Step Out of the Routine

A little spontaneous activity was just the thing this family needed to lift us up.

The other night as we finished eating supper, my stepdaughter asked if we could go drive around the desert in the “Big Red Truck”.  We call this “Big Red Truck”, “The 83”. 

It’s a square body, 1983 GMC Sierra that my husband bought for $200 out of someone’s pasture back home in Kansas. HELLO small town America!

We are building it into a big rock crawler so we can go on some neat off-road adventures.  It currently doesn’t have its front axle in as he is swapping it-amongst just about ever other thing you can swap.  (I won’t talk too much about all that).

This stuff brings him joy, which in turn brings me a ton of joy too.  I have always enjoyed off-roading, but this man I married… let me tell ya. He likes the CRAZY stuff. Like the stuff people shouldn’t push a truck to go up. Or down.

Some of the rocks he likes to crawl on makes my tooshy pucker, but I cannot deny that I have the time of my life.

Anyways, back to what I was saying.

She was bummed about not being able to go in the truck, and then asked if we could just go drive our Blazer instead. She wanted to go look for bunnies and pigeons… (She meant quail-haha!). 

My initial thought was “UMMM not tonight… its getting late.” It was about time that we get the littles cleaned up and go to bed.

I paused, and my husband and I looked at each other, shrugged and said “well, why not?”, so the girls scrambled to get their boots on, go potty, and pile into the blazer (good ‘ol Mean Green). ha.

You can’t beat looking into the backseat seeing hair getting tangled in the wind from the windows down with huge smiles behind all that crazy windblown hair. 

“Sissy, hold my hand!” 

“There’s a bunny!” 

“Whoaaaa!” 

“Make it lean towards my side this time!” 

They LOVE it.  Best part is that we live three houses away from these endless trails. 

When we got to the top of the mountain, the views were breathtaking as they always are.  Our two year old, got out and gasped, exclaiming “Mommy wook (look) at sunset, it’s SO BEAUTIFUL!” 

She was mesmerized by it.  You can’t forget an experience like that.  The purity in her words and genuine thoughts at that moment were priceless.

What if we saw the world how little humans saw it? In the way that God intends for us to view it?

Wouldn’t that just feel pure?

It was absolutely beautiful.  That entire moment was. 

Up on a mountain in the stillness of the desert where all we could hear are the little voices of our girls, rocks being kicked around, the breeze, the occasional RAZR driving the trails and the distant trucks driving along.

You could see the chaos of the town we live in still in motion, but it was peaceful.

In times like that I enjoy praying over the town. For the families in their homes, the children, the experiences, their futures, etc.

Also prayers of gratitude for those moments. For our children. And their love for the outdoors. Simply being able to do things like that all together.

This mama just wanted to make time pause for a moment. 

The colors of the mountains and the sky were incredible.  When my little one asks why it’s so pretty (she does this with just about every sunrise and sunset-so sweet).

My response is that is just how God made it so she can enjoy it.  She always seems blown away that He does it for her to experience.

I would encourage you to not always worry about following your routine.  Guess what? We still got them bathed and tucked in at a decent time. 

Let me tell you, that evening was definitely more memorable than just sitting on the couch and watching a show.  I’d take 45 minutes outdoors with my family any day. 

That is where we thrive.  Really, all four of us just LOVE to be outdoors in God’s creation. 

I’d encourage you to go outdoors with your family too.  If riding bikes is your thing, do that!  Hiking, walking, exploring, yoga.  Whatever it is.  GO DO IT.  Encourage your kids to play in the dirt.

Just take their boots off outside.  Ha! (I forgot to do this recently and we ended up with a second sandbox on the bathroom floor). My bad.

It is finally starting to cool down here in Arizona.  So we spend most every evening outdoors.

I sent a picture to my girlfriend yesterday of my daughter making dirt pies saying how she will be making dirt pies until it is hot again. Both our girls would live outside if we let them.

And tonight? She was making dirt angels in the neighbors dirt. So proud. So proud.

Isn’t it just a blast to watch kid’s imaginations soar though?!  I absolutely love it.  I want to encourage you to sit back and just listen and watch. 

Get off Facebook, and the emails.  Even Simply Blended & Blessed can wait till after they go to bed… hehe.

In all seriousness, be present for those little humans.  There is nothing more rewarding. Watch the sunset together. Let’s slow down a little.

That spur of the moment decision we made that night filled our hearts.  We all had sore cheeks from smiling from ear to ear.

Do something a little different.  Spice-up the routine once in awhile. 

Go tickle your kiddos, pick flowers, be crazy with them, tell stories, have them tell you stories, make a fort, read an extra book at bedtime.

Make their last expression be one with a smile on their face.  Don’t forget to tell them You Love Them.  Squeeze them extra tight.  Don’t forget to soak it up.  Every. Moment. 

A huge thank you to my stepdaughter who suggested we go on a family drive. I like the way you think, kid.

Even if writing isn’t your thing, before you go to bed, make a note in your phone about the experience.  Put the small details in there.  Then go back and read it, and read it again another day.  I PROMISE you will be glad that you did. 

I am confident in saying that it’ll bring you a sense of fulfillment and encouragement to continue to make those special memories.

Do it for them, and do it for you too, Mama.

Happy Adventuring,
Bri