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Focus on the Family Broadcast

Creating Summer Memories With Your Kids

Creating Summer Memories With Your Kids

As many summer activities – from swim lessons to summer camps – may be delayed or canceled because of the Coronavirus pandemic, moms may feel overwhelmed and intimidated at the thought of coming up with fun and meaningful things for their kids to do. On this broadcast, Krystle Porter and Tara Davis offer moms encouragement and practical ideas for addressing the challenges of family time and creating at-home activities for kids.
Original Air Date: May 26, 2020

John Fuller: It’s hard to believe, but Memorial Day is now past us, and summer is here, and along with that perhaps some challenges as you want to keep the kids occupied and make some meaningful memories. Welcome to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John:. And today we’re going to be talking about ways that you can take advantage of the upcoming summer days to really have some fun times with your kids.

Jim Daly: John, I so appreciate and have such great memories for the summers that we’ve been able to spend with the boys, and you know they’re at the end of the time with us, but we look back and it has been terrific, uh, especially camping. Camping’s been kind of our core go-to activity for the summer, and we’ve had a lot of fun. Certainly, a lot of challenges too, in fact I think we have a clip of Troy mentioning (laughs) one of the early camping, uh, tries.

Troy Daly: The first time we went camping, we got a little RV and we went camping with it. And that first trip with the RV was just an absolute mess. That was uh… my dad, we couldn’t find like the adapter for, like, some electrical cables. So, I think he ended up running back and forth to a local Walmart probably about 9 or 10 times.

Jim: Well John I do remember that. I think that was like a 25-mile round trip, and I did make like eight or nine trips (laughs), so he got me there. But that’s the fun of, uh, some of these family adventures, right?

John:  Well, I’d like to think so. I mean we do have a lot of times when I can recall the kids were melting down in the back of the van, or the camper was leaking, or-

Jim: (laughs)

John:  … or the tent. We, we had a situation where there was a bear walking through the camp, and I had a little toddler in the tent, and I’m thinking, “This is not a good idea.” So, we’ve had…

Jim: (laughs)

John:  … We’ve had a few times go wrong. But um, there are some creative ways that are safe-

Jim: (laughs)

John:  … and you, you don’t have to go 25 miles, uh, 10 times to find, uh, the joy in all of that.

Jim: Let’s hope so.

John:  Today we’re joined by Krystle Porter and Tara Davis. Uh, they have some great ideas. Krystle has five kids under the age of 11 and Tara has three young boys. And they’re both part of the Help Club for Moms, which helps moms really thrive and connect with God. And they’re also co-authors of a book, The Help Club for Moms. We of course have that book, uh, on our website, or give us a call. The site is focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.

Jim: Krystle and Tara, welcome to Focus on the Family.

Tara Davis: Thank you, thank you for having us.

Krystle Porter: Thank you.

Jim: It’s so good, uh, I think-

Krystle:  It’s wonderful to be here.

Jim: … as we break out of this Memorial Day weekend, I mean it’s time. People want to experience, you know, the fun that normally comes with summer. And I know, I thought with, with Jean and I particularly, you know, when the kids were, you know, probably 11, 12, we started counting. We’ve only got, you know, six summers left to do the things we want to do, to have the fun and all of that. So, what’s the big picture look like for us right now with all the, maybe the obstacles we’re gonna face this summer? Can we still have a, a summer packed with good memories?

Tara: You, we can still have the most wonderful summer ever. It doesn’t matter if we have to stay home, or if we’re able to go out there’s plenty of things to do just right here in our own back yard.

Krystle:  Mm-hm.

Jim: Yeah. Um, Krystle, uh, going your direction now, uh, and both of you have struggled with insecurity when it comes to parenting. And I so appreciate that vulnerability that you express in the book, and you know, in your blog life and everything else. It… you know, it’s good to be honest with those things that you struggle with, but explain, if I could ask you Krystle first-

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: … Briefly explain your childhood and, and why that made you feel like you could never be maybe a good mom, not to mention a perfect mom. But how did you overcome that-

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: … and what were the circumstances?

