Teachable Moments & A Hike

The weather has been absolutely amazing this winter in San Francisco. We've been trying to get outside as much as we can on the weekends, so I planned a little nature walk one Saturday. We were all excited, loaded up in the car and started to pull out of the driveway. I reached back and handed the kids a little snack to tide them over till lunch and Cameron proceeded to tell me she didn't want the snack I packed her. Uh oh. Since we were already on our way, I kindly told her to eat what I had packed and we would get the snack she wanted when we got home. Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer for her. After going back and forth with her, trying to compromise, she still wasn't satisfied. Both Young and I then told her if she couldn't let it go and be happy with what she had and focus on how exciting out hike was going to be (not those words exactly, but spoken so a 3 year old would understand), then we were going to turn around and take her back home. After more of the same demands from her, we turned around and headed back. I felt really bad for her but knew it was one of those moments, once we drew the line in the sand, we had to dig our heels in and commit to the consequences of her actions. So...I stayed home with her, talking and explaining to her why she was missing the hike. She wasn't happy by any means but I feel she did understand that it was her actions that caused her dilemma, not Mommy and Daddy. We talked a long time, prayed together and then played a little until Daddy and Timo came home. At the time, I was really bummed that I had to miss out on the beautiful day and hike with Young and Timo but I'm honored to be the one to share those hard but sweet teachable moments with Cameron.

So on to the hike! Since Young isn't quite the crazy photographer that I am, he doesn't have many pics of their 1 1/2 mile walk...but here's what he did get...looks like it was beautiful walk and I know Timo LOVED having his Daddy all to himeself.