Priorities

Today at church there was a talk on priorities which obviously included a discussion on families. Steve talked about how often it is the smaller activities in which we give our full attention that mean the most to our children, rather than the larger (more expensive) activities. He told the story of a boy who spent the summer touring enriching museums and historical landmarks with his father. When the boy was asked about his favorite part of the trip, he replied that the times he spent just talking with his dad meant the most to him. In an effort to test this out in our own family, when we got home from church Rylan asked Rylee what her favorite part of the last year was. She replied: 1) Making silly faces, 2) playing with mom, and 3) wrestling with dad. No mention was made about our trips to the life and science museum, going to the ballet, going to the beach, etc. Okay so maybe our student budget doesn't allow for many expensive activities. But I was happy to realize that for Rylee, those things aren't what mean the most anyways. Hey, when making silly faces is #1, the fact that Disneyland has to wait just doesn't seem tragic.
Here's Rylee at Texas Roadhouse in Myrtle Beach. The first time we went a waitress taught her a line dance. Rylee went back to the hotel and practiced and practiced. Then we went back (we LOVE Texas Roadhouse) and she dressed up in her boots and tried to dance with the waitresses to "These Boots are Made for Walking." She got a little nervous because she couldn't do it quite as fast as them, but she sure looked the part!