my first ride
We’vd recieved about 16 inches in the past 2 days and the boys are loving it! Here is Blake taking his first ride out in the Winter Wonderland.
Present or Packaging?
When you have preschoolers, you know that sometimes the packaging can be as fun as the gift itself. This week we recieved a box from my Aunt Jane (WI). I’ll let you be the judge on which won out!!
Cooking Co-op
I LOVE the idea behind Dinner Me Quickly (or other stores that you can prepare fresh meals at)…but on one income I can’t justify it. As a result, the cooking co-op was born about 1.5 years ago! Instead of $19/meal, I’ve got it down to $10 to $12!
About every 6 weeks I choose 8 freezable recipes, send out an evite/menu, and coordinate a shopping list. Friday night I clear the kitchen and shop for all the ingredients. Early Saturday I turn up the music, turn on the coffee, and the girls show up for some fun conversation and a fast paced cooking marahon. Each of the girls take home 2 to 8 meals (depending on how long they stay). It saves us all time and money working together and buying in bulk.
Recently I’ve run across bigoven.com a site that offers recipe software. For $30 you can download a program that allows you to choose from 1000 recipes, place them on a calendar and create a shopping list. This has really cut down on my preparation. Of course it allows me to add our family favorites!
If your money is more valuable than your time at this stage of life…gather some friends for a good time!
mid-day picnic
A few moms and I sat around the preschool playground on one of the last warm days of the Fall. We talked about how much we are going to miss the chance to eat a picnic mid-day with our boys running around. The few precious years before we head back to the “work world”. It was so refreshing to share such positive conversation about being a mom. So often you hear the “sleepless nights, sniffles, loooong days trying to stay sane”. Although those days come around, I know I’m going to long to have them back when I’m at a desk 8 hours a day. This week I’ll look at my guys in a new light!
identity
I’ve been reading a book called The Mommy Diaries: finding yourself in the daily adventure. It has been refreshing to see how who I was before kids is still who I am. I’m still organized, love being around people, and am always up for a good cup of coffee.
I’ve learned that whether gathering my employees for a team meeting or coaxing 2 preschoolers to get into the car, candy always works! Excel can create a pretty mean cleaning schedule. My internet research now produces meal plans for the week…with grocery lists ready to print! And no matter WHAT your role in life is, coffee can wake you up!
I worried that I’d be bored and “lose my edge”. Life now takes even more of who I am to balance work, parenting, house, food, and volunteering in the community. My identity? I’m me, and I always will be.
Rose Garden
I stared down at the grass as I walked…”God, I want to trust you deeply.” For months I’ve known that He’s been calling me to a deeper trust in Him. To trust Him to take our family to NY. To trust him with my preschoolers, my marriage, my identity as a stay-at-home mom. But I was still trying to understand what that meant.
“Look up from the grass!” He said to me in a soft voice. As I did, I remembered I was walking in a colorful, blooming, rose garden. “Enjoy the beauty and blessings infront of you.”
Not only did He want me to be refreshed by the tranquility of a morning away from my 3 energetic boys, but God was trying to tell me to enjoy the life He had me living right now. I learned that I need to stop watching each step in the grass so closely, but enjoy garden.
family vacation
We Moved!! Ok, just kidding! But we did take a family vacation to Newport, RI and walked along the ocean path between the water and these beautiful mansions!
It was the first family vacation now that Blake has arrived. It was fun to explore together, but kids don’t understand that you should sleep in at hotels…they were still up by 6am!
Grandma June came along since she was in town for visit! She stayed at the hotel so Brian and I could explore the nightlife of Providence.
rich dad, poor dad
I recently listened to the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki. It gave me a new perspective on the role of money in my life. Money is a means to an end. The middle class value a stable job that will give them income to pay their expenses. Rich look to acquire assets that will produce income. The MC must continue to work to make income. The Rich let the assets do the work of providing the income.
I wondered what Jesus would say to Mr. Kiyosaki about this? Is he greedy? Or shrewd like the manager the bible talks about in Luke 16? The in parable, the manager was accused of wasting his rich boss’s money. Knowing he’d be fired, he “fixed the books” and cut the debt of those that owed money to the rich man to gain friends. He was commended because he was lining up assets (his network of people) to provide for him after he lost his job.
The bible isn’t saying be dishonest, but it is saying to use your resources wisely! If we began seeing the world as “rich dad”, what kind of resources would we gain to be used for eternal good? Funny how in the next breath Jesus warns us about the love of money…you cannot serve both God and money. He knows that no matter how pure our motives for using earthly wealth/resources start, we need to keep them in check along the way!
mother’s day
My husband, Brian, asked me what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day. My response was, “sleep through the night and scrapbook uninterrupted all day”. Neither of which he could provide this “nursing mother”. What I failed to remember is that I have a God who hears the prayer of my heart. For the first time in weeks…or dare I say months…I slept from 9:30pm to 6:00am without a peep from either child. I woke up praising God, instantly realizing how much He loves me! I wish I could tell you the pattern continued, but it was a sweet reminder that God is alive and active in our lives.
1/3, 2/3’s
At the New Church Conference, in Orlando, I heard a ton of challenging statistics and perspectives from church planters from around the country. Currently about 1/3 of the US population has some exposure to “church” as we typically classify. You know…the building, singing songs, reading the bible, hearing a sermon about God. An invitation to a church event will only be received by about 1/3 of us. That leaves another 2/3’s that will never step foot in a building.
What are we doing to bring Jesus to them? I’m not talking about scooping up a meal at a Rescue Mission or donating clothes to the Salvation Army. This is great service, but it won’t build a friendship where I will someday be able to share the hope I found in Jesus. I’m a stay at home mom with few external connections, but I do have neighbors who are also home during the day…guess I’ll start hanging out with them and see where it goes!
