Love Your Kids: Seize the Moments {Guest Post}

Last week, I reviewed the Christian parenting book, 365 Ways to Love Your Child. This week I’m delighted to have the author, Julie Lavender, guest posting, “Love Your Kids: Seize the Moments” for us!

Also, there’s still time to get in on the giveaway of this book. More about that at the end of this post. First, let’s hear an important message from Julie.

Love Your Kids: Seize the Moments

by Julie Lavender

Let’s face it – parenting can be the toughest job on the planet, but it is certainly the most rewarding one! And the month of February and Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to let those kiddos know just how much you love and treasure them! Be sure to make the most of every opportunity to make memories with your kids. You won’t regret later that you sometimes went to bed with a sinkful of dirty dishes, but you may wish you’d spent more time outside playing with your children or reading that book “just one more time.”

The moments don’t have to be monumental to be momentous! You know what my kids remember most about a couple of our vacations? Jumping from one bed to the other bed in the hotel room! And not only did Mommy and Daddy encourage and take part in the fun, but we also piled pillows on the floor and stood between the beds to make sure no one got hurt.

Seize the Big and Small Moments

Little moments add up to big memories! Encourage them, create them, be part of them every day.

Big moments in a family are fun, too, and should be celebrated with great fanfare!

In other words, nothing is too big or too small when it comes to expressing love to our children. Love your children with great gusto. You’ll make memories to last a lifetime, and you’ll give them a glimpse of how big the love of their heavenly Father is!

And on those days when you think you’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone make “lasting memories,” then give yourself grace and realize that you’ll have another opportunity the next day. Parenting is hard – you’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work.

Ways to Show Your Love

Here are some suggestions to help you seize every chance to express your love to the kids during the month of love!

When You’re Outside

* Give your child a plastic watering can with “I love you” written on it with a permanent marker. Water the plants and flowers and trees together.

* Wake your child during a late-night meteor shower. Take them outside to lie on a blanket on the ground and watch for falling stars. Tell your child, “You are my shining star!” and “You are out of this world!”

When You’re at Home

* Surprise your sweetie with a warm towel following bath time. Throw their towel in the dryer briefly to fluff and warm it for a wintertime surprise!

* Make a practice of honking three times when you leave the house to “honk” the words I love you to your child if it won’t disturb the neighbors.

When You’re in the Kitchen

* Make homemade biscuits and form each one into letters to spell out your child’s name.

* Treat your child to a lemonade or favorite fruit drink in a disposable cup. Write a love note on the cup and draw hearts with a pen.

When You’re Running Errands

* Toss pennies in a fountain and make wishes, but with this caveat: you make wishes for your child and your child makes wishes for you. Take turns sharing the wishes aloud and tossing pennies.

* Play an imaginary game of hide-and-seek while running errands. Let our child think of a hiding spot inside the house. Because it’s a pretend game, the location can be anywhere and any size. Ask them questions that can be answered yes or no and try to guess the hiding spot. You take a turn next and let your child guess your hiding spot.

When You’re Serving Others

* Teach your child to hold the door open for others when running errands or grocery shopping. After holding the door for another person, make eye contact with your child, give a wink with each eye, and say, “You know something? I a-door you!”

* Make a habit of returning abandoned shopping cars to the nearest storage rack with your child’s help. As the cart is rolling along, say, “I wheel love you forever!”

When You’re Celebrating Valentine’s Day

* Make mealtimes festive by adding a couple of drops of red food coloring to mashed potatoes to have a pink side dish and drink strawberry milk.

* Write cheesy love notes on construction paper heart-shaped cut-outs and hide them in the house for your child to find. For example, hide one inside your child’s shoe that says, “I love you from your head to your toes.” Hide another cut-out heart in the bathroom drawer, next to your child’s toothbrush that says, “I love you and that’s the tooth!” Share a fruit snack with the kids, a fresh bowl of strawberries and blueberries or a package of fruit gummies. Stick a note next to the snack that says, “I love you berry much.”

February may be the shortest month on the calendar, but make it the biggest month of love so far this year with creative ways to say, “I love you” to the kids! Make memories to treasure for a lifetime!

About Julie Lavender

Julie Lavender, whose maiden name is “Bland,” jokes that she traded her dull name for a colorful one. Julie is a former homeschooling mom with a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education. David and Julie are parents of four, in-laws of one, and grandparents to a precious toddler.

Julie published 365 Ways to Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments into Lasting Memories (Revell) last year. She writes for newspapers, magazines, book compilations, online blogs and was a 2014 Guideposts Writing Contest winner.

She co-authored two devotionals and authored a homeschooling devotional, a slumber party planning book, and three teacher resource booklets.

Connect with Julie at www.julielavenderwrites.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/julie.lavender.10/

Twitter https://twitter.com/JLavenderwrites

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/julielavenderwrites/ 

Julie, thank you for sharing these important thoughts and creative suggestions with us!

Readers, Julie has kindly donated a copy of her book, 365 WAYS TO LOVE YOUR CHILD, to be given away to one of you. Woo hoo! We LOVE giveaways, don’t we?

Would you like to win an autographed copy of this book for yourself or to give it as a gift? I’ll randomly choose a winner from this blog’s list of email subscribers (U.S. residents only) on February 20, 2021. If you’d like to have a chance at winning, make sure your name is on the email list.

If you’d like your name entered into the drawing twice, then also leave a comment below!