Weekly Hikes in February

 Three Gorges Segment of Cumberland Trail, Mowbray Mountain

Our February hikes looked a little different from our January hikes. We had more rainy days, an unexpected snow day, and less people were able to join us overall. But true to my commitment, my boys and I hit the trail every single week during the month. We even squeezed in some extra hikes and outdoor activities.

We actually almost cancelled our first hike of the month. Most of our friends had decided not to come because of the rain and my boys were a bit miffed that I was going to make them go hike with the one girl who was able to come.

I promised my boys that we could get slushes from Sonic and the acquiesced.

It was at a location we had never visited before, and guess what? This turned out to be one of our favorite hikes. I'm so thankful we didn't skip. There was a waterfall to explore, big Indian Rock Houses (overhangs) and cracks in the bluff to climb through. And then the kids spent a solid thirty minutes making mud bombs. They were a muddy mess by the end, but everyone had a great time. This hike was the Three Gorges section of the Cumberland Trail on Mowbray Mountain, and even in the fog, it was so gorgeous!

Snow Day

A couple of days later we had a surprise snow. This wasn't a hike, but we enjoyed an entire day outside. Including sledding and pulling the kids around the neighborhood park behind our four wheeler.

Stringers Ridge Pump Track, Chattanooga

Then Daniel had a chance to take the boys to ride bikes with friends at the Stringers Ridge Pump Track. This was Isaac's first time to do this track on a real bike and he loved it. They all came home muddy and tired.

Mabbit Springs, Signal Mountain

Our second hike of the month was to Mabbit Springs. It was rainy and foggy and all of our people backed out. I almost didn't go. But things were derailing at our house and while I could have just sent everyone to their rooms (myself included) I thought it would be better to just go outside.

At first Jack was mad at me because I wouldn't let him climb around the rocks and waterfall like I normally would. Fast moving water is beautiful but it scares me. Thankfully being in nature helped his attitude (and mine!) even if there was no extra climbing on this particular day.

Hidden Hills Farm Maple Syrup Day, Collegedale

The same week as our Mabbit Springs hike, we had a chance to go to Hidden Hills Farm for their Maple Syrup Day.

This included horse rides and a hayride to learn how maple syrup is made. A big group from our co-op was able to join us for this outing and we all learned a ton. Jack was ready to go order materials from Amazon and start tapping the trees in our yard.

Dirt Bikes at the Park

That weekend the boys had the chance to get their dirt bikes out with friends. This was the first time in several months they have been on their dirt bikes. They were over the moon.

Rainbow Lake, Signal Mountain

Some of our best friends had the day off for MLK day so we invited them to join us on a hike to Rainbow Lake. The best thing I heard was when my friend's son exuberantly shouted that this was the best day ever! I love to see kiddos test their limits, try new things, and see the outdoors up close. It is the very best kind of thing.

Ritchie Hollow, Suck Mountain

 

Following this hike we met up with a few friends at the Ritchie Hollow Trail at the base of Suck Mountain. The kids loved exploring the waterfalls, climbing on big rocks, and building a fort with sticks. This is a trail we will be sure to come back to as spring makes its appearance. The last time we visited this trail, the mountain was in full bloom and it was spectacular.

Middle Creek, Signal Mountain

We did one final hike, just me and the boys, on a Tuesday to Middle Creek because it was a suuny day and there was threat of rain for Wednesday. There is something so soothing about hiking in the woods next to a creek. The boys could spend hours throwing rocks into the creek and building little dams with small stones.

Fall Creek Falls State Park

On the last day of the month Jack's cub scout troop had a cold-weather camp out at Fall Creek Falls to earn their Polar Bear badge. It was a cold day (in the 30s) and even colder night (in the 20s). But it was perfect for hiking down to the falls. Daniel wondered if Isaac would be able to handle the 2.5 mile hike (down and then back up a top of steep steps), but with all of this weekly hiking we've been doing, Isaac had no trouble.

I know that February can be a dreary month, but I also know that you can find joy in the outdoors, regardless of the weather. We sure did.

One Second Every Day: February

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Feb 29, 2020 at 6:57pm PST

One second every day in the month of February. Daniel worked on our chimney (unfortunately it’s still not fixed). Even though the weather wasn’t great, we managed six good waterfall hikes. We had a fantastic snow day (and several other days with dustings of snow). Winter months get a bad wrap but we fit in quite a bit of fun this month, ending with a Leap Year hike and camp out with Jack’s Cub Scout troop. 