Krystle:  Yeah, um, growing up I grew up with my grandma for a good majority of my childhood, um, up until I was about 12. And then I went to live with my aunt and uncle. And so, I never really had that traditional experience of having a mom and a dad, and who took care of me and, you know, different things you would do with a mom and dad. And so, um, but the ironic thing is I always wanted to be a mom, and-

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  … That was like my dream was, “I just wanna be a mom.” And so, um I, when motherhood finally came, and I was married to my husband, I was pregnant with my first baby, I thought, “I’m just gonna be the best mom in the world. I just can’t wait to be a mom. I’ve been thinking about this forever.” Um, and then, enter my baby (laughs)-

Jim: (laughs)

Krystle:  … and me looking at her for the first time, and I thought, “Oh my goodness, what am I doing? Who trusted me with this job? I don’t think anyone should leave.” I remember, um, my, in the room were my family, and they were about to leave, and I thought, “Where are you going? I can’t do this.” And so that kind of entered in that insecurity, that feeling of motherhood is big and hard, and especially when you don’t see an example of what you hope to have, you know what I mean? Um, all growing up, I felt like I was starting from square one. I was kind of starting from the bottom, and so, that made it really hard.

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  And um I, I really had to kind of seek and search and it’s been a journey-

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  … for sure.

Jim: And to remind the listeners, I mean you’re a mom. You’ve been married 15 years and you have five kiddos, right? (laughs) So-

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: … You’re speaking from experience, yeah?

Krystle:  Yeah. (laughs)

Jim: How old are the, how old are the children?

Krystle:  Um, my oldest just turned 11, and then nine, um, almost seven, five, or almost five next week, and a two-year-old.

Jim: Oh my.

Krystle:  So, about every two-ish years I had a baby.

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  So, we’ve been, you know…

Jim: That keeps you quite busy.

Krystle:  … Flooded with children (laughs). Yes.

Jim: So, you are well qualified. And you have found the way, right?

Krystle: (Laughing)

Jim: … but it’s great to see that you, even with your insecurity, uh, in being a mom, that it didn’t, you know, it didn’t prevent you from having children. I, I just applaud you for that.

Krystle:  Mmm. Yeah, yeah. I mean you got… Sometimes I think you just gotta jump right in. And, and it’s definitely, especially when you, it, when it’s a desire of your heart, you know, even if it’s messy or it looks messy, you gotta kinda dive in. So-

Jim: Yeah, well, I like that attitude. Uh, Tara, let’s start with you in terms of getting into some of the ideas and activities that we can do for the summer. You have something called the fun ticket-

Tara: (laughs)

Jim: … that your family’s been doing (laughs). Uh, it sounds good, what is the fun ticket, and how do you deploy it?

Tara: Well, we made, so I’m always looking for ways to just bring fun into our home. I think that there’s a lot of just daily work that needs to be done, um, and it, you have to be really intentional about bringing some, um, just fun and happiness and joy, um, into that work. Um, so we just made a simple little ticket, um and I put like 28 little numbers, little, um, circles on it, and then we made a bucket list as a family, um, me and the kids of all the things that we wanted to do this summer. So, um, and it’s a list that’s just growing, it’s growing every day. So, some of ’em that my kids came up with, um, were, uh, climb trees together, including myself.

Um, and we live out in the forest, so that works. We’ve done that one. A neighbor walked by, was a little bit shocked, but, um (laughs)… Uh, polar plunge, they wanted to fill up the bathtub with ice and water and then jump into it. Um, making your own bubbles. Just things like that, things that are simple that I don’t even have to run to the store to get anything. Things that just don’t require, um, a whole lot of even time investment, but um, there is a fun list, and then each time we do something on the list we punch a hole, um, punch one of the numbers in the ticket. And then when the ticket’s filled up the kids are gonna just plan, um, just a fun party. Just for them, just for our family with stuff we have on hand. Um, that’s why I gave them some parameters, can’t, you know, probably can’t run to the store, we can use stuff we have, um, we can just make it fun right here at home, and so they get to be creative, um.

