Another sweet sabbatical gift has been a bit more time to focus on our kids and spend some one-on-one time with them ~ especially for Robert. He has gotten to play some basketball with Cooper at our neighborhood recreation center and been on a couple of lunch and breakfast dates with Kory. Last night he planned a special dinner date with Kayla. When he insisted on “dressing up”, she expressed some concern. She kept pleading for a casual outing to Jamba Juice or Barnes and Noble, but he insisted on a fancier dinner date.
Note: These photos have not been edited. That is the REAL color of her hair, and she gets stopped by complete strangers who marvel at its beauty on a regular basis. (Mostly women who say they pay BIG money to have hair that color!) Recently, while we were out and about it happened twice in the course of less than an hour! It’s just a given now when we go out in public. Oh my!
Before they left, I wanted to capture her cuteness by taking a few photos. She’s going to change so much in the next few years, but right now she is still a tree climbing, tree swinging, tree hugging little girl. (She would be a vegetarian with a houseful of animals if I let her!) So glad I got a several sweet shots of her before the special night out!
The plan was Olive Garden (they have a gluten free menu now!) and The Yogurt Experience ~ you know, her favorite type of dessert ~ “healthy.”
And we even got her handsome Daddy in on the photo shoot! I had to give him a little bit of smile and posture coaching…
…but then they just decided to be their usual selves:
Yes, this is one of their favorite things to do ~ make weird faces and take pictures of each other. Can’t tell you how many of these I have on my phone and computer!
After they left last night and then again this morning, I prayed…
Thank you, Lord, for Kayla’s date with Robert. I pray that you would please use the time to speak deeply to her soul your love for her and her complete loveliness and acceptance in Your eyes and those of her Daddy’s. Fill her with joy and confidence because of Your love being demonstrated by Robert. Give her a godly view of herself ~ a healthy and positive one based on Truth, and let no lie that enters her heart or mind remain there to bring about doubt or despair. May she thrive and become the woman You’ve designed and called her to be. May she be filled with a feminine strength and be free to know and love You more deeply with each passing day. Guard her heart and protect her from all harm. Deepen her faith in You and may she know Your nearness each day of her life. Free her from fear and anxiety and grow her in peace, wisdom, and trust ~ all in abundance from You. Knit her heart tightly to her Daddy’s and even more to Yours. Amen.
Then, I thought of this verse:
Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,
and our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace.
Psalm 144:12
And found this commentary:
“When we see our daughters well established, and stayed with wisdom and discretion, as cornerstones are fashioned in the building; when we see them by faith united to Christ as the chief cornerstone, adorned with the graces of God’s Spirit, which are the polishing of that which is naturally rough, and become ‘women professing godliness’; when we see them purified and consecrated to God as living temples, we think ourselves happy in them.”
~Matthew Henry
Yes Lord, may she be adorned with Your Spirit’s graces, and purified and consecrated to You. May she be stayed with wisdom and discretion. May she be well-established in the grace of the gospel. Thank you for my delightful daughter. Thank you for her humble and sacrificial Daddy. Amen.
Amen and Amen. Love, blessings and blue skies, K&J