be relevant, but if life has other plans and I have to check out early,  I’m glad I will be able to leave them a few of their mother’s words. Good words, positive ones, funny ones, inspired ones, words of love and devotions. Words of pure heart. Memories that all too quickly seem to fade.

So I encourage you, if you have ever wanted to pen something, or a collection of somethings, to your children, do it! Do it now! Online images will move down your timeline, out of site and out of mind, but classic handwritten words, are priceless.

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart” – William Wordsworth

with love,

The Crayon Books

Ever since I was a little a girl, a fresh box of Crayola Crayons has made my heart so happy. That yellow and green branded box held so much possibility and potential creative outlets. My ‘artbrain’ liked to imagine that each color had a it’s own personality, opinions, and origin stories. Like Jungle Green was a really laid back fellow from Costa Rica and Burnt Sienna was from a cattle ranch out West. We had some really good times, my crayon friends and I, as I learned to color in{and OUT}side the lines. I even remember the first time I bought a box of crayons for my son, imagining we would be spending time coloring side by side, that vision wasn’t very realistic when he was only 18 months old, ha!

Then one day my childhood fantasies of a crayon world became a “reality” in the pages of a Christmas gift from Tio Russ. Our beloved Tio, had bought the boys two fantastic books about a set of crayons who wrote letters to their owner. The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home, written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, are now staple readings and gifts in the DG house.

The Day the Crayons Quit is a series of letters to a poor little boy, Duncan, from his unhappy crayons. Each color has it’s own grievance from being overly used to being naked! Duncan just wants his crayons to be happy, so in the end he comes up with a creative solution to take care of his “friends.”

The Day the Crayons Came Home is equally as witty and cheeky and introduces us to some other colors including the geographically challenged Neon Red Crayon and the egocentric Pea Green aka Esteban the Magnificent. Let me tell you the giggles that I hear when my oldest reads these letters to himself make my heart sing!

These books are perfect for elementary age children and parents –  I promise you will laugh out loud too. The fantastic child-like handwritings and illustrations by Oliver Jeffers brings each crayon to life. New readers will enjoy conquering each letter and older readers, for example, can use the series to learn about the use of perspective in literature. In addition, the The Crayon Books website has educational materials for teachers and parents. Full disclosure, I just found about about the two new additions to the crayon book universe, The Crayons’ Book of Numbers and The Crayons’ Book of Colors while researching for this post and have since order them for my 3 year old.  

My family highly recommends these fun and creative crayon books it.  They combine our love for reading, color, and laughter perfectly. I am genuinely inspired by Drew and Oliver’s collaboration as well.

If you are a fan like us, go check out the Every Crayon Counts site and share your thoughts…um, I mean, support for the Crayons Union! #supportthecrayons #thedaythecrayonsquit #everycrayoncounts

Color on!