If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you know that growing a connected family is our most important value. We want to truly know our kids—every version of them—and walk together through each stage of life.

But how does a connected family actually happen? It’s not one dramatic breakthrough or grand gesture. It’s built in the small, ordinary moments where we choose to slow down as a family. These choices are downpayments on a priceless treasure.

Someone last week said to me, “I notice how connected you are as a family. Can you share– how did you get to be so intentional and how you go about building your family life?” This question, directed at me, is a testament to our family’s total one-eighty.

Seven years ago, we owned the perfect house full of all the perfect stuff. We were over the top busy, and our family life was on the back burner. Steve and I were restless and unfulfilled. Our true passion is actually for nurturing our family; why did we then let everything else pull us in the opposite direction? When would it be time to say yes to family first? We realized the window for building a connected family is short. If we neglect it, time slips through our hands and the best moments are forfeited. Out of this crucial conversation came an extreme life restructuring. Plus, 3 intentions we want to share with you: