A Time For Every Season....

I took the week off work, we're not going anywhere spectacular, just staying home being mommy without the distractions of work. It is wonderful! My house is getting back into order - that always makes me feel better! I balanced my checkbook, paid bills, took the kids to story time, went grocery shopping, cleaned behind the fridge and oven and pulled out the kitchen table and bench. I even painted the window railing that had been covered in food and who knows what else. Abby, Gabe and I baked 3 dozen pumpkin muffins and read some great books from the library. I cried during one of the stories - I always cry when reading children's stories about the Great Depression and the penny auctions. Tomorrow we're headed to the Zoo - poor Abby has never been to the zoo. I'm too cheap to spend the money and its pricey! Tomorrow is half price Wednesday so I'm hoping the cold will keep everyone away! It has been so nice to just be home, relax in the evenings instead of work,...

What an awesome year we are finishing up. This past year we sent Drew to a private Christian part time school in our area. It was a costly but priceless opportunity that I wouldn't trade. I had this idea that homeschooling was just another option like public school - you pick a route and go with it. God had some very out of the box ideas for us this year. In my mind we would enroll Drew, love it and send all our kids there. Now, that would be great if it were free, but its not. If we sent all our kids we're looking at 15K per year!  I truly expected to send the kids there this next year, but God in his wisdom reminded me that we're taking things year by year, child by child. They are all so different and the unique opportunity to be the sole person responsible for their education allows for outside the box teaching! I learned some valuable lessons this year! 1. I wasn't a half bad teacher, Drew's reading didn't have much to do with me - not even a sweet lady...

I just returned from a 36 hour retreat - a mere 36 hours away from husband and kids with the sole purpose of building up enough reserve and inspiration and notes to prepare myself for another 365 days of inspirational mothering. I don't write this post to nullify the power of the Holy Spirit because without Him I would be completely and utterly lost. I write this post to remind myself when I am older and these little ones are grown ones - that parenting well - is exhausting.May I show more grace to my future daughter in laws! My blessed husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in January. It was  a joyous celebration, we smiled at each other, gave sweet kisses in the morning and then went on with life. We did go out to dinner a few days later. It was a good reminder that in this age and phase of life - I am being matured and all forms of selfishness are being drained from my body! As a new bride I imagined a 2 week trip to Rome or Italy or Australia - instead I c...

I take notes - a lot of notes at the Mom Heart conference every year. I don't want to miss a thing! Here are some highlight from this year's conference in Irving Texas ..... with some great photos of my kids to keep things sweet! Get up for my kids, not to my kids I am planting oak trees of righteousness I'm a mom, I'm kinda a big deal! A purposeful mother makes a plan Come up with a mission statement or slogan for your family - like "Run to the Battle" Create a family motto every year "Do as little as possible, as well as possible" from inspiredtoaction.com A river cuts through rock because of its persistence My children  are like clay and can't mold themselves, that is why they were given a mother It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, that is why we must capture the hearts of our children if we want them to develop a heart of repentance. God is inviting me into Holy Work! I am living a story, so are my ch...

I did it, yeppers, I did! It took 7 1/2 months of discipline or 7 years depending on how you look at it. I finally reached my goal weight. BK - Before Kids - I was so tiny and I totally took that 120 pound body for granted. I didn't have to work that hard to keep trim, I was always active, riding horses, mucking stalls, lifting hay bales, that it wasn't much of a thought that I would ever struggle with weight. Then I got married moved across the country and my body freaked out from all the stress. I was over the scale in stress - new state, husband, job, wedding, etc. My TMJ flared up and I dropped to 105 pounds. My jaw literally locked and I was unable to open it. I actually struggled with keeping on weight and got very use to drinking all my calories, I was still very active and busy with my new husband and horse so I actually struggled to drink enough calories. The thought never occurred to me that I would struggle with being over-weight. I had a hard time find...