One of my strong desires as a wife and mommy is to instill in the heart of Becca a deep love for her daddy. Parenting is not a competition for getting our children to like us better than our spouse . . . to be the favorite parent. We are to esteem others better than ourselves, and I feel it is important for our children to see this between their daddy and mommy. As a wife and mommy, my love for my husband and the way I treat him and talk of him to others has an impact on Becca. I want Becca to adore her daddy like I do. And Lord willing, I want Becca to someday honor her husband in the same way: I want to pass that legacy along to her.
So, how do I instill a heart of love for Daddy in Becca’s heart? Right now we do simple things. We cheer for Daddy when he’s coming home. We practice running to the door and giving him a hug and kiss when he comes home. We talk about how Daddy is great. And most importantly, even right now, I try to always speak positive words about Daddy to Becca. That means I must control my tongue and watch my words and tone. How easy it would be to share with my child (even a 20 month year old) irritations against my husband. And what does it matter right now — she doesn’t understand! But yet it does matter right now; I’m setting up patterns for my life. I desire that Becca will never hear me speak negatively about Josh. This is my prayer.
Speaking of honoring Daddy, my dear husband was extremely sweet to me for my birthday. Wednesday night after church, he made me a little plate of fruit and whipped cream and gave me some gifts. Thursday night he took me to my favorite restaurant — Josh’s restaurant — and made me a delicious meal, including a Brown Derby birthday cake. Josh also made me a watermelon fruit basket.
Friday we went shopping for my present, a nice chair. I’ve wanted one for Becca’s room for reading and cuddling. We found a great chair at the Salvation Army Store – for a great price. The chair is in great shape and is a perfect fit for Becca’s room. It was also issued (notice tag in picture) on July 20, 1994, so we decided that it must have been meant for me since it was issued on my birthday. Yes, I have the sweetest husband in the world!
Sunday afternoon we normally do something as a family. This week we played in the fountain and in the UTA fine arts building. Becca enjoyed sticking her head under the waterfall and loved playing in the lockers. We’re grateful for the family God has blessed us with and for the time we have to enjoy each other.
Firsts this week:
- first time to have her toenails painted
- given her first pair of earrings (by our neighbors, who just returned from spending the summer with their family in Egypt)
Thank you for the example! I pray that when our time comes that we continue the legacy as well. I LOVE that chair! So beautiful. I’m sure you will get a lot of use out of it. You are also looking great. Nice tan, beautiful hair. 🙂 Miss you!
Josh is a wonderful guy to love, honor and obey — the Godly husband and father his family is VERY grateful for. Love the new chair, too. Looks so comfy!
I’m beyond impressed with the cake, fruit basket and dinner. Nice job, Josh! The chair looks super comfy; I know you’ll make lots of wonderful memories in it.
Amy! Amen! Thanks for sharing this with us! You have some great ideas on how to honor your husband with your kids! So a great prayer for us to pray and strive toward! Love you!
We are blessed to know you honor Josh by building him up to Becca. Your and Josh’s relationship obviously works both ways – seeing the special things you both do for each other. What neat birthday gifts – the special food, prepared by Josh (looks delicious), and the special chair. Thanks for all the fun pictures – your weekly gift to us! (ooh, fancy toenails and ears :-))