Jim: So, punching their fun ticket leads to more fun. I like this. This is great (laughs).

Tara: It, it does! And it kind of motivates us too when they just wanna watch, you know, hours of TV. I’m like, “Let’s, let’s not. Let’s just get out that fun ticket and find something else to do.” So-

Jim: Right. Hey, Krystle, you created something, uh, I think you call it activity stations, around your house. I like that-

Krystle:  Yes.

Jim: … especially right around the sink called doing the dishes.

John:  (laughs)

Krystle:  Oh.

Jim: That’s a great activity. That’s lots of fun.

Krystle:  That is wonderful, and around like the washing machine-

Jim: Yeah (laughs).

Krystle:  … and the dryer.

Jim: I like that for activity stations.

Krystle: (laughs) Yeah.

Jim: But what, what did you do with activity stations? What are they?

Krystle:  Okay, so, when my kids, when I feel like they’ve just had enough of each other, and really I know for me I need some time independently. I know that they need that too. But kids don’t have, um, as much of a gauge for knowing themselves as we do, you know what I mean? We know we’re tapped out, we know we need something-

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  … um, and they’re kind of like, “We’re just gonna be overstimulated until we finally crash and fall asleep.”

Jim: (laughs)

Krystle:  And so, um I kind of figured that out somewhere along the way and decided I’m just gonna make little stations for my kids. It was something for me as a mom that gave me a little bit of time, um, and basically what happens is I set up like here’s a painting station in the kitchen at the table. In another room is a Lego building station, or whatever, and I just-

Jim: That’s good.

Krystle:  … I put everything they need out, and I make maybe five or six different ones of those. And one of them is a screen station. So, I put the computer out, “Here play games.” And then every 20 minutes or so I say, “Okay, rotate stations, go to the next one,” and the kids like end up really happy, and, uh, afterwards I’m like, “Hey you guys go play now.” And they’re happy to play, too, ’cause they have something different happen in their day. So, um I break that out when we need to, for sure.

Jim: Yeah, and what’s good with that too, you’re giving them some structure, even in their play time, and that’s a great thing to do with children-

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: … is to provide structure. Structure is good for kids because they learn-

Krystle:  Yes.

Jim: … discipline through that. Some moms might be thinking right now, “Well, there’s no way I’m as creative as Tara and Krystle, and they’ve got a special gift, and, you know (laughs) I don’t have that gift. I’m the gift of mundane.”

Krystle:  Oh.

Jim: But speak to that mom-to-be, and dad’s too, but, uh, you know, moms tend to control this a bit more and influence it more. But to the mom who’s feeling like, “I just don’t think that way. I’m not as creative.” What would you say to her?

Tara: Well I would say, um, let your kids help you, you know. Your kids are naturally creative. I feel like kids naturally use their imagination, um, they haven’t grown out of that yet, and they can, um, help you come up with ideas.  They’re an excellent resource of creativity. You don’t have to be creative, you can, you can kind of let your kids lead the way.

And then also, um, other moms are a good resource, as Krystle and I were talking about this yesterday, just how, um, like she said, we’re not strong in so many areas, and we look to, um, so many other moms to just help us to kind of pick us up and hold our hands and teach us how to make a schedule, how to make a planner, how to be more organized. And then those moms, you know, it’s kind of a, a neat relationship, because then we can share ideas with them too. And then always just pray about it, and um, God will guide you that… He wants you to have a wonderful relationship with your kids too, and, um, and enjoy them.

Jim: Yeah, I like that.

Krystle:  And one thing I can add too is that, um, our, our kids mostly want us to join them in their fun, versus us being creative, too.

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  I just feel like Tara should share a pond story.

Tara: Do you want me to share the pond story?

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: You must.

Tara: Let me tell you a story about a pond.

