meet me in the mountains

Rich and I no longer want to attend church. But we have older children who do want to go. So we decided to go to Church as a family every other week.  It works well for now.

The Sundays we don’t attend church feel like an amazing gift.

I did not want to just let Sundays become like every other day of the week. Since Rich works so much, we thought adding in some quality time as a family would be amazing. So we decided to try to create something meaningful and special. We call it our “Family Sabbath”.

 

Each Family Sabbath, we go exploring. I’ve lived for Utah for 20 years now, and I still feel like there is so much to explore, not to mention four seasons that make each place special in different ways throughout the year!

    

Do my children complain about driving far away (ie 30 minutes) or hiking or leaving their electronics? Yes, yes, and yes. But I have to say that each of these adventures has produced many amazing moments of discovery and wonder, laughter and play. Together, we’ve run down grassy hills and sledded down narrow trails of sparkling snow. We’ve set adrift wispy seeds from giant dried pods and plucked up tiny red fern-like plants growing underneath melting snow. We’ve ridden scooters and played tennis and admired outdoor sculptures and indoor works of art.

      

I’m not sure if my kids will someday love the mountains as much as I do.  But for now, these are the best days. On these days, I feel strong. My mind is clear. I feel capable of handling the challenges of life. I am brave enough to meet myself, to think about all that I have not yet become and all that I must do and to plan for it. I have my greatest loves holding my hands and mother nature showing us her secret wonders.  

I wanted to create a place for other mothers like me who may be struggling with their faith and need support and quiet and hope – that’s my reason for starting this blog. Heaven knows I am looking for support and wisdom from like-minded others, too! But I hope sharing these places will help you on your journey, whatever that journey may be.      



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Parenting children outside of the Church's framework can feel very scary and overwhelming. I'm so grateful I read Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn several years ago. IT IS LIFE-CHANGING.  Even if you are nothing like me, read it.  Even if you are not a parent, read it. I did not know it was possible to interact with my children in a such a loving and honorable way, and I could not mean that more sincerely.

Is your family split between believing Mormons and non-believing Mormons? Are you and your spouse on different pages when it comes to religion? This podcast, Raising Children in a Non-traditional LDS Home helped me so much.  These parents are so thoughtful in the way they raise their children, and I found listening to this to be so helpful.