Time Spent...

 ...with the ones you love is never wasted. This is my precious 8 year old Shane. I love him with all of my heart! Saturday we had a special date..just he and I..a date to reconnect and share in some special Mommy & son time. Shane is the third child and the only one that is not a twin. He is totally trying to figure out what he can get away with as an 8 year old lumped in a world of 10 year olds. Additionally, because we homeschool, he often sees me as his teacher. So we needed to reconnect on a whole different level and we sure did!

I did not tell him that I got him a card, but when I got home to pick him up for our date, he had made one for me too. He was so excited about our special time together..he couldn't wait for me to pick him up! As the first picture shows, we went to his favorite restaurant for lunch...Cracker Barrel! We looked around the shop afterwards and I bought him an orange cream soda & some chocolate. YUM!

I'm not a big soda person, but he did share some of his chocolate...Skybar. Then we hit the book store and Target..just to browse and maybe shop for his brothers presents.

Oh and he really wanted to make a picture list of what he wants for Christmas too. We give the boys 3 gifts for Christmas..this is at the top of his list. Then since Target has our favorite coffee shop...we had to get a drink (no matter how full we were).

 One tall Caramel Frap and one skinny Gingerbread Latte please...

We laughed, played in the store, tried on hats and mittens, share coffee, chocolate and a little bit of our hearts too. We talked about the challenges he is having with school. I made sure I poured encouragement into his soul. I love this "gracious gift from God", he is special in so many ways. He is testing the waters every day, but love conquers much!

To add to my 1000 gifts today, thank you Lord for...

240. Time spent with my youngest arrow.

241. A husband who understands the priority of spending time with his family.

242. Heart to heart conversations.

243. Happy tears.

244. Handwritten notes of joy.

245. Lessons learned by deep love.

246. Faith built by words of encouragement.

247. Gift cards to favorite coffee shops.

248. Endless kisses and hugs.

249. Memories that will last for eternity.