One Second Every Day: January

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Feb 1, 2020 at 3:28pm PST

One second every day in the month of January. It was actually a really good month for our family. Jack got his cast off. We completed lots of hikes. Daniel and I got away for a weekend. Isaac kept us entertained. And it ended for me with a Ladies Conference to hear Lysa Teurkerst speak with some of my good friends. 

Embracing Weekly Hikes in January

Green Gorge on Signal Mountain

My word for the year is Embrace and I am working to embrace this period of my life, as well as the things that make me me. Right after Christmas we took our kids camping in Gatlinburg (camping equals embracing being us, Gatlinburg crowds is borderline us). Anyway, Dollywood was offering free season passes to pre-k kids for this year. I thought that might be fun. Can I just say going to Dollywood was a complete bust, as far as our family was concerned, and definitely NOT embracing who we are. We hope to go back later this year and redeem our experience, but I'm also letting myself be okay with not always loving what everyone else loves.

Middle Creek on Signal Mountain

Another thing I'm embracing this year is my love of hiking. I've been hiking for a really long time. I will turn 40 later this year and I fell in love with hiking when I was twelve. Thankfully I married a guy who loves the outdoors as much as I do. And we are working to transfer that love to our kids.

New Year's Day Hike with friends, Middle Creek on Signal Mountain

A few years ago I made it my goal to get outside with Jack EVERY SINGLE DAY. And we did. We #optedoutside365 and it was totally doable. When Jack was in kindergarten I made it my goal to hike with him every week. And we basically did. But last year, I let the pressure of making sure our homeschool was legit enough sway me to do less hiking with my boy (plus it was a hard year weather wise). But no more! I just finished reading Call of the Wild + Free and I committing to going back to doing the things that our family loves. Embracing the things that make us us.

We kicked off the year with our annual New Year's Day Hike with friends. It was a short and sweet hike next to Middle Creek, here on our mountain. It was with friends we love. And it was so good.

Then instead of doing a one-on-one hike with Jack, I waited for a time I could let Isaac tag along. We visited one of our favorite haunts: Green Gorge (which is practically in our back yard) and I knew we had to keep it up. Nature does something to us. It calms us. It brings peace. It prompts wonder and curiosity. We need a healthy dose of it at least once a week.

Green Gorge on Signal Mountain

After posting about our hike, I had two friends ask if they could tag along. Um yes! Please join us in the things we love most. It makes it even better!

Since then we have completed three hikes with a group of friends. There has been some variation in who shows up, but it has always been a great experience.

Greenway Farms in Hixson, TN

Our second weekly hike was to Greenway Farms. I wanted to keep it simple so I could gauge what the group was capable of. We did a lap through the woods. We walked past a wetland area where we saw ducks and heard bull frogs.

Then we came to a huge swampy area. Instead of turning around, the kids figured out how to navigate past it (I think everyone made it across mostly dry).

Everyone was in good spirits so I suggested we walk up and over the quarry to the bottom. I thought the kids would want to throw rocks and sticks in the water. It was a cold day but we had all warmed up for the hike. It turned out the kids were more interested in climbing the cliffs and taking an alternate (more dangerous) route back to the car. We completed almost four miles and everyone was so excited about their accomplishments.

Blood Mountain, North Georgia Mountains

The following weekend, Daniel and I snuck away for a quick trip, just the two of us, to Blue Ridge, Georgia. Choosing to do the things we know we love, including driving down a rutted out dirt road in the dark on our way to dinner. We embraced the fact that we felt better being within two hours of home for our FIRST WEEKEND away from our kids (EVER!). We rented a beautiful cabin in the mountains and ended up doing an almost 5-mile hike to the top of Blood Mountain. Temps dropped from 38 to 29 while we hiked. But it was perfect. It felt like getting back to the us, before we had kids.

Glen Falls on side of Lookout Mountain

For our third weekly hike, I had our friends meet us at the Glen Falls Trailhead on the side of Lookout Mountain.

The two-mile hike involved large boulders to climb on, a passage through a rock that led us on top of a waterfall.

It was cold and there were icicles hanging in the creek, but the kids had such a good time exploring the creek, pushing their limits, putting up with the moms telling them not to fall in the icy waters!

Snoopers Rock in Prentice Cooper on Suck Mountain

Then today we had our fourth hike of the month. Five other families braved driving down gravel roads to an out-of-the-way spot in Prentice Cooper State Forest. The hike was a quick 0.5 mile walk out to the spectacular view from Snooper's Rock. With an oxbow of the Tennessee River spread below us. This is such a gorgeous spot (a favorite of Daniel's to ride dirt bikes to, let him know if this is your jam! Jack and I have done it on dirt bikes and it's a lot of fun).

