BFS--Quality is Job #1

Memory Verse: I Timothy 4:12-13 - Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Intro: Quality is Job #1 (Ford)
Assignment: My family and I rarely do anything apart from each other. We don’t really have quality time together because all our time is together. We feel like the more special moments are when we have dinner together or when we worship God together. For this assignment, tell how you and your family spend QUALITY time together.
Photo Op: Show pictures of you and your family spending time together or where you spend time together that means so much to you. Examples: vacation time and places, park, church picnics, family reunions.

That elusive "quality" time is hard to get now. It has been for about six months, really. Ever since we started gearing up for our big move from Germany, all of our time has been taken up by the necessary things instead of the truly important. Fun and togetherness sometimes have to take a back seat until the work of life is done. I guess that's one of the realities that hits military families hard. Oftentimes EVERYTHING has to take a back seat to a deployment, field exercise, or even a year of day-on, day-off 24-hour staff duty. This week has been one of "those" weeks. We thought things were going to be "slow", but they've turned out to be anything but! First, a surprise delivery of 20 boxes, then the surprise babysitting job of 3 kiddos we've never met, now all of us are sick again...well, what else could I say? One of "those" weeks! It's hard to find ANY time for family togetherness, it's hard enough to slow things down long enough to sit down and eat a meal together!

However, we do relish mealtimes, and we try to make everything of them that we can. It's a time of catching up, discussing spiritual battles, talking about political issues (and our kids are learning far more than they ever wanted to about what defines "moral"), and being silly.

The 'big' times of togetherness are few and far between. The last time we did anything really meaningful as a family was in March, when we took a camping trip to the Bavarian Alps and ended that week in a marriage retreat sponsored by Pete's unit, complete with paid rooms at the Armed Forces resort in Garmisch. It was HEAVENLY. The Alps were gorgeous, the kids enjoyed sledding and snowboarding (till the snow melted), we hiked and talked and took pictures....and the teeny little cabin we stayed in for five of those nights was perfect for pretty much forcing togetherness! The fact that we were camping took the pressure off of us to spend the big bucks in finding a great hotel, and honestly, we couldn't have cared less how we were dressed, because everywhere we went, we had to trudge through melting snow and mud! it was FUN though, and it was probably the last trip we will have without at least one of the kids missing. The girls are already talking about going camping again...this time in tents...maybe Gatlinburg? Talladega? Ooh, a beach campground in St. Augustine? The Keys? I can't wait!