deb and i are creative people. if there’s a project that needs to be done, then it has to be done with creativity and WOW.
when we were in Little Rock this past summer they had some kids of staff members come share their experience in moving to Little Rock and their adjustment to life there. every one of them mentioned that during their family’s fundraising process their parents made some kind of chart for the whole family to see how much progress they’d made.
but for the Laras, we didn’t want to simply do some “boring” thermometer. we liked the idea a family had of making a large magnet of a map from their home to Little Rock that they stuck on their fridge and had a little car magnet that traveled down the road.
but we wanted something even BIGGER. so we figured, “hey, we’re not going to stay in this house forever. why not go crazy and make a HUMONGOUS map on the living room wall.”
so that’s what we did. we announced to the girls that they were going to write on the walls, through a projection of the US on the wall, handed out pencils, and then let them go at it. after we’d put them to bed, mom and dad stayed up outlining it in Sharpie markers, and then we colored in the highway to Arkansas with them in the morning.
Recording a video seems to be easier for me than sitting down and eloquently typing my thoughts; it is quicker, too. So, here is my first installment of “Wednesday’s Wisdom for Parents.” Have a great day!
in our recent podcast (itunes link) we stated that divorce sucks, on the other end of the spectrum; weddings ROCK! i came across the video below via @youcanknowgod on twitter (great twitter name btw).
i love the fact that this couple took the time to be so fun, creative and original to begin their wedding. but more importantly to begin their marriage. my prayer for them is that they would continue to put that much time, effort, creativity and fun in their marriage in the days, months, and years to come. in fact this video even made me cry because i was so overwhelmed with joy for them.
this past tuesday I took the day off to spend a day with the family.
we decided to take family pictures. our last set of family pics we did when deb was still pregnant with the twins, so we decided it was about time we welcomed them to our family portraits.
also the last time we took pics they were more dressed up and looked like they were from a studio (actually it was just a bed sheet hung up in our living room). so this time we decided to go more casual.
we all wore hoodies and headed for a local park. deb’s mom told her about an orchard near her home that had some pretty fall leaves still on them. when we drove by we thought it was the perfect place. so we just pulled over, set up the tripod and clicked away.
here’s one of the pics I took on my iPhone. below you’ll find a link to more pics from our 300+ photoshoot.
so recently our girls have really become into “dog piling” on mom or dad or whoever will let themselves be on the bottom.
i love it. let me rephrase that. i love it when i’m ready to play. there are times that i’m reading, writing, or just napping on the couch and they come running and i am most certainly not ready in those cases. but when i am ready – bring it!
the girls love being able to pretend that they’re beating up dad. they love being tossed around up in the air. they love being pinned under my leg and tickled. they love trying to “save each other” from the clutches of daddy’s grip. and they love squealing! oh, man, do they love to squeal. and believe me 4 little girls (yes rachel jumps in too) giggling and squealing with delight will rival the sound of any boys of the same age.
usually these go until one of two things happen. the first is dad is so tired that he’s just laying on the ground out of breath and sweaty. and the girls are all on top claiming victory over the giant foe. or the secondly, someone has gotten hurt by bonking heads, hair accidently pulled, or just generally too many knees and elbows so close together. someone’s usually crying, running to mom for comfort, or bleeding.
and yet, i think it’s good for my girls to have this time to “get physical”. a time to know that playing hard isn’t just “for the boys”. i love all my girls and i’m glad they have a dad who’s around to play with them. in fact as i write this i’m sitting at my desk typing on my MacBook Pro with the iMac behind it with a screensaver of our girl’s pictures scrolling by. it brings a smile to my face to see my girls so little growing up and becoming the princesses that God’s called them to be but who also aren’t afraid to jump in on the “DOG PILE ON DAD!!”
hello to all my family near and far… and to all my dear friends, too. no, i don’t really have much to say today. i just wanted to say ‘hi’. feel free to leave a comment just to let me know you stopped by :o)
@cathynajera you do realize that those emoticons only show up for people using an iPhone or iPod touch. but it's ok to use them if you know. in reply to cathynajera6 hrs ago
