Eyres On The Road

Upfront, Halloween may not be one of Richard and Linda's favorite holidays but today they try to see it with a positive lens. This is a season that helps encourage creativity in many different ways. Whether it's carving pumpkins or coming up with costume ideas, Halloween helps unbridle the imagination. And, because this is a family show, sometimes it's just important that kids love Halloween, so this year take a minute and see this unorthodox holiday through the creative eyes of a child.

Communication is the key to any relationship, and that is nothing new. Most times families try right when the kids get home from school, but the Eyres pose some other ideas for times to bridge the communication gap. All great communication in a family starts with the spouses setting the good example. A good example starts with organized, purposeful, and planned communication. For more information about the Secret Family Code you can click here.

The Eyres talk about a child's education today, but don't think it will be all about which pre-school through college they can get in. Parents are always the most vital part of the education process. Along with education, parents often try to cram in the extracurriculars (also to make their university resume look better) but it is important to find your child's unique abilities or interests. Little kids have personalities too, and the best way to get to know them is to be involved in their education.

It is officially Autumn now, and Richard is definitely in the spirit. The Eyres spend today discussing gratitude and giving thanks. Sometimes the toughest times to give thanks are for the things we don't notice. Parents and other caring people can point out gifts and blessings that you have in your life, if you only ask.  This attitude of gratitude is the best defense against entitled and asking trends in the family. Also as the seasons turn the Eyres remind us to not forget to be grateful for the beautiful nature always around us.

As you know, the old school Three R's that schools teach are Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. So now as the kids head back to school to learn in these categories, the Eyres put forward The Other Three R's that parents and concerned adults can teach. These are the kind of categories that formal school learning often glosses over or ignores entirely, but they are just as important in the learning process of a child. So the Other Three R's are: Relationships, Responsibility, and Right-Brain-Learning.

Richard and Linda go back to the topic they have loved talking about the most for the past two months: their new grandkid. There are definitely joys and struggles both when a new baby joins the family. They talk to the new father to get his thoughts and how they have changed from three months ago. Finally they delve into the spiritual aspect that comes so natural when discussing a new life coming to this Earth.

A few of the Eyres family gathered in New York City recently and it allowed Richard and Linda to notice the serendipity that is so natural in children. Serendipity is when you can see random occurances happen together in a fun or happy way. When unplanned events happen in your life, and they will definitely happen, you can decide how you react to them. You don't have to make a hard choice between structure and spontaneity.

The Eyres have said it before, but one of the biggest problems that can crop up in families is entitlement. Richard and Linda share some stories from their childhood that they believe instilled grit at an early age. The two suggestions they emphasize today are creating a family economy and a family narrative. This means paying children for regular work as opposed to an allowance. A family narrative is telling stories of ancestors to teach children where their family has come from to get here. The Eyres are working closely with the First Lady of Utah Jeanette Herbert with her Uplift Families initiative. More information can be found at upliftfamilies.org.

Being a parent can be hard sometimes, especially if you feel like you're going through it alone.  Even traditional looking families with two parents around can suffer from feelings of loneliness.  Today the Eyres give tips regarding these feelings that can hit even the most diligent and loved parents.  It's okay, and you aren't the only one dealing with the family conflicts you have.  21st century technology has really opened the way for groups of people to get together and this applies to parent groups too.  Richard and Linda suggest some blogs, groups to follow, and ways that they did it, but the important thing is to find a healthy group that can help you.

It is almost back to school season again.  That means figuring out teams or extracurriculars, homework schedules, and back to school shopping.  The Eyres this week encourage parents to not forget goal setting in all the chaos.  Make sure the goals focus on all the healthy aspects of a child's life such as mental, physical, emotional, etc.  You can set goals with your children and as a whole family.  When the Eyres did it with their kids they posted the goals on a nice big and visable chart, but there are all kinds of ways to make goals work for your family.  Make goal setting just as important as that first day of school outfit and the school year will be off to a great start!

Richard and Linda talk about the best thing you can do for your kids. Love is so important in a succesful marriage, and you can express that love in many ways. We learn the best possible thing for a family is the father and mother to love each other.

Richard and Linda call from Bear Lake, Utah with some advice on how to make your kids more calm. The greatest tip is in how you, the parents, act! How calm you are will affect your children as well.

The Eyres talk family reunions this week.  They advocate having them at the same place and same general time every year.  Sometimes reunions are a good excuse to stay close with family members that are farther away.  They have a huge family themselves, and so they talk about working with extended families, getting people to come, and talking to alienated family members.  Getting people together is always a great way to solve problems.

Richard shares some stories and thoughts about the joys of a new baby.  He also ponders the big questions of where we all come from.  In the second half Linda joins the conversation from London with the new parents.  Everyone adds a few thoughts on new babies, and if you listen close you might hear a little bit of baby Moses too.

Richard calls in solo this week while Linda is across the pond with their youngest daughter.  He shares a big secret that we will learn more about next week when Linda joins the conversation.  Meanwhile while she is away from the homestead, Richard considers what it means to be away from our loved ones and if it can actually strengthen the relationship in the long term.  It reminds us to never take those we are around, or really anything, for granted.

The Eyres today explain how they personally divide the responsibilites that families face.  They have a meeting with together often where they share with one another on what is going on with the family or what is going on with career and work and the outer life.  The outer career focused life is built to support the inner family life.  No matter what stage of life your family is in, understanding the inner and outer of families and careers can help you grow together.

The Eyres go over some of their future plans and talk about marriage.  There are different levels to a marriage and it takes constant work to grow together toward oneness.  They share their three C's for a successful marriage and relationship.  Also remember the adage "Marriage is not a noun, it's a verb.  It's not something you get, it's something you do."

Linda shares some stories from a Mother's retreat she's on in Park City, Utah.  Every mom has a different experience with mothering.  They then explore more fun things to do over the summer.  Sometimes setting summer goals can get them proactive and responsible about their time.  As they set goals they can also set their own limits and boundaries.

The Eyres explore some of the fun things you can do with some free time in the summer, all of which involve spending the time with family.  You can take a road trip, or go to a park, or even build a log cabin, but don't take their word for it.  They suggest coming up with your own unique ideas for what will make the most of your time together.  You get to find a balance to fill the free time that kids can have with structured and loose activites.  Most of all have fun together!

The Eyres head back to Richard's hometown of Logan, Utah this Memorial Day Weekend.  The holiday is a great time to have lots of the extended family gather together.  This is especially true in large or spread out families.  Everyone in the family is important and can help.  It's also very important to stay in contact in between times you can get together in person, and technology is great for that.