Krystle: (laughs)

Tara: So, my son, I, my oldest son is 12 years old, um, and he was kind of just having a rough, a rough time. He was kind of fighting with everybody. He was feeling really upset. So, we took a walk together, and, um, we walked down where Black Forest, um, we walked down to this pond by our house, just a natural pond. Um, and he saw a fish right by the edge of this pond, and he reached down and picked up this fish amazingly. And I had actually been praying, um, that God would just kind of show him something amazing that day, um, and He did. So, then he got more and more into it Getting into water and catching the fish, you know, but this is a pond, so it’s a little bit, a little bit gross-

Jim: (laughs)

Tara: … But, um, so, and he said, “Come in with me and help me catch some fish.” You know? And I said, at first I was like, “Yeah, no, I mean I don’t want to get my shoes wet and stuff,” and um, but then I thought, “You know what, how many opportunities, you know, am I going to get for something like this, where he asks me and his heart is open to, um, you know it’s, he, he was in a soft moment right then.” And so, I stepped in the pond with my shoes, and they were like older shoes, so you know. But, and then he started to get a little deeper into the pond trying to catch a fish, and um, he just called me out, “Come on. Just help me, just let’s do it together.” And then he just kind of got, you know, deeper and deeper in the water, and started kind of swimming around, and I thought, “Man, I can either get out of the water right now, which would be like the normal adult thing to do-you know, and sit on the edge and watch him. Or I can just go for it and just jump into this kind of a little bit slimy pond, and just I will always remember this and he will too.” And so, clothes and all, tennis shoes and everything, I just went for it. We swam across the pond, and he said, “Mom, this is the best day of my life.

Krystle:  Aw.

Tara: And then we were to have, like we just went on to have a conversation just about working things through, um, just with siblings and um, he came back and he talked to everybody that he was frustrated with. And um… but so it really just broke through, um, his, his grouchy exterior. And I know I’m, at 12 years old I’m pretty sure he’ll probably remember swimming in the pond together-

Krystle: (laughs)

Tara: … for the rest of his life. So, take…

Jim: Oh, yeah.

Tara: …say yes to those opportunities. Most of the time I, we all say no, ’cause we’re busy and we’re tired. But, um, and the opportunities sometimes seem like something that we absolutely don’t want to do. But why not? Why not? We have this short time with our kids, just take hold-

Krystle:  Jump in the pond.

Tara: Jump in the pond.

Krystle: (laughs)

Jim: Jump in the pond, I like it.

John:  That’s some good encouragement from our guests today on Focus on the Family, Krystle Porter and Tara Davis. You may not have a pond, but we have a book, and uh, the book is The Help Club For Moms. Tara and Krystle both contributed to it, and uh, it’s got lots of great practical ideas. It might give you the, uh, courage to say yes at that moment when you’d prefer just to sit and watch your kids have fun. Uh, some great ideas in this book. Get ahold of it, call us. Our number is 800-A-FAMILY, or uh, online, we’re at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.

Jim: Yeah. Krystle, um sometimes finances can be a constraint, I’m thinking particularly now this summer, where people-

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: … you know, we have a lot of people that have been laid off or unemployed, and, and they have children. They still got to think of some creative things to do. You-

Krystle:  For sure.

Jim: … uh, created a list, I think it’s in the book, too. 25 simple ways to have fun with your kids, and-

Krystle:  Yes.

Jim: … and with your permission we’ll post that at the website, but what are a couple of those ideas?

Krystle:  Um, I mean some of them are like have a dance party in your back yard, you know? Make milk and cookies and have a milk and cookie night. Um, and I can tell you that the span of ages of zero to 18, everybody likes cookies, you know what I mean?

Jim: (laughs)

Krystle:  So, make that an event. Um, I always just think like in that list there’s also, let me think here… Uh, have a picnic in your back yard. Um, it’s, they’re all super simple and cost zero dollars. Um, but they make… Or even a back-yard camp out if you’re brave enough. Um, that’s a few of them that I can recall off the top of my head.

