Verse of The Day: When I'm Weary & Worn Out

It's after 2 am.  My body is tired, but my mind is wide awake.  Full of emotions.  Mostly stress.  It was a good day.  A great day, really.  But there is just too much on my plate right now & I'm having trouble juggling it all.  Of course the only time I actually think about this is when my head hits the pillow.
So I browse Amazon.  Scan Facebook. Peek at Instagram.
Anything to avoid figuring out the real issue.
Then, I see this verse on one of my home screens.  Now I can find calm & rest my body for awhile.  Tomorrow, I'll attempt to figure out what's bothering me.

Christmas Cheer: Simple Gift

Here's a very simple gift for anyone on your list. 

We won big at our town Christmas Celebration (I'm talkin' grand prize kind of big.  It blessed our socks off, folks!).  It was such a great surprise that we chose to turn some of that money back into blessing others. 

I purchased some $5 gift cards from the local coffee shop.  I also asked for a cup for each card, because I think it makes cute packaging. 

We stopped at another local store to buy some candy for filling. 

 

 

The basics

 

Put the envelope in first.

 

Fill with candy and snap the lid on. 

 

Some of the cups have ornaments or other things in them.  After looking at these I wish I would've bought more candy for filling (or eaten less while we were filling them).  I also wish I would've bought candy canes to stick in the straw holes.  That's what I did a few years ago, and it really adds a nice touch. 

 

As a bonus, the kids got to help with this project.  What kid doesn't love playing with candy, right?  We did color sorting, patterning, adding, multiplication and division.  Oh, and a little taste testing.  For quality control, ya know? 

 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cheer: Neighbor Gift

 

Here is a simple neighbor gift I saw online a few years ago.  I wish I could remember where I first saw it, so I could give credit to the original poster. 

This simple gift has helped simplify our neighborhood Christmas giving, but is still a hands on project made with love. 

 

When we first built our home 8 years ago, we had just a handful of neighbors.  We also had just one child back then.  Making cookie platters and buying cutesy gifts was a breeze back then. 

Now, we have over 20 families in our neighborhood!  So not only does it get more difficult, it also gets more expensive.  I didn't want to quit gift giving all together, because it's something I enjoy doing.

 

I'm sure you don't need instructions, but I'll just outline what I did real quick.

 

Supplies:

Wrapping paper

Tape

Ribbon

Scissors

Cardstock

(a few years ago I hand cut & laminated all of the tags in the shape of gingerbread men. This year, I just chose cardstock & my big straight paper cutter).

 

What I Did:

I started with a blank word document & typed:

"WE HOPE YOU ARE GETTING WRAPPED UP IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON"

-I also added a family picture & the year, but that's totally optional-

I printed the tags on cardstock.

Hole punched them (or you can make a little slice with your scissor and send the ribbon through).

Tie it around the roll

add a piece of tape to secure it.

Curl the ribbon.

Put on a Santa hat and deliver these door to door singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  Or, make your kids do it.  It's character building.

Choosing Christmas Cheer

Christmas time usually leaves me frazzled, anxious, worn out & disappointed.  But this year I don't feel any of those things!  I am so in love with this whole Christmas season & celebrating the birth of Jesus.

 

 

  I'm most thankful that I had another year of making memories with my little family.  Praise Jesus for these good times!

 

Here is what's working for me this year:

• I chose not to make platters of cookies for all of the neighbors.  I did however do simple neighbor gifts (I'll post this soon!).
• The 2 cookie platters that I did make were filled with 2/3 store bought goodies and 1/3 homemade cookies... that were from a mix... yes, I really did that.  & they were lovely and appreciated all the same.  -Am I really the same person who wrote a few years ago about cutting out processed food and only making all natural?  Yeah, well, uh... that girl had a 3rd baby and needs a break right now.
• I chose not to worry about putting a price on gifts & trying to keep it even for everyone. Shopping is so much more fun when done from the heart and not the wallet.  Hopefully this doesn't backfire and leave anyone comparing (or complaining).
• We are not exchanging gifts between us siblings.  This is kind of sad, but it cuts out A BOAT LOAD of stress!  Those brothers of mine are already spoiled, and very difficult to shop for!
• We are lightly homeschooling through the holidays.  Rather than taking a week or two off and trying to get back into routine, we are just lightly schooling through it all.  In all honesty, I think we are getting MORE done, when I am more relaxed and not pushing the schedule.
• I'm throwing out random acts of kindness every.single.place I can.  I don't want to reveal too much, because that would suck the joy right outta the whole shebang.  I do want to encourage you to just bless someone, anyone, in anyway you can.  Whether you get to stick around and see their reaction or just imagine what their expression was, it feels SO good either way. 

Oh and here's a silly one:

• We put the great big over sized Christmas tree downstairs and let the big kids load it full of ornaments just as they wanted to.  The basement is off limits to the toddler, so she and the tree are both safer that way.
• We bought a smaller (6.5ft x 3ft) pre-lit tree for upstairs.  I only placed one ornament on it. Um, because I bought the ornament, came home, hung it on the tree, and it hasn't moved yet! 

All of these little cut backs have made it easier to put my time, money and energy  into the things I feel more passionate about right now.  What can you do, or are you already doing, to go LOW STRESS this week and next? 

The Work Place

My home is my work place.  I am here more than anyone else.  I am in charge of more physical duties here than anyone else.  I am not complaining. I take pride in this.  God has provided me a beautiful home, and a husband who allows me to be a housewife.

