How a 5k Can Impact Your Parenting

Last month marked a milestone for our oldest kiddo: at a mere 4 years of age Kendry finished his first 5k on foot.

Kendry is no stranger to the running scene, having been my running partner (via jogging stroller) since he was just a wee lad.

A very cute running partner he is too, and so accommodating of my costume ideas.

Alas, pushing him in a jogger the two races previous to the March 5k brought me to a conclusion: he was just getting too darn big.

The time had come to give Kendry a little push out of the proverbial nest and see if he was ready to fly.

Fly he did.

My only regret is that I didn’t have a camera to catch the giant grin painted on his face as he took off from the starting line with all the other runners. He kept glancing up at the runners around him, beaming ever so proudly. He was finally one of the pack; he was finally a runner. Albeit a runner I had to keep reminding to pay attention so he didn’t run into a telephone pole, trip over a bump in the asphalt or collide with a jogging stroller. There were close calls with all three of those risks.

Kendry jogged the entire first mile on adrenaline and excitement, with me beside him. As the novelty and adrenaline wore off (and the two of us slowly fell to the back of the pack), he started taking little walking breaks in between spurts of running. But he was still motivated.

Daddy and little brothers passed by us going the other way, having already hit the halfway turnaround.

Auntie Angel passed by us too.

I reminded Kendry that we were almost to the halfway point ourselves and that we could stop and get a drink there. The incentive of a water break sparked his stride a little. But once the halfway point was reached and the water consumed, completing the race was suddenly the last thing Kendry wanted to do.

As the mom I found myself struggling as well. I wanted my kiddo to have fun, but obviously the fun was over. His legs were tired, his motivation was gone, and his spirits were down. Not to mention the finish line was still 1.5 miles away.

Was I tempted to swing him onto my back and let him piggyback for awhile? You betcha!

But I didn’t.

**********************

I heard a Chip Ingram message once that said:
“Our kids will encounter suffering in their lives. Teach them to suffer well.”

There is a lot of commentary lately about a generation of children growing up unequipped to deal with life’s disappointments and hurts because their well-meaning parents can’t stand to see their kids suffering. I’m sure these parents have the best of intentions – no one wants to see their kids suffer - but the truth is no matter how hard we try to protect our kids, they will be disappointed and they will get hurt. It is inevitable. Instead of overprotecting our kids we should let life struggles build their character; stand back, give them independence and let them fall, then come along side them and teach them how to suffer well. Let them see your failures. Let them see you apologize. Let them see you fall, dust yourself off and get back up.

Let them see you stick to your commitments, even when it gets tough.

**********************

With 1.5 looonng miles to go, I fought off the urge to rescue my kiddo or give him a way out; instead, I took his hand and we took it one step at a time. We walked and we talked. He complained a little; I countered with praise and optimism. I encouraged him to run when he could, and he did. I told him it didn’t matter if we walked the rest of the way, but that we were going to finish the whole race.

With about 200 yards to go I told Kendry we should try to beat the little girl and her daddy walking in front of us. He wasn’t interested.

At 100 yards to go we spotted Daddy, little brothers and Auntie Angel cheering us on. His spirits lifted.

At 50 yards Kendry took off running and didn’t stop until he crossed the finish line, where he promptly turned to me and exclaimed: “Mommy, I beat that girl!”

Who knew a family fun run could provide such a teachable moment, for both parent and child?

As we run, we become.

 ~Amby Burfoot~

Ten on Tuesday

 

 

 

{1}

Its been a month since our last post. Yeesh! And here I thought I was doing well on my 2014 goals...

 

(sigh)

 

Let's see if I can catch you up on some of our goings on.

 

 

 

{2}

This little mischief maker is pulling himself up on everything.

 

 

 

Now if he could just figure out how to get back down.

 

 

 

 

{3}

This little crack-up spends much of his day fending off attacks from his mischievous twin brother.