But I just feel like if you just, you know, just like what Tara was talking about, like just a little bit of intentionality, a little bit of that saying yes. You know it doesn’t cost money to have fun. We have a pool, we’re in Arizona (laughs), and so my kids, they love it when I swim with… It’s, it’s funny the pond thing, because it’s like when I swam with my kids in the pool we have fun. They think it’s like the funnest thing in the world, so every now and then they don’t think I’m gonna do it, but I’ll go get my swimsuit on and I’ll cannonball into the pool.

Jim: (laughs)

Krystle:  That’s how like my entrance will be, you know? And they’re like, “Who is this mom? She’s usually so boring.” You know? And so, but even just surprising your kids every now and then with a yes, or just surprising them and reminding them like, “Hey, I’ve got some fun in these bones.” You know what I mean? (laughs) They, they just really remember that, and it just cracks me up every time that they’re like, “Yes, mom.” (laughs)

Jim: Oh, I know. And I think you know when the kids-

Krystle:  It’s just so funny.

Jim: … When the kids are younger, it is, I mean it’s pretty easy to keep them entertained, I think, and, uh, not every day, but generally-

Krystle:  Yes, true.

Jim: … you set it up, they’re gonna do it, and your kids are right before (laughs) maybe some more challenging endeavors in front of you with the teen years. I know, and John you can mention a couple of your stories there, but I know parenting teens, there’s kind of can be this disinterest, you know. “I don’t want stations to run to, mom. I’m beyond that now, come on.”

Krystle: (laughs)

Jim: But uh, you know one thing we did, uh, Troy, and I have mentioned this, but we did um, models, because that was something, you know it takes a little more capability, so when this, uh, shelter-in-place occurred, we, we were driving back, I say, “Hey, let’s stop at Hobby Lobby and grab a couple of car models and put ’em together,” and he’s like, “Yeah, let’s do that.” In fact, I think we have a, a phone call that the producer did with Troy. Let’s roll it.

Troy: So, the beginning of quarantine, we were, I can’t remember what we were out to do, uh, we were out running errands or something. My dad was like, “Hey, do you wanna like stop by Hobby Lobby or something and grab some models to do while we’re in quarantine?” And I was like, “Oh yeah, that’s a great idea.” So, we stopped by Hobby Lobby, we got models. We worked on ’em, and yeah, we just, we set up our, uh, table and covered it in newspaper and everything. We had spent a few, uh, like an hour or so for the first few days of quarantine just kind of sitting here working on our own models together, me and my dad. So yeah, that was cool.

Jim: And it’s just a, you know, a fun thing to do. It does allow you to talk over the table, too. But speak to the ideas you might have picked up from other moms about engaging teenagers.

Tara: I think, um, like what you were saying, uh, just even with the models it’s, from what I have seen, just so important to join ’em in what they’re interested in. Um, if they have an interest that maybe isn’t an interest of yours, just tapping into that interest, sitting with them and learning about it, taking time to just do it together and, um, build an excitement in yourself so, you know, you’re, you not thinking it’s a drag or acting like it’s a drag while you’re sitting with them, but just enjoying that time, um, learning about them, and learning about their personalities, and um, the things that they really find interesting and enjoyable.

Krystle:  I even think about video games. You know, I have a, um, younger brother who’s 18, and you know just like asking him, “Hey, will you teach me how to play your game?” You know what I mean? Like how do you, how can you jump into, like what Tara was saying, just exactly what they’re, what they’re into and just learn how to play a video game and sit there with them and play for a little while. And I feel like that’s, it’s just some of the best times for them-

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  … when we can do that.

Jim: Another thing, and I wanna make sure parents hear about, uh, Tara something you call Jesus moments, or Jesus-centered routines. Uh, it’s really intentional. I applaud it. Speak to that. What is it, and how does a parent think about emphasizing Jesus in these play times?

