Tuesday's Tribute - To fresh air

Ahhhhh...fresh air. Don't you love it?

I grew up in small towns in the Midwest, and some of my fondest childhood memories were of times when I was outside.

A few favorite fresh air memories...

Waiting until the sun was shining on my grandma's swing set so we could go outside and play on it.

Catching frogs.

Fishing.

Learning how to skip rocks from my Gramps.

Playing in the rock forts behind my grandparents' house with my cousins.

Swimming in the plastic kiddie pool in the backyard.

Running through sprinklers in the summer.

Jumping rope.

Playing jacks.

Building sand castles and volcanoes in the sand box.

Building snowmen and sledding.

Going camping and hunting.

The list goes on and on.

I suppose since it was such a huge part of my childhood, my love for the outdoors is just stuck with me for life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

To me, there is just something so peaceful about getting away from the hustle and bustle. Getting away from sirens, honking horns, all the sounds of the city, and going to a place where you can't hear much of anything.

My favorite places to go are places where it's so quiet I can hear the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, I can hear the birds chirping, and where I can hear streams of water. The air is crisp, and clean, and just so darn refreshing.

I still love fishing, hiking, swinging at the park, camping (in a tent, not a camper) going for walks, skipping rocks...just being outside in general.

Oftentimes, when I start to realize that I'm losing my patience and feeling cooped up, Kaylee and I go outside. The fresh air hits her face and she just opens her mouth wide like she's trying to capture it. Just like this.















There really is nothing like a breath of fresh air.

So, when I heard about the Fresh Air Fund, I could hardly wait to tell you about it.

The Fresh Air fund provides upwards of 5,000 kids from New York City's roughest neighborhoods the chance to spend a couple weeks in the country or the suburbs during the summer months.

I can't imagine what my childhood would have been like had I not been able to be outside so much. I think every kid deserves to have an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air without having to worry about all the stuff that kids in the inner-city have to worry about.

The Fresh Air Fund needs volunteer families to host kiddos for a couple weeks this summer. If you can't do that, or if you don't live in an area that needs host families, you can help by donating to this awesome organization. Click here to find out if host families are needed in your area, and click here to learn more about this organization that's all about helping kids get the most out of childhood.

This post is a part of Tuesdays' Tribute hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

It's (not so) critical

One of the reasons I love kids so much is that that are hilarious. Plain and simple.

Dennis and I work with a group of kids each Sunday in church ranging from about age 5 or 6 to age 10 or so. Today, we were talking about India because some people from our church are there right now doing some medical clinics.

So, the guy who came in to speak to the kids starts asking them about India.

"Tell me what you know about India."

A few of the responses included things like -

"They don't have money and they eat crusty bread."

"They don't know about Jesus and they drink dirty water."

Fairly reasonable responses, right?

Then he starts to talk about glasses because a big part of the trip to India was to provide eyeglasses to people who can't afford them. He began to explain why it is so essential to be able to see well in order to do important tasks.

Figuring that all the kids could relate to a question about moms, he tries to explain why it is so important that moms be able to see well . He says, "What is the most critical thing that moms need to do?" (the answer he was looking for was giving their babies medicine - they need to see well in order to read the bottle and give them correct amount...anyway...)

One girl pipes up with this clever (and absolutely, positively ridiculous) answer:

"Cleaning?!?!"

For real? Cleaning? You think that's the most critical thing a mother has to do?

More critical than wiping crap off your butt, oh - I don't know - feeding you, encouraging you not to play in traffic, making sure you don't stick something in a light socket, teaching you your ABC's and 1,2,3's, helping you learn right from wrong, or taking you to the doctor when you're sick?

Those, kid - THOSE are critical things that moms have to do. Cleaning? Ha! That's actually quite a funny concept. In fact, in order for me to really, actually clean my house a couple days ago, it was absolutely necessary for me to drop my child off with her grandma for the ENTIRE day.

(Click here to read about my crazy, fun cleaning day, and click here for before and after pictures.)

That cannot happen every day. Grandmas work. And babysitters cost money. So, no - little girl. Cleaning is NOT critical.

And you can't come back to children's church next week because, well - because you just don't know what the hell you're talking about.