intentional parenting Archives - Page 10 of 12

Family friendly hiking.

In an effort to continually expose our kids to new things, especially in nature, and keep them (and us) active, we hiked to the Fifth water hot springs in Diamond Fork Canyon in Utah.

It is a MUST do for a hiking adventure.

Annnd because I had to heft a human child on my back, the big girl camera was left at home and these are all iphone pics courtesy of myself and my husband Mike.

It was more of a walk than a hike. Our girls, who were 8 and 6, easily made it with minimal complaining. Our 3 year old probably could have done it as well, but we didn’t want to go that slow.
So we packed him and our 1 year old in on our backs. I think it was a little over 2 miles each way.

We brought swimsuits and a change of clothes, as well as lunch to eat by the springs.

On the internet it said a lot of things about naked people being there. Mercifully, we didn’t see any.

The hike up was beautiful. Kind of reminded me of hiking in Hawaii. Seriously. Super green. Trees branching over the paths. Little stream running by.

As you get closer you can start to smell the springs. And the water in the river starts to get warmer. Our kids thought that was pretty awesome.

When we got to the top, we ate lunch, then played around in the different pools.

Definitely worth a visit. We’ll be going back. When the kids get a little older, I want to do it in the winter.

The Road Home

“We envision a community that recognizes the inherent dignity of those who live in poverty and homelessness”

My brother was homeless a few different times in his life. Our family will forever be grateful to the Road Home for helping keep him alive during a period in his life where we (his family) were trying out that whole “tough love” thing with an addict.

The Road Home saves lives. And I’m not being dramatic. It saved my brothers life on more than one occasion. And though he may not have a lot of nice things to say about his experience there (which is understandable) I personally am thankful he had a warm place to stay when I was unable to provide him with one. One of the hardest experiences of my life.

Whenever I go outside in Utah winters, I always think of homeless people.

Over the past 3 years, there has been a 300% increase in families needing help from the Road home.
Right now there are close to 1000 people being assisted by the Road Home. And that’s just the people who go there to stay. There are many homeless people who find other solutions.

(pulled this image off the Internet. Not the Road Home, but gives you an idea)

I know there is a lot of judgement attached to a homeless person. But the truth is, it could be any of us. If you didn’t have family to help you out, and you lost your job and couldn’t find another one (which is a reality), where would you go? What would you do?

OR (and this seems to be the bigger issue) if there is a mental health issue and no insurance for treatment. A HUGE problem in our society which I have witnessed first hand when trying to find resources for my brother. Which often leads to self-medicating (thus the rampant problem of drugs and alcohol among homeless people).

(image from the Internet)

There are a lot of good people at the homeless shelter. There are a lot of KIDS at the homeless shelter. Victims of consequences that came from choices that weren’t their choices.

So when I have a chance to give, or donate, I always choose the Road Home. And I’m hoping to be able to get more involved as a volunteer as my kids get older.

(image from Internet)

A few years ago, not long after my brother had stayed there, my family did a clothing drive for the Road Home in an effort to give back to them.

We posted something on Facebook to family and friends. That was it. My front room was overtaken by donations.

First we filled up a trailer. We ended up needing to rent a UHaul to get all of the donations down to the Homeless shelter.

Every time I came home from errands, my porch would be filled with donations. Turns out I know a lot of amazingly generous people!

The truth is, most people want to give. And many of us have the resources to give. We just need to know WHERE to give.

If you are interested in learning more about the Road Home, please visit their website. There are a lot of great opportunities for giving.

**You can donate money. It only takes $9 to shelter one person for one night. You can do a one time donation (for any amount) or you can have money deducted monthly.

**You can donate “in-kind” things. On the website, they list what the urgent needs currently are. Right now this is the list:

Urgent Needs

Towels & Pillows
Coats & Jackets (all sizes)
Jeans & Warm clothing (all sizes)
Boots & Shoes (all sizes)
Socks (all sizes)
Underwear (new, all sizes)
Blankets (twin, full, & queen)
Diapers (sizes 3-5)
Baby Bottles & Formula

**You can also donate to help people who have been moved to the Palmer Court Apartments, a supportive housing development that helps formerly chronically homeless family’s or individuals. They have different “kits” needed for the apartments. You can find the list here or through the Road Home website.

There are also many opportunities to volunteer.

You can find a list of ongoing opportunities here or group opportunities here.

When I was a youth, my church youth group used to drive to the homeless shelter once a year and pick up a bunch of kids. We brought them back to our community pool and let them swim for a few hours, fed them dinner, and sent each kid home with a backpack full of school supplies. Now that I’m an adult, I realize what a HUGE logistical task this would have been. But it was an amazing, and VERY memorable experience for me as a youth. So grateful for my leaders who organized that event.

It kills me that we live in a world where there a millions of people without a home. I hope to be actively involved throughout my life in finding solutions to that unacceptable problem.

We Belong To Each Other.

“To me, Jesus sounded like an ordinary guy who was utterly amazing. He helped people. He figured out what they really needed and tried to point them toward that. He healed people who were hurting. He spent time with the kinds of people most of us spend our lives avoiding. It didn’t seem to matter to Jesus who these people were because He was all about engagement.” Bob Goff, Love Does

And because words mean little without action, here are some action steps each of us can take:

1. Donate the excess things you have in your home and take them to the homeless shelter. If you need some motivation to gather your things, I highly recommend reading “More or Less” or “Margin”.