Tara: Well I think just the, the foundation behind it is that we have just this one time with our kids, and, and we’re the, the ones who are just gifted with the chance to be able to teach them about Jesus, right? Um, and we can’t pass that off to anybody else. That’s no one else’s responsibility but our own, so, um, just really taking every single opportunity you can find, um, to bring Christ into, um, your daily routine. Whether that’s just being outside and noticing creation around you, talking about what an amazing God that He made these birds and trees and, um… it’s been a little bit hard with quarantine and, um, just our routine has been changed up, but it’s never too late to start. Um, but we uh, love to take time at breakfast, um, my kids are occupied with eating, so, um, that’s a perfect time.

(Laughing)

Tara: They’re a captive audience for anything that I want to talk to them about or read to them. So, um, we read God’s Word, we read a devotional. Um we read missionary stories. We just talk. We will read like, um, often during lunch time I’ll read just a Proverb, just a couple verses and say, “What do you guys think about it?” And um, just let them direct the conversation, um…

Jim: Yeah I like, I like the idea of drip irrigation that way-

Tara: Yeah.

Jim: … because we can overload our children-

Krystle:  Mm.

Tara: Absolutely.

Jim: … especially young children, you know with a dissertation (laughs). When they’re going, “What?”

Krystle:  Yes.

Jim: “I wanna play, dad.” Um, you also, this summer I think you’re selecting prayer as a, an item to teach your children. How are you going to go about doing that? Give us some ideas.

Tara: Uh, well first start, I’m starting off with, um, just seeing where my kids, um, are struggling with that area. And even where, um, I have questions about prayer. So first I’m starting with going to the Lord, and just saying, “Lord, what do you want me to do with this? How do you want me to help my kids, um, in this area where they have some really big questions?”

My 12-year-old, um, you know, has really hard questions about why, um, does God not answer his prayers sometimes, uh, and so just starting with that. Starting with the Word, digging and saying, “You know, Lord, what do you want me to do with my kids?” Um, and then, uh, I’m just trying to set up some fun things for us to do together. We’re praying around the world this summer. Every week or two we’re gonna travel to a different continent and pray for the people on that continent. Make a food from that continent, you know, I’m just-

Jim: You’re saying you’re traveling in your house, correct? (laughs)

Tara: We’re traveling in our house, just, you know, pretend. My kids are still young enough to really enjoy this, you know, and um to talk about the country that we’re going to be praying for that week, to make some food from the country. Um, my little kids even like pretending that they’re sitting on the couch flying the airplane, you know, to whatever country on whatever continent we’re going to, quote unquote. So, um, that’s one fun thing that we’re doing.

But otherwise I’m just really trying to be intentional about prayer too in my own life, because I don’t think we can teach our kids something that, um, God’s not building into us, right? So, um, it can’t just be we generate it ourselves. So, I’m asking Him to just, really intentionally asking Him to teach me just what our prayer life is supposed to look like, um as a family, and what my prayer life, how I can grow in that area too with Him.

Jim: Yeah, and, and again, these are great ideas to engage your children, and you know, keep them entertained with a purpose, I would say. Krystle, uh, perhaps I’ve saved the most important question for the end here-

Krystle: (laughs)

Jim: … and that is, uh, you know, speak to that parent who feels burned out. They’ve been home with their kids a lot more lately, and they’re feeling tired. I mean they’re not plugging in. They’re not recharging, maybe they feel unappreciated.

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: Many moms can get to that place. What can that parent do to feel closer to God and get filled up again so they can have the attitude that we’ve been talking about, not look to the negative side or, of things and being overwhelmed-

Krystle:  Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: … but have a positive attitude, and in essence the metaphor of this program, obviously, is jumping in the pond-

Krystle: (laughs) Yeah.

Jim: … but how, how can they get to the point where they’re filled up enough that they can say yes more often?

Krystle:  Okay, so my answer might sound a little unconventional, but I heard one time, I was at a conference, and it was a mom conference actually. And this woman had said, she said, “You need to fake it ’til you make it, because you’re being intentional.” Okay, so this, like I said it might sound unconventional. But what I did was in the morning time, for example, and I had woken up before my kids, I was really excited to have just a minute alone, right? That’s like why I woke up early (laughs).

