Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

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I found these videos greatly encouraging and insightful. Dr. Meg Meeker offers great wisdom

for how men can develop and maintain healthy relationships with their daughters.

I have paraphrased some of the highlight points that I took from the videos:

 ** More than teaching your daughter to play the clarinet well, it is important to teach your 

daughter to have a heart of service.  Serve along your daughter at Habitat for Humanity

 (for example); teach her to have humility and to serve others.

** Do not focus your attention on your daughter's outward appearance.  If you make

comments about her weight & appearance then she is likely to believe your love and 

approval are dependent on the way she looks.  

**Even as a daughter develops into her teenage years, it is important for the father to continue to

be affectionate toward his daughter.

** Do NOT be afraid to set boundaries with your daughter's attire.  Speak up and protect your 

daughter's purity!  Loving boundaries are a gift to your child; it gives your daughter security.  

**Teenager tantrums are not that different from toddler tantrums.  Do not take their words

personally.  Your daughter may say she "hates you" but underneath that venom is a 

little girl who is crying out to know that you love her even at her very worst.

I hope you enjoy it as much as Brad and I did! 

Little Ninjas

We have a friend who signed their daughter up for karate class and she said how much her daughter had benefitted from the discipline, exercise and even foreign language she learned from taking it. So, we decided it would be fun to give it a try for our girls too! And I have to say, it was a huge success. The girls loved their class and really grew in their confidence to do new things.

I am so proud of my two Little Ninjas!

These videos are from the girls FINAL Little Ninjas class. They had the opportunity to break their very first board on their last day.

The Little Ninjas repeating Sensi Kris's words in Japanese!

Jumping-Jacks

The Bear Crawl

Kangaroo

The Crab Walk

The Snake

Kicking 

More Kicks! 

 

Jillian's final hand-shake with her instructor Black Belt Sensi Kris

Faith was so proud of her accomplishments in the class. :-)

Sensi Kris with Jillian and Faith

A photo of our family taken of our family by another parent a couple weeks earlier at Little Ninjas class. 

Norfolk and Ocean City

This summer, our friends the Georges invited us to come visit them the weekend of the Norfolk Harborfest. 

On Friday evening, June 10th, we made the "4 hour drive" (it turned out to be closer to 5 hours because of traffic) to Norfolk, VA to see our friends Chris, Rebekah, and Lydia for the weekend.

It was an wonderful weekend and we were incredibly blessed by our friend's hospitality! :-)

From the beginning:

Anna was ready to help her daddy make the long drive to VA. I love her excited face from being in the front seat! 

Jillian cuddling with her Love Bear!

Faith was the first one to fall asleep on the drive and surprisingly Anna was the last one! 

We didn't make it to the George's door until after 11 PM and were a little exhausted! But by the next morning, and with the help of a yummy pancake pick-me-up, we were ready for some FUN! :-)

Saturday morning, we made the 30 minute drive to Virginia Beach to experience the ocean for the first time with our girls! It was a very memorable time and the girls are already hoping to go back someday very soon. 

Old College Roomies- Brad and Chris

Five year old Jillian loved the waves and finding seashells.

Our adventure-hearted 14 month old, Anna, had no fear of the water, and on more than one occasion Brad and I had to chase and rescue her from the big ocean! 

Three year old Faith was mesmerized by the sand and enjoyed creating her own little castles in the sand.

We enjoyed a nice picnic on the beach under the tent. 

Our first visit to the beautiful ocean was incredibly memorable! We made so many sweet memories!

Saturday afternoon, we visited down-town Norfolk and saw the mermaid statues, USS Wisconsin and enjoyed the Harborfest.

That evening Chris and Rebekah read all four of the girls a bed-time story and then afterwards, the grown-ups played a game of Settlers of Catan! 

On Sunday morning, we went to church with the Georges, then went to Sonic to get food for a picnic at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. 

The girls loved the fountain park and got soaking wet in their clothes! 

Anna was so cuddly after her exhausting play in the water! 

A photo of Jillian and Faith enjoying the tram with Mr. Chris in the gardens! It was the perfect weekend with our friends and we so sad that our time ended so quickly!  

