Wisdom, Whimsey, and a Whistle.
Helping Moms Live JOY! No matter the challenges you face, or will face, as a mom, you have been divinely equipped to face them and grow through them. God is the Potter and you are the clay. He is molding and fashioning you and, through you, your children. That truth holds great beauty and divine security.

About Tracey

On a good day you’ll find me outdoors hiking and squeezing in some writing. I love my man and my children, [read more]

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Teenage Boy Fest

Nov
7

Well, I did it again – I filled my home with about a dozen teen boys for the better part of a weekend!

Some of my friends think I’m a bit nuts when I choose to invite droves of teenagers over. They don’t quite get why I would choose to fill my home with all the noise, the eating, the shoving, the laughter, the dirt, the smells, the in and out. They ask, “Isn’t it just too much trouble?”

Yeah…it is a bit of pain, but the rewards outweigh the trouble for sure. It’s a major win to have teen boys at our home having good clean fun and enjoying every minute of it. There are many choices offered by the world and when a weekend of simple fun at our home is what these boys choose – that’s a great thing.

And hospitality is something that even young men need to learn about! My son chose the menu and helped me in the kitchen by chopping veggies so the fellas could create their own personal “tin foil meal” and as the first arrivals showed up they were put to work in the kitchen too. They all cleaned up after themselves and I heard several deep voices shouting out, “Can I do anything to help you Mrs. Eyster?”

Teen boys are so very willing to step up and do what’s asked of them. For that matter even little boys are, as our home has always been full of kids and they’ve learned through the years that I will put them to work and they like pitching in.

Breakfast was especially fun as I was making pancakes for about an hour…as long as I was making…they kept eating! I think we were seeing who could last longer, me flipping and them consuming!

They spent their time mostly outdoors doing guy stuff, being loud, getting dirty, shoving, shouting, romping, laughing, grunting, there was a fire pit involved and some air soft capture the flag activities. And of course a late night Kinect track and field meet! (Best Christmas gift ever – we have had hours of active fun with that thing!)

You know what…boys just like to be boys and I am grateful my husband has taught me how to go with the flow and let them be in man training around our home! Yeah, they smell bad and they eat a lot, but all moms like it when their efforts are appreciated and I get a massive amount of thank you’s and shouts of, “That was the best ever Mrs. E!”

It’s worth it moms, I suggest you give it a try – open your home to lots of kids frequently, it will make your life fuller in so many ways!

 

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Cliff Jumping Mom!

Aug
26

Don’t you just love spending nice quiet fun weekends with your family? 

Yeah, me too.

Well…sometimes ya just gotta spend a wild and crazy fun weekend with your family!

This past weekend I think I may have exceeded the definition of wild and crazy fun…have you ever been cliff jumping? It is quite fun – I wrote a post last year about my initial cliff jumping adventure and that left a few people thinking I had lost my mind!

This year we tricked…convinced…uh, I mean invited five other families to join us – and picked up a few extra kids along the way! A good time was had by all – we were there for over six hours.

Interestingly, I think they got hooked - plans are already being made for another day of exhilarating cliff jumping fun!

Woo hoo!  Look out below…

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Do You Like Who Your Teens Like?

Jun
9

When our children are young we sort of pick their friends. You know it’s true – we plan play dates with the kids we want our children to hang out with, we put them into activities with the kids we like. It is comforting to know that your children are being influenced by the children you approve of.

Then as they become tweens and teens, who they hang out with becomes less and less under your control. They have a mind of their own and they get to choose whoever they want to like, hang out and spend time with – this is where the rub happens for many parents. That lack of control and not knowing enough about their peer choices can be disconcerting and cause relational problems.

How do you get around that?

I say, stick with what has always worked – in a way. You may not be choosing the friends for the playdate, which is now referred to as “hang out time” but nonetheless, invite your teens friends over to your home. The only way you will ever get to know the friends your teen wants to spend time with – is by you spending time with them yourself. Now don’t get me wrong here, you do not need to always insert yourself into their fun – just provide a place for fun to happen.

It is a joy to be preparing snacks in the kitchen while on your dinner table you witness a 100 pound teen girls body go flying across your table top to snatch up the lone remaining spoon during a game of “Extreme Spoons” – really, it happened. It is hilarious fun to watch your teen daughter try teach a group of your teen sons friends how to play a friendly game of Texas Hold Em.

It is also comforting to see the quiet, handsome young man who has taken your daughter to Prom treat your daughter with the care and respect she deserves – while being kind to her little brother and a role model to his friends.

Allowing teens a safe, fun, welcoming place to gather (and eat) will set them, and you, up for success as they navigate their way through their teen years and you work to parent well, while letting go.

Now, be forewarned – your grocery bill is going to go up, but it will be worth it!

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Fun Mom Ideas

May
29

A friend asked me for some ideas of fun activities over the summer and since all moms are on the look out for things to do I figured I’d just blog about it! I am guessing lots of you are probably recognizing that summer is here and your children are already saying, “I’m bored”, what’s a mom to do?

As far as I’m concerned, summer time means no agenda. We drag our children from task to task during the school year, so for me summer is not so much about what we do, it’s about who decides what we do!

In our home I try to approach summer days by asking my daughter and son what they’d like to do. Usually they have an idea, if not I throw out some suggestions. Now realize, Mom, you’re opening yourself up to having to do something that may not sound so thrilling to you. But hey, since you usually set the agenda, turn off the to-do list part of your brain and let them choose. It’s actually fun to see what they come up with!

Here are a dozen examples of how we’ve spent some summer hours:

  1. Prepare something yummy—cookies, bread, homemade popsicles. (Deliver some to a neighbor or friend!)
  2. Trip to the local park with a football, frisbee and and ice chest of water and enjoy random fun.
  3. Bike riding, horseback riding, go-cart riding, dirt bike riding. (Yeah, we like “riding.”)
  4. Marathon game playing day. (We take turns choosing the game to play.)
  5. Creativity with Play-Doh and cookie cutters. (Yes, mine still enjoy Play-Doh!)
  6. Play loud music and perform for each other. (Hair brush mic optional.  Warning: “old” dance moves will get you laughed at … big time.)
  7. Enjoy a lazy pajama/movie/popcorn day. (This is a gift to mom, you HAVE to do nothing with them—WAY cool!)
  8. Pull out paints/pastels/pencils/crayons and produce masterpieces. (Grandparents are VERY happy to receive summer surprises in the mail!)
  9. Library day choosing books, audio books, and videos.
  10. Outdoor play—wiffleball, kickball, four square or pickleball tournament. (If you don’t know pickleball, learn about it, amazing game, great fun no matter how unathletic you are!)
  11. Water gun/water balloon fight. (Mom gets to pull out the hose if she’s losing!)
  12. Go to the sports store, farm equipment store, electronic store and wander aimlessly looking at all the cool stuff. (No purchasing, just looking—it can be done!)

The idea is not to pack a lot into one day, these fun-filled hours were spread out over time.

What I have learned is that children just get plain old sick and tired of always having to do what we want, so the joy of summer for my children are the days that they get to do what they want. Even when it’s unglamorous and boring to me, I fake it and end up getting into it and we have some serious fun together—it’s about creating memories and having no agenda!

So, tell me what your children come up with – that will give me some ideas for some summer suggestions when mine draw a blank!

(This post was originally published at FamilyLife MomBlog.)

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