Tuesday, May 17, 2011

back from the woods







we returned home sunday from a weekend spent in one of my favorite places in the world: heflin. we left straight after work on friday and left our stressful lives behind. the weight of life is instantly lifted when you open up the gate to my grandparent's property and head down the gravel driveway to their beautiful home.

there is nothing like it.

we were greeted to a warm, yummy home cooked meal (even though grammy wasn't feeling all that well) and after we filled our bellies and chatted about our days we headed to bed. no noise but the sounds of the wind and the animals. amazing.

some highlights of our weekend included:
matilda's obsession with her new binoculars. see here.
catching the amtrack train within seconds of its arrival much to the delight of everyone.
dinner at garfrerick's cafe. absolutely delicious organic fare and incredible dessert (strawberry white chocolate bread pudding anyone?). a must if you're in oxford.
watching one of lynndaddy's favorite movies: the view from pompey's head.
getting to take in all of the beauty of the weekend and much needed family time.

ok, i need a few things... suggestions on how to introduce prayer to your child (warning: "now i lay me down to sleep" freaked me out as a kid) and book recommendations. i would love something inspirational. thank you in advance!

also, need to make some revisions. set myself up for failure. clearly walking guinness everyday is not going to happen (read: it's rainy and cold and you can't make me).

12 comments:

Unknown said...

You totally have to get the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally LLoyd Jones. It is perfect for kids; I am reminded so much of God's love when I read it to Piper. It really does show that rescue and renewal has been God's plan all along, and that is the point of the whole Bible.

Mandi said...

Hi, Lesley,
I honestly feel there is no better way to introduce your child to praying other than continually doing it yourself in front of them. That's how I remember learning to pray. Let me know if you find any helpful tools. :-)

Also, we like to read "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Lloyd-Jones to our son each night. He's only shy of 2, so doesn't really understand much, but Matilda could probably pick up on more and would definitely like the illustrations.

Sorry for the long comment. :-) Hope this helps a bit!

Nan said...

I changed the classic bedtime prayer - "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, And when I wake with morning light, I pray the Lord my soul's delight"

Mandi said...

Looks like that's two votes for JSB. :-)

Lesley said...

thanks so much for the book rec! i'm ordering today.
nan- love the revision!

Your Southern Peach said...

I've also heard great things about JSB but have yet to order it myself. Thanks for the reminder.

We introduced Luke to prayer at bedtime and just getting in the habit of praying with him nightly has been a good start for us.

We usually pray for him and he occasionally jumps in with things he wants to add. (Which are usually so so cute!) He also reminds us quickly if we forget to say prayers, which I love!

He's also getting to the age (4.5) where he is asking more questions about why we pray, who is Jesus, etc...so I have been letting him kinda guide us as we go along. Children's natural curiosity is amazing!

Long...sorry. Good luck and your trip sounds perfect!

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

Sounds like a great weekend! Visits to grandparents are always the best! Visting via Bicoastally :)

Neil Butterfield said...

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend. Teach your child to be thankful to
God for all the blessings in life.

CMS Websites said...

Oh My God !! Cute baby and beautiful your all pics .really amazing your this post and pretty Look. good family and recipes very good look. yummy food

meredith said...

We LOVE the Jesus Storybook Bible. Have read it with Aubrey nightly for over a year. We pray every night and thank God for something/someone and then pray for something/someone. She usually knows just who she wants to pray for. Love that time, so sweet.

Ashley said...

That first pictures tugs on my heart. So precious.

beth soto said...

Love the pictures...as always! You have a great eye and a way to tell the story just in your photos. Favorite part of your blog!

We told Ave that praying was talking to God about the things that are important to us that we wanted him to know about. I would start off with something simple.. and we would take a every other approach. For example.. me "We pray that you keep our family safe on our trip." Avery "we pray..for emmie." then "We are thankful for our home." and Avery "We are thankful for...legos" After a while, he got used to the rythem of it and over time, his prayers became more meaningful.