For more photos click of our trip to Norfolk and Virginia Beach posted on Facebook, click here.

Memorial Day Weekend

We made some great memories with family and friends over Memorial Day Weekend.  

Anna, Brad, and Mimi catching up on the couch.

PawPaw giving Faith and Jillian their "Happy to See You" gifts! :-)

The girls got adorable shorts and tops from Gymboree, coloring books, and a book about numbers! 

I prepared a celebratory birthday dinner for Mimi! (Our friends Jen and Mike who now live in Norfolk, VA joined us too.  It was a very special evening.)

While we were shopping for Mimi's dinner and cake, Jillian was adamant that Mimi needed lots of flowers for her birthday! So when we found this pretty flower cake with cupcakes all around it, we thought it was perfect! :-)  Mimi loved it and said it was one of the prettiest cakes she had ever seen.  

Mimi was genuinely surprised by the cake. I love her expression. 

It meant so much to both Faith and Jillian to surprise their Mimi. 

"Make a WISH Mimi!"

After dinner and dessert, Jen and Mike looked at Jillian's new book.  

While looking at it, Jen and Mike were so excited to find a picture of the aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise.  Mike is an Naval officer on the USS Enterprise and is currently deployed serving our country!  Thank you Mike and Jen for the many sacrifices you make to give freedom to our country.  We love you guys! 

Meanwhile, Faith cuddled with her PawPaw on the couch and showed him how her Tag works while reading the book Olivia. 

Mike and Brad- We are so thankful that we became friends with this sweet couple while living in England!  The entire evening was nice and relaxing.

After the kids (and grandparents) went to bed, we stayed up late to play Settlers with our friends. :-)  

The next morning before church, Jen and Mike joined us for some waffles, bacon and eggs and then we all went to church together.  

After church, we came home for a light lunch and Jillian gave Mimi her home-made card for her. While Mimi was here, Jillian enjoyed having Mimi sit by her while she colored her new coloring book.  Also, Mimi and PawPaw were very proud to hear Jillian read a short Bob Book to them.  

Faith and PawPaw reading the Richard Scarry book about numbers! It's a really good one! 

That evening Mimi and PawPaw took us out for a special dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  It was a pleasant evening outside and the girls did a great job entertaining themselves while we waited for our dinner. It was actually quite a long wait, and our waiter felt bad about it , so he gave us a free appetizer!!! Yummy!

Anna entertained herself by spilling her water all over herself. :-)

Jillian and Mommy

I ordered Cajun Salmon for my dinner and it was amazing!!! (I don't normally take photos of my food but this is one of the best meals I have had in ages!)  Also, the serving size was very generous, I was able to make two meals out of it. Thanks Mimi and PawPaw!

Jillian eyes were open wide from putting something a little too hot into her mouth! :-)

After dinner, we walked to 16 Handles for frozen yogurt!  

 Sweet Faith displaying our yogurt! :-)  We had a Groupon for $16 and this was our 1st time to visit; I am so glad that we "discovered" this place.  It was super good and much healthier than real ice-cream.  

PawPaw helped Jillian create a yummy frozen yogurt concoction. 

Then a photo of Jillian and PawPaw enjoying frozen yogurt together.

Faith and Mommy shared their frozen yogurt! 

Then after our dessert, PawPaw took the "big girls" on a train ride. 

The next morning (Monday) Mimi and PawPaw enjoyed fruit and a light breakfast with us.

Then we made an hour drive to the Leesburg outlets by way of White's Ferry! It was a beautiful, scenic route.

It also was a pretty cool experience driving onto the ferry and being transported across the river.

After White's Ferry and the outlets, PawPaw and Daddy took the girls swimming. Then before bed, we all enjoyed some "Mimi" cake for dessert.

On Tuesday morning, Mimi and Paw Paw were spent a few hours with us, before they caught their flight home to Texas.  Here Mimi is reading a last book to the girls!

Thanks for a wonderful trip.  We had a great time and are looking forward to seeing you next month!