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  • Home
  • Raising Outdoor Kids
    • Cooking & Crafting

      How to Make Birdseed Ornaments for Wild…

      November 27, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Beautiful Spring Picture Books for Children

      March 28, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Playing in Nature Protects Our Children During…

      March 17, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      50+ Spring Nature Activities for Kids of…

      March 3, 2020

      Crafting

      How to Make a Willow Nature Crown…

      July 2, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      9 Special Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice…

      June 1, 2019

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      A Beginner’s Guide to Pond Dipping with…

      May 20, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      How Pokémon Can Get Kids Bird Watching

      April 30, 2019

      Nevada, USA

      Rock Climbing and Hiking Around Las Vegas…

      April 24, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Signs of Spring Nature Walk for Kids…

      April 5, 2019

  • Spring Outside 2020
  • My Nature Adventure Journal
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  • Canadian Adventures
    • All Alberta British Columbia Lower Mainland Northern Interior Okanagan
      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

      November 8, 2017

      British Columbia

      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      November 1, 2017

      Okanagan

      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

      October 10, 2017

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      September 28, 2017

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      August 30, 2017

      Alberta

      Rock Climbing with Kids in Jasper National…

      August 8, 2017

      Alberta

      Family Adventures in Jasper National Park: 10…

      July 26, 2017

      Alberta

      Shaw’s Point Resort

      August 6, 2015

      Alberta

      Apiaries in Northern Alberta

      August 5, 2015

      Alberta

      St. Isidore, Alberta

      August 4, 2015

      Alberta

      The Hoodoos

      July 29, 2015

      Alberta

      Royal Tyrrell Museum

      July 28, 2015

      Alberta

      Bow Valley Campground

      July 27, 2015

      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

      November 8, 2017

      British Columbia

      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      November 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

      October 10, 2017

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      September 28, 2017

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      August 30, 2017

      Lower Mainland

      Visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in…

      March 7, 2017

      Lower Mainland

      Outdoor Family Adventures in Metro Vancouver

      August 2, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking the Stanley Park Seawall

      July 27, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Deep Cove and Quarry Rock Trail

      July 25, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Visiting Queen Elizabeth Park

      July 22, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking Through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

      July 20, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Lynn Canyon Park

      July 18, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      1001 Steps to the Beach

      April 19, 2014

      Northern Interior

      Life at Ness Lake

      September 1, 2016

      Northern Interior

      McMillan Creek Regional Park

      October 8, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Ferguson Lake Nature Reserve

      October 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Eskers Provincial Park

      October 5, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Autumn in Northern British Columbia

      September 28, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Wildflowers in Northern British Columbia

      June 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Visiting Barkerville Historic Town

      June 2, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Travelling North

      June 19, 2013

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      Okanagan

      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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Backwoods Mama

Family LifeInspiration

A Decade in Review and a New Word for 2020

January 2, 2020

Happy New Year! It’s 2020 and the start of a new decade. Much has happened in the last ten years of my life. In fact, I started this blog on the eve of last decade. My first post went up on November 2, 2009, and it was a simple reflection on an All Hallow’s Eve Party. So much has happened since then!

Over the last ten years my husband and I welcomed a beautiful girl and another cuddly boy into our family. With three little kids under foot, and only six months after our youngest was born, we uprooted our family from Northern British Columbia and move south to the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. It was one of the most difficult transitions of my life…

Moving is stressful on its own, but at that time I was trapped in a quagmire of anxiety. Shortly after our move, I threw myself into preserving enough food to survive a zombie apocalypse and knitting so much that I gave myself carpel tunnel. I planted a big garden, raised rabbits, baked sourdough bread, made soap, started home-schooling my kids and blogged about our family adventures in my spare time (at midnight). I was one productive mama, but I was seriously struggling.

My first couple years in the Okanagan valley were difficult. I felt very lonely, crippled by my anxiety and spiritually adrift. I wouldn’t (couldn’t?) ask for help. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know who to turn to.

In 2013 I made an appointment with my doctor. It was a decisions that ended up pivoting my entire life towards hope and healing. I saw a psychiatrist. I went to a cognitive behavioral therapy course. I started taking care of myself and it was so very good. I also started to rediscover the healing power of nature and Divine Love once again.

By 2014 I began pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I started travelling with my husband and young children (with great friends and family!) to places I never imagined I would go. Together we went to Thailand (2015), Mexico (2016), New Zealand (2018) and most recently Bali (2019). We went on rock climbing adventures and backcountry adventures.

In 2017, my father-in-law passed away. It was unexpected… death often is.

By the second half of the decade, after a year of experimenting with exercise at home, I joined a CrossFit gym and loved it! I even took a course to teach kids, pre-teens and teens CrossFit and discovered a new passion. Around the same time, I became the president of a non-for-profit board. An exciting adventure that taught me so much.

This decade also held two beautiful family weddings, and I gained a new bother and sister (in law), both of whom I am so grateful to know. Eventually my parents made the move down to the Okanagan too, and it has been wonderful having family close by.

And my blog? By the end of the decade my blog started becoming less personal. This change was mostly intentional. My children were getting older and I wanted to protect their privacy. I also wanted to help other families and children enjoy nature together. I created an Okanagan map of family friendly hiking trails. I started sharing tips and ideas to help family enjoy nature together. Some of my posts were quite popular, like this one: Stop Telling Kids to “Be Careful” and What To Say Instead.

And then for the last six months this blog and all my social media went quiet…

During the last six month I started to sense a shift in my life. New opportunities came and I made another leap. Another move, this time not as far. We moved up the valley to a new city, a new job (for my husband) and a home closer to family. And that’s where we are now. Our new home is a small log house that sits on a small acreage. We share the property with my parents. It’s beautiful. It’s a new adventure.

I hope to continue blogging about our family adventures but I think my blog will return to its roots as a lifestyle blog, with a bit of this and a bit of that. In the last year I’ve discovered that blogging for business, traffic, sponsorships or likes is not what I set out to do. It’s not me and that’s alright.

And my word for 2020? The year 2020 is going to be all about Connection. Not digital high-speed connection but slow in-person connection with family, friends (new and old) and the Divine.

Wishing you a start to a wonderful year my friends! If you pick a word for the year, I’d love to hear it. Drop a comment in the section below.

How to Pick a One Word Resolution

A Decade in Review and a New Word for 2020 was last modified: January 2nd, 2020 by Josée
New YearNew Year's ResolutionOne Word Resolution
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3 comments

Shauna January 2, 2020 at 6:40 pm

Beautiful post Josee. Thank you for sharing. I’d love to be a part of your resolution!

Reply
Cindy January 6, 2020 at 9:10 am

Wow! I haven’t taken the opportunity to think about the past 10 years as of yet, but you have had a wild and wonderful 10 years! I feel so thankful to know you and your family 🙂 I’ve been thinking about a New Year’s word as well and will definitely let you know when I’ve decided on the right one for our family. May God continue to bless, keep, and uphold your family close to Him this year!

Reply
Pamela Braman June 7, 2020 at 7:11 pm

just discovered your family
thank you

Reply

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