We have a new puppy! His name is Otis, and as we’ve told him a few hundred times, he’s a very good boy.
Before we adopted Otis, I sat down with Ian and wrote up a schedule. We decided when we would get up each day. We figured out when Otis would eat, sleep, take walks, and use the bathroom. We decided on routines for crate time, meal time, and exercise.
We did this because of a truth I’ve learned over the years, whether I was caring for my garden, my children, Presencia, or my own soul.
Good things happen when we make room for them. The schedules we make and the structures we create aren’t the point, but they make room where good things grow.
At home, I schedule time to reflect, pray, exercise, talk with my kids, and process each day with Ian to make sure we are healthy as a family. We keep our apartment organized and put art on our walls to make it feel like our own. These are all spaces where faith, hope, and love grow.
In Presencia, we build space and time for children to play together. We make meals and eat together. We build a web of mentoring relationships to help them navigate life. We open a welcoming space where they can learn, interact and grow.
And because they have the room to thrive, they do!