I Scream for Ice Cream (& alone time with Joshua)!!

It hit me the other day that our school system begins school very early each year ~ early August. And, that means that Joshua will begin Kindergarten in a little over a month! Now that makes my heart a bit sad, a very big bit sad.

I love alone time with my children. I love to focus all my attention on them and watch the way their little faces light up when they realize that they have me all to themselves!! Today, I put JCT down, did a few chores, then slipped Elijah from the living room floor into his bed. After I put Elijah down, I asked Joshua what he wanted to do. He looked at me a bit puzzled. "Where's Elijah?" he asked. "I put him down for his afternoon nap. It is just you and me, kid!" As I said the last sentence I watched a huge grin form on the mouth of my oldest son. I love that he still loves to play with his mommy! I'm not sure how much longer it will last, so I am relishing it now! I am especially enjoying alone time with Joshua because I know that my time with him will be so limited this fall with the new baby and with his beginning school.

Today, Joshua and I did a little experiment! I found this recipe at familyfun.com. It is for making ice cream in a bag!! How fun! I don't have a homemade ice cream maker ~ though it is my dream to one day own one! So, this is the closest I have ever gotten to making home-made ice cream. We simply mixed 2 T sugar, 1 cup half and half, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla in a sandwich bag. Then, we filled a freezer bag up with ice and 1/2 cup of ice cream salt. Lastly, we put the sandwich bag into the freezer bag filled with ice and began shaking it! We took turns shaking it for, oh, say 10 minutes?? Maybe less, anyway. . . the end result was amazing and yummy!! It was just enough for the two of us to share! So, after several attempts at taking a picture of the two of us (much to Joshua's delight), we devoured our little experiment! I highly recommend this treat! We are going to do it again tomorrow so that JCT can enjoy the treat, too!

As much as I hate to let my Joshua go this fall, I do look forward to these kinds of quiet alone time with my JCT. So, many memories are made during the quiet afternoon hours in our home. As I write this Elijah is still sleeping, the big boys are coloroing, and Christy Nockels is singing peace into our home. Home is an amazingly powerful place when you think about it. A place where children are treasured and grown in love. It is the place where their most basic needs are met - they are fed, cared for, bathed, and clothed. But, also, they blossom here through a variety of experiences, laughter, games, focused attention, and honest adoration. They are first taught forgiveness and grace here at home. What a splendid little idea God had when he created homes, families, mommys, daddys, and babies (and ice cream, too!).

Here we are enjoying our treat!

The lighting is horrible in this picture, but I love the joy on my Joshua's face. . .

At one point, he looked up at me with his big green eyes and said, "Mommy, lets never ever buy ice cream again. Let's just make it like this every time!!!!!" Gotta love those freckles!

A close up of the yummy stuff!