Mamas were pushed up against their comfort zones as we were on an exposed rock with big drops down into the river gorge. After some quick pictures, we headed back into the woods where the kids delighted in finding creeks to rock hop across and small waterfalls to climb up. It is the end of January, but with temps in the 50s it was a perfect day to explore like this.

We are looking forward to more hikes with various friends in the weeks and months to come. I joked with my boys that we could go somewhere new every week for the rest of the semester and never hit the same trail twice. I'm pretty sure that could be done. We will probably circle back to some favorites. I am just thankful to be back on the trail, with my boys, and I am loving that our friends are wanting to join us every week.

In the Picture

Before I had kids I read all kinds of blog posts and articles about the importance of moms being in the pictures with their own kids. Too often we are just behind the camera lens. Since I waited so long to have my kids, it gave me a lot of time to consider this and I have worked diligently over the last eight years to get into photos.

So this year, when Facebook released their little year-end video –– the one I normally look forward to seeing; the one where whatever digital algorithm determines what gets in the mix –– I was more than a little sad that I was not in a single one of the photos (besides the leading profile pic). While it was a nice reminder of good memories (mostly with my kids), it didn't actually include me. What the heck, Facebook?

This got me to thinking that I want to be better about taking pictures with my friends. While I am pretty good at taking photos with my boys, and mostly good about snap pictures with Daniel, photos with my best friends are a little more elusive.

So to everyone who humored me for a big group pic this year, or took a minute to pose just the two of us, a big heartfelt THANK YOU. It means a lot to me to have a photo of us. I have moved a lot over the course of my life and I am grateful for the photos that document friendships I've had over the years.

A good friend of mine moved away last year and I only have a couple of photos of the two of us. I have tons of our kids together, but not so much of us. For several years, she was my person. She was there to celebrate the good stuff and offered a listening ear and wise counsel on the not-so-good stuff. I wish I had more pics of the two of us.

If I ask you some time in the future, I hope you will pause and take a pic with me!

Word for the Year: Embrace

 

It's been eleven years now since I began the practice of starting the new year with a word to set the tone for the 365 days to come. If I'm being honest, this past year I have been wrestling with the attitude that King Solomon expresses in the Bible: that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

Another year of coming up with a word for the year: check. 

Another holiday tradition completed: check. 

Another book read: check (60 last year).  

Dishes and laundry to do: check. 

Food to shop for and cook: check (never-ending checks). 

So many things that make me feel like I'm just spinning along on a hamster wheel of life.

Here's the thing though, even with the mundane-ness of everyday life, those checks also give comfort and stability. The traditions I'm busy trying to check off my list are things that draw my family closer together. They are the things that anchor us and connect us to each other. Weekly things like church provide stability when life feels a bit off kilter. Routine? Yes. But they are also comforting. 

In recent years I stopped doing some of the things I loved in the past because they felt more like chores. I stopped blogging –– it felt like I was just writing about the same thing all of time. I stopped experimenting with recipes, even though I love to cook –– too much complaining from the peanut gallery. Jack and I quit doing our weekly hikes –– there were lots of excuses like the weather and effort to pull it off each week. (To be clear, our family still had a lot of amazing adventures, but my attitude felt off).

One of the definitions for embrace is to accept or support a belief / theory / or change willingly and enthusiastically. 

This year I hope to work on embracing life as it is now. In the doldrums. In the day-to-day as well as in the moments that are more exciting. I want to embrace life where I am at. Motherhood is a beautiful place. I want to focus more on:  "Finding the extraordinary in my ordinary."  Even in the days that are ordinary, there is beauty to be found in each moment. I hope to embrace those things and find a greater degree of contentment in the every day parts of life this coming year.  

As a secondary thought, I am taking a cue from Disney's Queen Elsa and working on letting some stuff go this year. Every year there are things that need to be let go of. Pride. Expectations. Sometimes relationships. If it was meant to be in my life, it will come back. I'm working to embrace the harder parts of growing up and also parenting.

Words from previous years: 

Fortitude {2010} │ Adaptation {2011} │ Patience {2012} │ Deliberate {2013}│ Joy {2014}│ Peace {2015} │ Release {2016} │ Savor {2017} │ Healing {2018} │ Be {2019}