A Special Weekend

I've been thinking about this post for about ten days now but finally got the pictures downloaded tonight! The weekend before Thanksgiving, I had the privilege of taking Sydney away for her very own Passport to Purity weekend. This is something that I did with Brooke as she entered her teen years and have been looking forward to doing with Sydney also.

We started out in western Maryland for dinner and a movie on Friday night. Sydney chose Bob Evans for dinner (no surprise there!) and then we went to see The Bee Movie, which was great! We had lots of fun chatting over dinner and watching the movie. After the movie, we headed to our hotel near Harper's Ferry, WV. As always, Sydney was enthralled with the mini-fridge, little shampoos, and elevator. (Our kids don't get out much!) We had fun in the hotel room watching television and hanging out together. We also spent time listening to the Passport to Purity CD's. The one about the "birds and the bees" elicited quite a few nervous giggles and "oh gross" exclamations, but the subject is dealt with in such a great way that we both were comfortable, (for the most part, that is!)

The next morning, after our breakfast at the hotel, we spent a few hours in Harper's Ferry. I hadn't been there since I was about Sydney's age, and it was fascinating to read about the history of the town and see the old buildings and museums. It was really cold that day but we had a great time visiting all the shops and historic houses. Sydney picked a Harper's Ferry sweatshirt as her souvenir of our special weekend.

Saturday afternoon we did some shopping (of course!) and then Jeff met us for dinner at the Olive Garden. We were able to talk with Sydney together about the importance of purity--not just sexually but in every area of her life--and we presented her with a purity ring, in the hopes that on her wedding day, she will be able to give it to her husband and tell him that she waited just for him! It was a great weekend!

If this is a subject you have yet to approach with your tweens or teens, I encourage you to check out the Passport to Purity program by Dennis and Barbara Rainey of Family Life Today. The kit provides step-by-step instructions for the entire weekend and gives you great ways to make it very memorable for parents and kids! Don't take your responsibility in this area lightly moms and dads! Your kids need to hear about purity, in every respect, from you! Even if you don't choose this program, make sure you choose something and make it fun and memorable! I'll be the first one to tell you it's not easy, but it's worth it, I promise!

Sydney relaxing in the hotel room with her Passport notebook.

Sydney loved the deep windowsills in the old homes.

Here we are overlooking the convergence of the
Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

John Brown's famous, or maybe infamous, fort.

Sydney enjoying a ride in an old grocery wagon.

Beautiful downtown Harper's Ferry

Jeff and Sydney at Olive Garden for our special dinner.