The Things We Do For Our Kids

Blake: So, Mom & Dad, you know I will be coming home from Afghanistan in January for two weeks R & R, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could come over and watch the boys for a few days while I take Sara for a little get away? I’ll fly you over. What do you think?

I tell you, the things we do for our kids never ends. Well, we decided to make the sacrifice and spend 10 days in Hawaii with Blake and family. The first thing we did when we arrived was help Sara with a few chores to get things ready for Blake’s homecoming.

Sara went to get Blake on her own while we waited at home. Jacob & Joshua were all over him when he walked in the door. Believe it or not he has grown another inch. He is now 6'4".

The kids took off to Waikiki for massages, snorkeling, race car driving, shopping and just all around getting reacquainted. We stayed home with the boys. We had fun playing at home and taking walks to the playground although it seemed we always ended up at the nearby food court for a treat. One day we went on an excursion to the beach to meet up with one of Stephen's cousins living on the island.  Beautiful day for it, but then most days in Hawaii are beautiful days.

Blake and Sara are a modern military family making the rigors of that particular profession work for them. It was nice to stay over two weekends. The first Sunday home Blake was asked to speak in church the following Sunday. We were so pleased to have the opportunity to hear his strong testimony and affirmations of faith. Stephen & I feel so blessed by our children. They all continue to be a source of delight to our hearts. No one ever told me how much your children give back to you. I guess no one really can explain this feeling in words – it is something you have to experience. We joke about the ‘things we do for our kids’ but truly it is the other way around. It is our children as they grow up stalwart that become a parent’s source of inexplicable comfort and joy.