Hi, I’m Steph.
Nice to meet you here in this little space. That’s me up there with one of the most amazing kid I know. She is such a gift, and teaches us so much about life. Like, who knew two thirty-something, educated adults would be no match for a toddler who is so not tired at 8:30 PM? When did we become these people, and will we ever be able to stay up past 10 again? We added a second daughter to finish out our crew and we only thought we felt old! Juggling two under 5 in a pandemic has been, well, let’s just say we’re learning a lot.
Anywho, I am an educator by day and kid-chaser/baby-snuggler/recreational-baker/author-wannabe by night. I’m also wife to my best friend. We met long before we finally got together, and have been weirdos together for the better part of a decade (wow, that’s weird). Marriage is definitely not what I dreamed about as a young girl using toilet paper to make fancy wedding dress trains and watching “A Wedding Story” on TLC…it’s so much better. And watching him turn into a dad – that’s one of the biggest blessings of my life. Well that and the fact that he puts up with me. Our girls have had their Daddy wrapped around their little fingers since day one. That’s the way it should be. They make one heck of a team. We live in the Texas Hill Country and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else (I seriously don’t know how people who don’t have access to an H-E-B even survive).
So, why did I choose to embark on this blogging journey? At first, it was to dig in to a passion I have (and let’s face it, find something to do during the great COVID Quarantine Summer of 2020) and just to flex my writing muscle. Then, after experiencing our prolonged quarantine and restrictions due to COVID, I decided to shift my focus to share some things that I have been working on myself. These things all center around something we have found to be an essential part of not only our survival but our thriving as a family…intention.
What do I mean by “intention”?
It is my hope that you’ll find inspiration through our journey to be more intentional about the way you yourself live and parent. Now I know that there are different schools of thought when defining “intentional living” or “intentional parenting,” and I want to be clear about where I’m coming from right from the start.
Let’s start with living with intention. This article by Jennifer at simplyfiercely.com explains it perfectly. We need to slow down enough to discover our why, our purpose. Once we’ve discovered that, every decision we make about how we live should be evaluated based on our why. It takes work, but eventually living with intention will allow you to simplify your life, make it easier to say “no” (and “yes!”), and maybe even stress a little less. You’ll end up feeling more fulfilled, knowing that every thing you are doing has a purpose that has its center in your heart and soul.
Intentional parenting stems from the same foundation as intentional living. If you yourself are living with intention, it just makes sense that those practices would carry over into your parenting. Intentional parenting focuses on raising your kids with your family’s core values (your “why”) at the center. Through parenting in this way, you will raise kids who are resilient, self-motivated, mindful, and you guessed it – intentional! I can’t even tell you how amazing it was that our oldest, at three years old was able to discuss her feelings as thoroughly as she could. This is thanks to our intentional focus on teaching and talking about feelings.
To read more about intentional parenting, see the articles below:
10 Ways to Parent with Intentionality
7 Simple Ways to Practice Intentional Parenting and Raise Mindful Kids
Ready to join our journey? I can’t wait to hear how yours is going. Let’s get started!
