To be in the world but not of the world Part 1

What does that mean to you? I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. Especially now that I raise a child in a world that is quickly and rapidly changing. I remember what it was like for me as a kid in junior high and high school. Do I really want her to go through that? And isn’t the world just completely unsafe? Should kids be able to explore the world as we did as kids? I remember being able to walk to Taco Bell with my friends a good mile from my house. Am I going to be able to let Sadie do those things?

I have come to terms that I hate the media. They twist and mold and skew our perception of everyday life. Do you know that this country is actually SAFER then it was in the 90’s? That crime is actually down??? That there were only 115 child abductions in 2006? Your kid has a one in a million chance of being abducted by a stranger. (Not trying to talk anyone out of teaching thier kid about safety here- It's very important!)

Did you know that there is a new term called helicopter parenting and it’s coddling our kids and not letting them make decisions and become independent thinkers? What are we doing to this new generations of kids who can’t tie their shoes because they use Velcro, or can’t figure out simple tasks, or decide for themselves if it’s ok to eat gummy bears for dinner. How about the fact that the over-use of antibacterial agents are actually causing us to become sicker because our immune systems have had no practice fighting off bacteria.

Maybe we need to step back, let our kids play and eat some dirt, walk to the park by themselves, and make decisions. We need to have a little faith in our kids. We need to teach them to be in the world but not of the world. We need to teach them how to stand up for their beliefs, how to kick and bite people tring to stash them in their creepy vans, and then teach them how to actually talk to strangers so that if something does happen they can get some help! But most of all we need to give them the opportunities to grow and experience life. Give them the opportunity to express their beliefs. No matter how much we coddle and shelter them, at some point we have to let go. Letting go will be much easier if they have been given the opportunity to be independent and flourish.

What are your thoughts? If you want to read more into this topic of helicopter parenting- I suggest you check out http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/

Her favorites

Friday the 8th was little miss Sadie's 1st birthday. We had celebrated her birthday the weekend before with all of her grandparents, some aunts and uncles and some friends. So this day was just a laid back enjoy Sadie day. The perfect type of day in my opinion. Since it was her day, we focused on doing her favorites all day long.

I spent the day climbing up and down the stairs with her, eating goldfish crackers, singing primary songs and dancing super silly, and there was lots of the very hungry caterpiller readings. That night we had cheese pizza, apple juice, and strawberries for dinner followed up with a chocolate cupcake. I even let her pick out some birthday balloons at the store (she chose the princess one, go figure right?).

I can't believe my little angel is one. I'm pretty sure it's not fair how fast that time goes by. I can say without doubt that this was the best year of my life. I have learned so much about me, Reid, and even the gospel. Love her, love life, and love you!

What morning looks like

This is what our mornings look like. A sleepy eyed but usually happy Sadie...

And some really cute bedhead. I love my little bug.

Ps. I'm really not that great of a person you might think I am (not that you do think I am a great person). Sometimes really stupid and pointless things annoy me. But I promise I am working on that.