 

 

 

Incidentally, in the last two weeks Cohen has become a much more vocal baby. While his new screeching sound doesn't necessarily stop Jack from snatching the binky out of his mouth, Cohen has noticed that it alerts the proper authorities (aka Mom & Dad) to the offense.

 

 

 

 

{4}

This dapper little guy played his first T-ball game on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

He played catcher. The shin guards were a little big and made him resemble a young Forrest Gump in leg braces, but he was a good sport anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

{5}

This dapper BIG guy took on the position of T-ball coach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

{6}

A certain four year old has started reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

{7}

A certain mother has found a new pastime.

 

 

 

 

So there you have it, if we're behind on the blog its because I'm five seasons behind.

 

 

 

 

{8}

Baby leggings are adorable on all babies  - even boys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

{9}

Creativity currently in the works?

A minion 5th birthday party!

Pin

 

 

 

 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

We're still basking in the joy of our visit from Momma B and GG last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten on Tuesday

 

 

{1}

February is long gone, and so is all the Red Velvet Cake.

 

 

 

Hello, March!

 

 

 

{2}

The first day of spring is this week, and the change of season has certainly been evident around these parts.

 

 

 

I can only imagine how many hours we will spend in our back yard this year.

 

 

 

 

{3}

There was once a clean freak who prided herself on clean floors, until the day she had two tiny human mops rolling, scooting and crawling all over her floors...all day...every day.

 

Now that clean freak prides herself on strengthening her kiddos' immune systems whilst they play on the floor.

 

After all, at some point you've just gotta "Let it go! Let it go!"

 

 

 

{4}

I know I am not the only one with Frozen on the brain this week.

 

 

 

 

 

{5}

Two days ago this little fella' did his first "more" sign.

 

 

 

We hope the signing will quickly replace his piercing shriek for attention every time someone breaks eye contact.

 

 

 

 

We're gonna have our hands full with this one.

 

 

 

 

{6}

Thankfully, for every yin there is a yang.

 

This one is mama's little cuddler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

{7}

If I had a nickel for every game of Uno that has been played in this house the last three months...

 

 

 

And now, thanks to Auntie Angel, he is perfecting his card table trash talk.

 

All G rated, of course.

 

 

 

 

{8}

SO SO SO PROUD of our kiddo for completing his very first 5k on foot last weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

He is, after all, only four years old.

 

 

Go Kendry!

 

 

 

 

{9}

Packing Tape:

 

Because Daddy cringes at the thought of wasting a 25 cent diaper.

 

 

 

 

 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

A fantabulous visit from my younger sister Angel.

 

 

 

 

Miss you oodles already, Ang!

 

 

 

Eliminate & Concentrate: A Dynamic Approach to Ditching Your Baggage

 

Everyone has baggage.


When I was a child my parents took our family to Disneyland and Hawaii over a Christmas vacation. (Apparently flight travel for a family of 7 was a lot cheaper in the 80's.) As I was merely 8, and my sister Angel just 6, another member of the family packed our suitcases for us. Our family spent a few days in California, with Angel and I wearing outfits retrieved from just one of our two shared suitcases. By the time we arrived in Hawaii our dirty laundry was piling up, so my mom instructed one of my older sisters to retrieve some fresh clothes for Angel and me from the suitcase we had yet to open. Much to my older sister's surprise, she opened the second suitcase and found nothing but doll clothes!

You see, in our shared bedroom at home, Angel and I had several baby dolls and scores of doll clothes; my mom used a spare suitcase to store all our doll clothes in one place. Apparently in the chaos of packing the entire family for our vacation someone assumed the doll clothes suitcase contained clothes for Angel and me. I still laugh when I think of us toting an extra suitcase from Alaska to California, to Hawaii, and then back to Alaska for no reason at all.

Nowadays that second suitcase would have cost us $25 for each leg of the trip. (sigh)  Aside from the obscenely big hair, the 80's really were a simpler time.


I have baggage.


A year and a half ago my sister Jaimee sent me a copy of this book by Anne Ortlund. I'm sorry to say it has taken me that long to finally read through it - I blame a tough pregnancy and adjusting to life with three kiddos.

