Rainy Days and Holidays

With the kids off for the Easter holiday, I resisted the urge to pack in activities to keep everybody busy each day. Although I like to start my morning off relaxed, usually by 11am I am going stir-crazy as is Caroline. Eric on the other hand, craves days and days in a row of staying around the house, doing whatever he chooses. He would gladly stay in our house and yard, not venturing out anywhere the entire 6 days off school. Caroline and I are more alike, going a little nuts with all the free time and nothing planned. Sometimes conflicts arise with me trying to keep Caroline busy while not dragging poor Eric to and 'fro. This Easter break, I am trying to find a little balance and pleasure for us all.

Thursday, the first day off, we did our favorite thing-staying in our jammies, reading, playing (me watching Dr. Phil) until about 10am when I told everybody to at least get breakfast, brushed teeth and dressed. We hung around the house until 2pm when I dropped Caroline off at a Girl Scout activity and Eric picked up a friend to play with for a few hours. So Caroline got her time out of the house and Eric got to stay home, other than a quick trip out to drop off and deliver kids. I did my best to stick to my weekday routine of getting some housework and transcription done, with the only missing element being my workout routine that is too difficult to fit in with extra little people around. I'm thinking the rest of the holiday might follow the same pattern with perhaps another day at home today, but then Monday trying to fit in a movie or playtime with some buddies for the kids. The weather turned a bit rainy so the inside activities will fit with the atmosphere outside just fine.

It's kind of nice to have a few days with nothing planned other than the activites surrounding Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I've taken the opportunity to have the kids focus on why we have these days off, and I've been able to institute some extra quiet time for them to read their Bibles and talk to God. Since it is the time of the resurrection, when we watched Survivor last night, I was thinking about how to relate the game of Survivor to my kids as a real-life example of our survival through Jesus Christ. I want to help them understand that we are survivors too, but not because of our courage or strength or bravery like the contestants in the game. Our survival is the the result of Jesus loving us enough to take the blame and punishment for all their "badness" and offering them life in return. That's the only deal of "getting something for nothing" that you ever really find in life. If my kids accept this as the Truth for their lives, I'll have fulfilled my life's mission as a mom.