While they will always be my babies, my boys are now full throttle into their toddler years and beyond.
Expanded mobilities, ever growing vocabularies, and nonstop curiosities means parenting has entered next level arenas. Gone are the days of simply nurturing and protecting their growing bodies, now we have the development of their minds and characters to throw into the parenting-task-mix. A big responsibility? You got that right!
Adam and I want to instill so much into our boys. Respect and kindness for others, responsibility, independence, generosity, healthy habits… yeah pretty much ALL the good things and more. Which means not only do we teach, but we model through our words, behaviors and activities what we expect from them.
Not only do we teach, but we model through our words, behaviors and activities what we expect from them.
Crashing into bed each night exhausted, we both feel like we poured everything we could into Tobes and Wes. But we’ve realized an incredible thing is happening… to us. Adam and I are receiving lessons about character too! Seriously deep character lessons from our sons!
In this daily process, we aren’t just molding them, they are also molding us. Each of us in this family of four, taking shape each and every day. Maybe it’s all the “practice what you preach” that’s changing us, or maybe it’s how the boys challenge us to be good parents, spouses, and people to those around us. Either way, Adam and I are expanding and growing into better versions of ourselves as we try to encourage the same for our boys. It’s a radical, humbling, and exhausting process! And we love it!
Whether you are a parent or not, the people you are in relationship with on a daily basis have the potential to be shaped by you and to shape you. We all need each other and are accountable to each other. Keep your eyes open and you may just realize that the people you least expect have the potential to make you better.
Let’s all get out there and shape each other for the better!
p.s. Blessing others is a topic in my Unstoppable Year course where we unpack the character shaping potential of being others-focused instead of self-focused.
photos by Rebecca Farmer
