Well, it's finally here, the kids are heading back to school. Backpacks, textbooks, pens, pencils, homework, projects, after school activities; it all begins this week. And, we're happy about this. 

It's been a great summer! We've had some fun, did a little traveling, visited with family, enjoyed an amazing week at the beach, and made a lot of good memories. As a family, this summer marked a season of change as we prepared to send our second eldest off to college. That means we now have two in college, along with our younger three; a sophomore, a seventh grader, and a fourth grader. Life is changing.

As we get ready for the coming year, we want to make the most of the time that's to come. So to help us slow down and be intentional about what's happening around us, we've decided to set a few goals for us as parents.

This year, as parents, we are making a point to be intentionally engaging with our kids. With our two oldest boys, we left a lot of their junior and senior year responsibilities to them. Whether it was homework and assignments, class responsibilities or college applications, essays, and/or scholarship and grant research; we gave the boys the space to assert some independence. We encouraged them to do the work, problem solve, and find answers using the resources that were available to them. We had hoped that in doing so, our boys would learn how to navigate their years of college and young adulthood when we couldn't or wouldn't be there for them. And, for the most part, our boys have done well. They are learning how to deal with people, how to resolve conflicts, and how to own and correct their mistakes.

While in many ways, this has been good, we feel like we are missing out on some pretty important information during these crucial years. We've decided that we really want to be more involved as our kids move through these challenging waters. Our kids will still carry the responsibility of completing assignments on time and learning how to deal with teachers and peers. Our hope is to have more conversations around various issues and challenges they face.

We've also learned that in allowing our older boys space to make their own decisions, they missed out on some great opportunities because they neglected to respond, forgot to respond, or were completely unaware of that an opportunity existed. We value the life lessons that our kids are learning and believe that they will serve them as young adults. But we are learning that we still need to be involved in our kids schooling.

​This year will be no different. Starting on the first day of school, our kids will have set restrictions. These restriction will govern their media usage from the time they wake up til the time they come home, complete their assignments and chores, and ready themselves for the next day.

We have smart kids. That's not to brag, that's just to say that we have capable, able-minded children who have the ability and potential to learn and do well. To settle for something mediocre or average is to take an easy road through their education. Our kids deserve better.

This year, we are committing to challenging our kids to strive for the excellence we know they are capable of. It's easy to settle and just cruise through the school year, but where's the challenge, where's the growth? We believe our kids have the ability to achieve for something greater. It's why we took our sons study hall period and switched it to a creative writing class; because he needs the challenge.

We don't expect 4.0+ GPAs and perfect SATs, but we do want our kids to learn how to work hard and strive for something better that average.

We're looking forward to a great school year. Sure, we'll have our challenges and struggles. But, as parents, we realize that we need to be the ones that take ownership and responsibility for how the year shapes up. If we want our kids to strive to be all that God created them to be, then we need to be the parents that God has called us to be. And, that means we have to step up our game and do the things that parents should be doing.

- the higham family

It was a big day in the Higham house this past Friday night. We had the opportunity to celebrate two exciting activities. The first was the unboxing of our NEW Life in the Higham House tees! The second was an early celebration of Nate's 19th birthday! Both events made our Friday a whole lot of fun!

The NEW Life in the Higham House tees are here, and the look awesome!

We love t-shirts! And we love creating fun, family-friendly t-shirts! We think t-shirts are great messengers. Our message is, We are all about family! The reason we vlog and host this website is because we want to encourage families to have fun together, support each other, and live out their potential! T-shirts aren't just a great way to share our message, they are a fun way to support Life in the Higham House!

There's nothing better than when a member of the family celebrates a milestone! This weekend, Nate takes a couple steps to two huge milestones. Friday night we when out to celebrate Nate's 19th birthday! That's 19 years!! Crazy!

It's so surreal for us. For so long, our focus has been on raising our kiddos, now, here they are becoming adults!
Nate is simply amazing. Super talented. Passionate. Outgoing. Determined. Generous. A great friend. And committed to living his life for God. What will the next year look like for Nate? We have no idea. But, if it's anything like the previous 18 years, it's going to be a year of adventure and achievements. 

We'll talk more about Nate in a special post coming later this week. Not only does Nate turn 19, but he also begins college this week. So we'll come back and share a little more with a special Moving In post. In the meantime, take a few minutes to watch today's vlog, and help us celebrate Nate's 19th birthday!

- life in the higham house -

It's been an amazing week in Bethany Beach, Delaware! One of the best vacation weeks in...well, let's just say it was one of the best! This is our last day. But before we leave Bethany, Amy heads to the beach with Asher and Breya, while Jay, Nate and Aiden stay at the condo to pack and clean. Then it's off to our favorite restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner before we begin our travels home.

We did make a stop in Philly to celebrate our nephew's birthday. We didn't vlog on Saturday just because we were with family and friends of our nephew. It wouldn't be cool to vlog a bunch of people we were meeting for the first time. After the party we made the long ride home. Not much worth vlogging there.

But now, the vacation and the weekend is over and we're getting back to life. So enjoy the vlog!

- the higham family

It's our last full day at the beach. So we start our day with the sunrise. We weren't sure that we were going to see the sun, but the clouds cleared and it turned out to be amazing.

But then, we had our minds blown! We went to the beach earlier than usual to watch some guys who had been fishing each morning. We heard that they were catching all sorts of fish, including a few sharks. So we managed to get out there to witness one of their catch. We couldn't believe what we witnessed! They caught a shark! A REAL SHARK!! And they caught it right where we had been swimming all week! CRAZY!!!

You have got to watch today's vlog!

​- the higham family