
Joanna Gaines Wants You to Enjoy Every Moment with Your Growing Kids — Here’s Why
By Movieguide® Contributor
Joanna Gaines knows that children grow fast and it’s important to enjoy every minute, which is exactly what she’s doing.
I just love watching him and how he moves throughout his day,” she told PEOPLE of her youngest son, Crew, 6. “He’s always looking out the window, the first to notice something. He has the childlike faith like, ‘If I just look, I’ll find something. A lot of us have that when we’re younger, but then I feel like we stop expecting wonder because we’re so busy. And he’s just inspired me to live like he does.”
She continued, “I feel like as adults, our problems get bigger — the weight of our work, the weight of our responsibility. But we all have a childlike heart in us. So now and then, I’ll go out in the garden and just go stare at a bloom, look at all the wonder in that flower the way Crew does with a bug. And there’s something about that perspective shift that floods you with gratitude, and just thankfulness for all that is out there for us.”
Crew is FIXER UPPER stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’ youngest child, with eight years between him and 15-year-old daughter Emmie. Gaineses are also parents to Drake, 19, Ella, 18, and Duke, 16.
“With my older kids I feel like it all went so fast,” Joanna said. “Having Crew makes me feel younger, and really anchors me. It’s been such a gift.”
“My older kids are at that age where they’re kind of starting the exit,” she added. “Knowing that they’ll be gone in the next few years, I’ve made a conscious decision to create micro-moments, to feel in the now with our family, just be really more intentional with our time together. And hopefully, try and slow it all down a bit!”
Crew’s wonder at his surroundings inspired his mom to write a children’s book titled “The Wonder You See,” which is set to release Jan. 28.
“Right before I started writing ‘The World Needs The Wonder You See’ I recorded a few mini interviews with Crew where I’d ask him questions about curiosity and wonder and what he loved most about the world,” Gaines shared on Instagram about the book. “One day, he threw the question back at me: ‘Mom, what’s your favorite thing to discover?’ It was a good reminder that curiosity and adventure aren’t just for kids.”
In a blog post, she called the book a “love letter” and a “thank you” to her youngest.
“It’s a love letter to every kid who believes there are always miracles to catch, and always surprises hiding in plain sight,” Gaines added. “And I wrote it with all the hope in the world that they may never stop chasing both with a heart full of abandon. But I also wrote it for me, and for all of the moms and dads and caregivers who might need a reminder that wonder awaits them too.”
READ MORE: HOW CHIP AND JOANNA GAINES BUILT AN EMPIRE ROOTED IN FAMILY, FAITH