In her book Anne details disciplines for godly women: making daily time with God a priority, consistently setting monthly/yearly/lifelong goals to work toward, and organizing one's life in order to best chase those goals. One key principle really stood out for me: Eliminate and Concentrate.


Eliminate and Concentrate.


As Anne says: "You want to manage your time? You eliminate clutter and concentrate on your goals."


The reason Anne's statement hit so close to home for me (quite literally) is because our home is a great source of stress for me right now. We have stuff everywhere. Too much stuff. So much stuff that when I seek out moments of peace and relaxation in my own home I find instead that I am blocked at every turn by another stack of mail in the kitchen, another mess of toys in the bathtub, paperwork on the desk that needs filing, piles of outgrown clothes in the closet that need to be purged or donated, stacks of magazines I love but never have a chance to read, another mess of toys on the dining room floor...

Okay yes, kids should be allowed to have toys and make messes, but there is such thing as too many toys.

Maybe for some people clutter is just clutter - nothing more, nothing less. Its not a source of stress. If that is you, more power to ya! But in this house the clutter is affecting our way of life. How can I be the mom and wife I want to be when I'm constantly stressing over the state of our home? How much more free time would we have if we stopped shuffling clutter from place to place and finally got rid of the things we don't need/use?

How much extra baggage (and subsequent stress/work) are we carrying year to year?


Matthew 6:19-21 says: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


I love our home. While I wouldn't call it my treasure, I know that my priorities are out of whack when I focus more on my home and its messes than I do ministering to the needy and the lost. Which is why I'm on a new mission to eliminate unnecessary baggage in our home in order to better concentrate on our goals as a family.


You have baggage.


Most of us are quick to associate the term "baggage" with things like personal insecurities, poor body image or wounds from previous relationships, but I would challenge you to think of it on a broader scale. One definition I found is 'an abstract thing or idea which weighs upon a person, and ends up obstructing or inhibiting him/her'.

For my sister Stephanie, the 'eliminate and concentrate' principle challenged her to remove the Facebook and Words With Friends apps from her iPhone. As a result, she has freed up time to do more reading and write personal notes to friends, activities she is more likely to glean from.

Do you spend too much time on Facebook and Pinterest and then kick yourself later because you failed to accomplish your to-do list for the day? Try taking a break from social media and see how freeing it can be.

Are you the person who says 'yes' to every commitment and then can't figure out why you're always so exhausted or don't have time to yourself? As Money Saving Mom says, when you say 'yes' to one thing you are saying 'no' to something else. It is okay to limit your commitments.

Its time to check your baggage.


You're at the airport about to depart. The pilot is asking everyone to gate check any baggage they don't need for the flight. Take a good look at what you're carrying. Do you really need all that baggage?

Eliminate and concentrate.


As a Christian, I prefer to view the analogy this way:

God, the True Pilot, is asking you to gate check any baggage you won't need for your journey with Him. Are you ready to let go?

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

GO 'HAWKS!

{2}

 Today we went in search of a single football cookie cutter and came home with this:

We're on a mission:

{3}

Say hello to the newest member of our household, Charcoal:

In the span of three weeks Charcoal has already outlived two tankmates, Alfred and Lax.

May they rest in peace.

{4}

This gal cracks me up!

  

{5}

Mama's got a brand new bag:

Talk about great stress relief. Every mama should have one of these. 

{6}

Two teeth and counting:

None for Cohen just yet.

{7}

We introduced Kendry to Star Wars this week. Now I'm itching to buy Star Wars valentine's for his classmates. 

source

Ha ha ha!

I've read it at least twenty times and it still makes me laugh.

{8}

Going stir crazy this winter?

Nope, not us.

{9} 
Official Sleep Report:

One baby has successfully adapted to sleeping through the night, from 7pm to 6am.

Whoopeee!

The other baby? Not so much.

Think you know which is which?   

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Finally snapping the photo I've been longing to take. 

Rub a dub dub, three brothers in the tub!