2. Get a group together and do one of the group volunteer opportunities

3. If your kids are older, consider volunteering AT the Road Home

4. If you are able to provide food, consider doing a dinner at the Road Home (details on their website)

5. Donate money to help shelter an individual or family at the Road Home

6. Do a clothing drive in your neighborhood to take to the Road Home. This was AWESOME for our kids to be a part of. They brought in the things from the porch, helped load the trailer, and went with us to drop it off at the Road Home. Plus we spent a LOT of time during the week we did the drive to discuss homelessness and the importance of taking care of each other.

Why we have to get those pictures off our computers!!!

One of the greatest technological advancements and pure gifts in my generation is digital photography. Because it is accessible to everyone and allows us to document our lives and the lives of our families in an affordable and easy way.

Here’s the thing though. We take pictures. If you’re like me, you take a LOT of pictures. And then what happens? They sit. On our phones. On our card readers. On our computer.

And how crappy would it be if this gem just stayed on my computer where no one could see it and enjoy?!

I am guilty of this as much as anyone. But that’s changing. Right now. And forever.

Because truly, the photographs I take are among the most cherished things I have. Right up there with my husband, my kids, my boat, and my bed. 🙂 If there was only one material thing I could keep in this world, it would be my pictures. Because my pictures are the story of my life. Of my family’s life. It’s what we do. It’s who we are.

But my husband and kids have probably only seen about 7% of the pictures I’ve taken. Because they’re sitting on my computer. That my kids aren’t allowed to touch for fear of death. Or a broken leg. (I’m kidding. You can read here how he scored that cute little cast)

This is the year I have committed to stop thinking about things and start doing things. Starting with the things that are most important. Like photographs. And how to get all four of my kids to sleep through the night. Sigh.

So join me in this quest to get the pictures OFF the computer and OUT where they can make a difference!

Click here for STEP 1.

There is a season

A scripture I think of often.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die…A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance….
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away…
A time of war, and a time of peace….”
Ecclesiastes chapter 3

I get ahead of myself alot. Move to seasons in my mind that my actual life isn’t ready for yet.

Projects I’d like to do. Things I’d like to finish. Things I’d like to start. A business I’d like to grow. Books I’d like to write (yea, books).

And I have to often remind myself, “To every thing there is a season….” To every thing, there is a season. And sometimes, I have to be more patient for certain seasons to come, and certain seasons to end.

God has this whole thing figured out. He’s pretty smart.

For now, my season is little people. And lots of messes. And lots of laughter. And a whole lot of tears. Very little alone time. Very little personal time. Constant dependence. Teaching. Enduring. Enjoying. Cleaning. Cleaning. And more cleaning. Homework. Reading. Bedtime (that takes far too long). Morning routines before school.

Little people. Man how I love them. And already miss things they do even though they’re still doing them. How is that even possible?

As hard as having four little kids is, I’d freeze them if I could. I truly would. Because I know things to come are only going to be harder.

To every thing, there is a season…..

The final member of our family

Hey Mike,

Remember how before we even got married we both dreamed of having a boat for our family one day? And how we saved and saved and worked our butts off to buy one? How we drove down the freeway and our hearts ached while we watched other people towing their boats?

All the “one day we’ll….” trips we have planned. The years and years we spent bumming rides on other people’s boats and looked at each other with that look–the “we have to have our own boat” look.

How time and time again one thing or another, or one newborn or another, seemed to eat away at the “boat fund”. (Those babies definitely ate away at the boat fund…)

And how when we finally, finally were ready to buy one and for one reason or another, each boat we thought was ours slipped through our fingertips.

We have big dreams for our family. We worked hard. We sacrificed. We made a goal. And then we talked about it as if there was no question it was going to happen. “When we have a boat” not “If we get a boat”.

And now. Now the longings are over. And the lake is calling. And we get to spend hours and hours and hours trapped in a small space with our four kids. And bonding will happen unlike it happens anywhere else.

Because there’s something magical about the lake. And being together in such a confined space. With the single motive of bonding a family together with love and fun!

I’m proud of us. I’m proud of you.

And I can’t wait to make this newest member of our family (it’s the “kid” we’ve always known needed to be a part of our family) part of our family story.

We did it!

Love,
Me

{Note to readers: No we are not trying to keep up with the Jones’s. A boat isn’t about what people think of us. It’s a means to an end for our family. Annnnd it happens to bring more joy to my husband’s face than anything else on God’s earth. And being on the lake with him is about as close to heaven as I’ll ever get while in a mortal body. And it brings joy to our family. So we will boat. And use it to bond our family together. And use it for the good and blessing of others as well.

And will most assuredly have plenty of days where the boat breaks down in the middle of a sweltering summer day with four crying kids, no drinking water, and a sudden infestation of mosquitoes. Then maybe it won’t be so magical. But still worth it.

My dad used to say “When you can take a $100 dollar bill and flush it down the toilet every day for a month, then you’re ready to buy a boat.”
It’s one of the few things my dad has said I have chosen to ignore. 🙂
Bring on the lake!!!!}