Jim: (laugh) Yeah, one minute.

Krystle:  Uh, and then I see… Yes, one minute! And I see that little child coming in my room, coming down the hall, and my reaction is like, “No. No, no, no.”

Tara: (laughs)

Krystle:  “This isn’t what I was thinking.”

Jim: Right.

Krystle:  And “I needed this moment, you don’t know how bad I needed it.” But I do feel like the Lord just tells me sometimes, “Tell her that you’re happy to see her today.” Do you know what I mean?

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  So instead of my like, “What do you need right now, okay?” You know, “Are you hungry?” Of course, she’s hungry, right? I’m gonna be like, “I’m so glad you woke up today. It’s so good to see you.” And it’s actually really crazy to me. This works for me, personally, but it’s crazy to me whenever I shift and I do that, I actually do feel it.

Jim: Huh.

Krystle:  I’m like, “Okay, it is good to see you today. I actually do feel that.” And it’s just these little ways of being intentional I think in your days where, you know, every now and then I’ll, I’ll just slip away, and even go in the bathroom. Tara and I have had so many times where we’re like we had to sneak away to the bathroom-

Jim: (laughs)

Krystle:  … ’cause that’s really the only place that they’re not with us. They’re banging on the door, you know, but maybe they’re not with us. And, um, I will listen, I have a little devotional app, and I’ll turn it on, and I’ll listen to it for five minutes and just take it in, regroup myself, and walk out the door. I mean I think that there are so many little things that you can do. So as we’re talking about like rhythms to your day for your kids, I even think as moms we have to kind of, and, and, and dad’s, you know, we have to set some rhythms for ourselves, some little moments where we can go and kind of… and, and that’s unique to our personalities, even, to go and to just gain a little bit of composure. Make a little plan, “Okay, what’s this afternoon gonna look like for me?”

Jim: Yeah.

Krystle:  “What am I gonna do when I walk out of this bathroom door?” Do you know what I mean?

Jim: (laughs) Oh I hear you.

Krystle:  I don’t know, I (laughs), yeah.

Jim: When you get to the point where I’m at, and Jean, with our boys, one out the door, the other one just around the corner from leaving-

Krystle:  Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: … I mean all of that you look back and you go, either I’m glad I did it this way, or I wish I would’ve done more.

Krystle:  Yeah.

Jim: And that’s the purpose of the program today, so you don’t end up in that spot. And Krystle and Tara this has been really good. I hope fun, but also insightful for moms and dads to think about the impact you have on your children. And I wanna emphasize the importance for us as parents to connect with God first, which you’ve really done. How to, you know, take a theme like prayer and think about it through the summer, and, and do activities that aim your children in that direction. That’s a great idea, and the book is full of great ideas in that regard. And I hope uh, moms and dads will pick this up for a quick read on how to organize your summer, not in an exhausting way, but in a way that will make amazing memories.

Krystle:  Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: So, thank you for being with us.

Krystle:  Mm. Thank you for having us.

Tara: Thank you. It’s been such a pleasure, thank you.

John:  And as Jim mentioned earlier, we have a couple of free PDFs for you online with even more activities for your summertime. And you’ll find those at our website.

And while you’re there, be sure to get a copy of The Help Club for Moms: Inspirational and Practical Help for You, Your Home, and Your Family. It’ll offer a lot of great insights for you. You can take notes in the margins, and pass it along to a friend, if you like. That book is yours for a gift of any amount to support the ministry here at Focus on the Family. Donate and get the book at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast or when you call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY.

Well, coming up tomorrow on Focus on the Family, Dr. David Clarke offers inspiration and hope for your marriage.

Excerpt:

Dr. David Clarke: David Clarke: You can make it. Listen to this. God loves you, he loves your marriage, it’s sacred to him. And it all… no matter how bad it is, it’s sacred. And he will help you save it.

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The Help Club for Moms

The Help Club for Moms

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