Family Making

Just Enough Snow

Spring arrives early in Kentucky. That's one of our favorite things about moving here from Colorado. About the time we'd be digging out of our biggest snowstorm back in Colorado, the crocuses are pushing up the earth in our flower beds. But not as early as February. Last week's short snow storm provided some early morning snow play.

There was just enough snow for sledding.

For snowballs.

Enough even for snowmen.

It's a good thing we got outside when we did. Because it was just enough.

Faught Family Photos

I like alliteration. The way closely connection words flow when they start with the same sound.

How about the way closely connected people come together to capture a moment in time? Even better.

Why I Take Photos

I take photos because--even when the kids are crying, and the tree won't fit in its stand, and the saw's not sharp enough to make a fresh cut, and the tree (once in its stand) is crooked, and the new lights stop working minutes after they're strung and covered with ornaments; even when the outing and the decorating and the celebrating are flawed events--the photos have a way of capturing the best parts of life.

Here's to the hope that time and grace will season our memories the way Lightroom seasons my photos!

George Washington's Nose

One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility to do field trips. Anytime. With no need to get permission for midweek, mid-day adventures. Case in point: our trip last Wednesday and Thursday to Keystone, SD to see, for the first time,

In our seven hour plus drive, we saw a lot of highway.

We also saw this van which made us think we weren't the only homeschooling family visiting.

In contrast to our two days on the road, they spent three weeks, and went from Colorado to Boston and back, by way of all these historic sites documented in white paint on the windows of their vehicle. (We learned all that later when we saw their van again, this time at a rest stop on the South Dakota/Wyoming border.)

When we finally pulled into the Mount Rushmore parking lot, I felt a wave of disappointment. We came all the way for this? The rock faces seemed small. (It was a "keep it to yourself" moment.)

We got out and started walking toward the sculptures. First through the Avenue of Flags (all 50 states are represented by their flag atop a carved granite column).

The closer we got, the more majestic the mountain appeared.

Thanks to the other tourist who willingly laid on the ground to get this family shot.

We walked as close as we could get to the carvings, taking countless steps to get there. Still, with the monument right above us, it looked deceptively small. Each face is 60 feet tall and George Washington's nose was known, back in the day, to keep up to nine workers dry during a rain storm.

We visited the studio where Gutzon Borglum designed his masterpiece.

It was closed. But the highly reflective glass made for a sweet self-portrait. And we weren't deterred. We came back the next day to see inside and learn about the 400 workers who made Borglum's vision a reality.

They sat in these special "bosun chairs" designed by Borglum to hold them safe, even if they fell unconscious. (Our tour book said it was impossible for them to fall out. Hm. OSHA must have been more lax back then.)

Borglum worked from a 1:12 scale model.

From which he could look out a set of massive floor-to-ceiling windows to see the Presidents emerging from solid granite.

Borglum was inspired, and an inspiration. His son, Lincoln (named for his dad's favorite president), followed in his footsteps. His work, too, is seen all over the park. Most notably is this sculpture he did of his dad.

And so, our short field trip adventure came to a close. We learned about the history of Mount Rushmore, the Presidents honored there and the virtues they esteemed.

And in an unintended final nod to the Mountain, took a group shot with our own Teddy in the right seat.

Hiking with Kids

Once upon a time, I wrote an article about family hikes. In it I said, "We figured if we raised two kids in Colorado and never got out in nature, they'd never let us live it down. So we bought some hiking boots and a guide to the Pikes Peak region and started walking."

That was five years ago. Since then, we've had two more kids and out of necessity, slowed down our pace. Recently we dusted off our trail book, laced up our hiking boots, and headed back to nature.

Turns out my advice back then still holds. Even with twice the number of kids (maybe more so). Things like:

Don't be afraid to try something new.

Do it for the kids.

Make it fun.

Five years ago I wrote, "Encouraging a four year old to keep going to the end of a 2-mile hike can be a chore. But when he knows there's a root beer float waiting for him at the end of the trail he's more likely to embrace the challenge. And when his little legs get tired and he starts begging for someone to carry him, we often divert his attention by singing songs or practicing his letters ('What does apple start with?', 'How about baseball?', etc.)"

Maybe I should have actually read that old article before we went hiking. Confession: I remembered it after the hike, while editing these photos. And so instead of having a clever game ready to distract our three-year-old, and certainly no plan in place for root beer floats post-hike, Steve carried our 20 month old in the back pack and the three year old in his arms. (Ibuprofen anyone?)

But even being less-than-prepared, we made lots of memories in a beautiful place.

Back then I wrote about the joys of guilt-free chocolate on the trail. "Who wouldn't love a reason to eat some favorite high-energy snacks, knowing the exercise involved will burn those calories?!" For this hike I forgot to buy snacks before we left.

And so, we stopped here.

For snacks.

Very salty snacks. We should have brought more water than we did.

Instead, we shared our one water bottle and focused on some more of that advice: The thrill of discovery.

There's something new and innocent about a child discovering God's creation for the first time. A new bird, a bubbling stream -- or in this case, our state flower.

All these and more provide lots of oohs and ahhs on the trail while instilling a respect for nature.

Realizing "they can do it" is a big deal for little ones. Each step taken over rough terrain, each trail completed, even the occasional scraped knee can build self-esteem in kids. And even if they don't self-actualize, they'll be glad for some undistracted time with their favorite toys: Mom and Dad.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, it's ... Six Planes, Actually

It was a warm, windy day with clear blue skies.

The perfect sort of day for looking up. (Even better with a hand full of chips.)

What were we watching?

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds!

Okay, that last image wasn't mine. I was shooting with an up close lens. Here's the shot I got with my camera.

You can kind of see the planes if you look really closely.

Every May, the Thunderbirds fly over the Air Force Academy at the precise moment the graduates toss their hats in the air. It's a stunning show from within the stadium. But even from miles away, it's quite a show.

And a LOUD reminder of the price the men and women in our armed forces pay to protect us. We are grateful. Thank you.

Boundless webzine's LIVE webcast

Yesterday Steve and I were part of the first-ever LIVE webcast from Boundless.org. What fun it was to be a part of the production. And it was some production! I didn't know you could fit that many talented people into one control room.

The team behind the scenes did an amazing job of getting all the film clips, mics, people, cameras, and more coordinated. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it.

Unless, of course, you include the production that is getting dinner on the table in our kitchen every night!

Here it is, archived. The whole show. Steve is in the opening segment, with host Lisa Anderson (you may recognize her from the Boundless Show podcast). My contribution is at the end. We wanted to mix it up a bit from what I typically do in the Q&A online and for the podcast. So we landed on a lightning fast round of answering questions from Boundless readers. I think we squeezed in 25 questions in about five minutes. It begins at minute 43:53.

Enjoy! And if you're as moved as we were by the film clips and conversations about the "life-on-life" ministry going on through Focus on the Family, I hope you'll consider making a donation!

Thanks for watching.

Spring is Here

Along with sunshine and warm weather (finally), lots of dandelions, and a welcome reminder about what we're really raising.

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How Kids See Things

Our recent trip to the zoo was a good place to see the wonder we've been missing.

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