Real Adventurers!

One of the best things about being a parent is finding the right time to teach your kids some of the things that you love to do. Saturday was the first time that we ever attempted to teach any of our children how to rappel. Rappelling has always been an activity that Tim and I have really enjoyed doing (even with my severe fear of heights). Tim usually does some crazy stuff when he goes, and it never really occurred to us to take the kids. They were always too little.

All that has changed! We strapped Orion into a harness, showed him the basics, and then there was no stopping him! He is a natural! There are some things that Orion takes too without hesitation and rappelling is one of them. Rigel was the next one to try, and it was the same for him. He watched Orion and his dad enough that he knew he was an expert. The thing that worries me the most, is that he has no caution. He steps off the cliff like it wasn't even there and glides down the rope like a pro. Being a mom, my heart jumps every time he even gets near the cliff. Watching the kids learn is harder on my adrenaline than doing it myself.

The girls haven't given it a try yet. Not because they don't want to, but because they were busy with birthday parties and friends when we decided to go. Vega is the only one that has no desire to participate. I can't even get her to put on the harness. This actually makes me happy, because I don't think my heart could handle Vega going over the edge of a cliff!

After teaching some of the kids to do something he loves, Tim decided to do some more fun stuff that we love doing together. So, on Sunday we went rockhounding! This is something we have taken the kids to do since birth. All of our children love to hunt out the most precious of rocks, whether it is pretty rocks in the neighborhood, or fragile crystals out in the desert. The kids are constantly rockhounding. This time we went to find us some geodes.

Geodes are those rocks that are the ugliest things on the outside, but have the most beautiful array of colors and crystals on the inside. They are pretty easy to find if you know where to look. The kids started out picking up the ones on top that were so pretty, but they were soon passing those up when we taught them how to dig for the good ones. In the end, Tim walked away with one the size of a basketball! Each of the kids found their own personal treasures, and I had some of the most petite ones with the most complicated structures inside. For me, it is all about the fractals.

Knowing you can really enjoy some of your favorite activities with your kiddos is one of the greatest things that parenting has to offer. Having them finally come of age where they enjoy what your teaching them is a lifetime of reward! Remember to have fun with your kids! They aren't just there for you to worry over and boss around, they are here for the love and fulfillment that you can only receive from God. Through Him, we learn how to love our own kids and through Him they learn to love us back!

Dirty little freaks

There are some days when I look around at the families in our neighborhood and I wonder what goes on in their houses with their families. My children are independent and loud! They run around the neighborhood like a bunch of wild Indians. The rest of the neighborhood seems to hide in their houses all day. I don't usually hear from their kids or see any activity at all.

The wildest Indian of them all!

Maybe the reason that my kids are always outside is because we don't have any TV in our house. There were many days in my childhood where I would sit in front of the TV all day. I never really watched anything, but I did watch everything. I didn't really make the choice to not have TV in the house, it just sort of happened. When the analogue signal was turned off, we couldn't afford the converter box. Since we don't have satellite or cable, we have no reception. Therefore, we don't have television to vegetate in front of.

Water + dirt=mud! At least they know their math.

Another theory is that our house is really too small to have 5 rambunctious kids in and live comfortably. We are always bumping elbows and being general Space Invaders. There is lots of fighting about this or that and chaos reigns. What choice do I have but to tell them all to go outside and leave me alone!

This is actually a rare occurance for Vega. She never takes off her shoes!

In any matter, my children come home covered in dirt and all matter of filth. They have torn clothes and scuffed knees. The girls' hair is always flying all over the place and it doesn't matter that I just did it 5 minutes ago. When it comes down to it they are dirty little freaks. The funny thing is, they think that is the best compliment they have ever heard! I guess since I say it in the most loving way I can think of, they wear it like a badge. This is their theme song: Raise Your Glass. I love my kids' independent sense of self! The way they have confidence in themselves and know that they don't have to be like everyone else in the world.

I'm happy I have my beautiful kids and their messy faces and sense of adventure. If I didn't teach my kids to enjoy life to its fullest, I may as well just produce little Ken and Barbie clones.

But that is a blog for another day!