This year we took a leap of faith by also extending my duties to not just at home mommy, but full time homeschooling momma as well.
This is just about pure joy! 
Along with adding full time homeschooling to my job title, it also added a lot more STUFF to the house. 
I mean it..A LOT MORE!  Books, printer paper, cardstock, colored drawing paper, construction paper, reading books, text books, teachers manuals, workbooks, pens, pencils, art supplies (this is huge), science supplies, craft supplies.  It just goes on and on!
It didn't have to be this bad.  I just let it get this way while I was shopping for the perfect things to help the kids to learn.

I'm a pretty neat person, although all of this stuff is starting to control me!  Another resolution of mine, is to get on top of the clutter!  I'll post little pictures of before and after's, or long drawn out blog posts explaining the process to you.  Either way, I'll let you know how I get out from under this STUFF!

Maybe while my hubby is home for Christmas break I can take the time to reallllllly organize.  Or maybe not, because I'll be too busy cleaning up after him snuggling and enjoying his company while he's here. 

Show me the mother and I'll show you the child quote

At the suggestion of a friend, I just started watching Army Wives.  I really didn't need another show to watch.  I'm good with just Parenthood.
 {I love the story lines, even when they make me cringe.  (um, hello Julia?  What are you doing?!).}

I'm only a dozen-ish episodes in on Army Wives (watching on Netflix) & towards the end of one of the episodes I hear the line:

'Show me the mother and I'll show you the child'

 

O.M.GOSH

 

 





 

That just kept echoing in my head days after I heard it.  It made me think about how similar our children are to us.  Good and bad.

My oldest daughter is compassionate and shows great patience (with everyone except her little brother).  I like to think she gets those traits from me (I'll be honest, the little guy tests my patience sometimes too!  We still love him!). 

 

On the other hand, my daughter says nasty things about junk food... in front of people who are eating it!  Of course, she wouldn't know how bad junk food was, if it weren't for me telling her! 

And it's not that I want her to think junk food is good.  She needs to know the truth.  I realize though, that while explaining healthy food choices to her, I have failed to teach her how to still be respectful of the dietary choices others make (and honestly, we make sometimes too). 

 

Then I realize, maybe I too am too quick to judge.  And that is a classic example of:

'Show me the mother and I'll show you the child'

 

So as a resolution (not a New Year's Resolution, because those stress me out), I am going to keep letting this phrase echo through my head and use it to shape myself into a better mother.

 

Motherhood is like a cupcake

Motherhood is like a big fancy $5 farmers market cupcake. 
At first glance, the price tag seems outrageous.  But, it also appears remarkably beautiful.
Once you take your first bite, the taste inside is more amazing than you ever thought it could be. Just like how the deeper you go into motherhood, the more rewarding it is.

Ahhh, But cupcakes are so messy.  Cupcakes leave frosting in the corners of your mouth.  The real good ones even temporarily stain your teeth.  They leave a trail of crumbs, just as our precious children do, too.
Cupcakes are a big beautiful mess, just like motherhood. 
It's a big beautiful mess, worth embracing.

Devoted December: Kick Off

Welcome!  Thank you for stopping by.  Would you join me for Devoted December?

 

This picture represents where I will be devoting my time this December:

Jesus (He is the reason for the season).     Celebrating Advent.     My family.

That beautiful advent tree is a handmade gift our family just received from my very favorite Grandma June.  Isn't beautiful?  And it lights up too! 

Where did Devoted December come from?  Well, I kind of like playing with words, and to me, Devoted December just sounds good to the ears.  So that's what I'm going with.

Basically it's this: I am taking the month of December to just be more devoted to whatever it is I commit to doing. 

Easy Peasy, right?  You betcha!  You can do it too!

 

I don't want to look back at things I've done and realize that I've merely accomplished them.  I want to be proud of the work I've done and feel like I've done it well.  So to do this, I am devoting more time into the areas that I think need the most attention.

 Of course, with that comes spending less time in the areas that don't matter diddly-squat to me! Such as, Facebook!  I love connecting with y'all, I swear I really do!  But I want to do it intentionally, not just because I'm bored and have a few free minutes to swipe my finger along my phone.


I realize I'm probably alone in this, as you all seem to really enjoy your time on Facebook.  I enjoy it a good plenty, but overall it just makes me feel guilty.  There is always something more meaningful that I could be doing.
Here is my back story to just one of the reasons why I have always struggled with Facebook.
Several years ago we had a great playgroup through Meet Up.  I met up at minimum once a week with someone from the group.  Most weeks I'd even meet up twice (back then, it didn't feel like too much).  This was back before the days of my littles being in school, things were easier.  I felt so much more connected.  I enjoyed the company of other moms.  I needed the encouragement and the friendship.

 Then we moved the group to Facebook, for some valid reasons.  It was cheaper (free!), and it was easier since most of out members were on Facebook anyway.  The down side is, almost instantly the group fell apart.  It took the personal connection away (it wasn't just the move, there were other factors, but they stemmed from drama on FB too). 
I know many of the moms preferred planning playdates on Facebook, but it just didn't work super for me.  Over time, I noticed the group got larger in numbers, as it was easy and free to join.  The actual playdates however got smaller.  The conversation at the playdates got less and less deep as we were all strangers who had this false sense of friendship (since we were technically "friends"... on FB).  Then the playdates became practically non-existent.  As far as moms nights, Facebook works perfectly fine for those.  It is actually helping connect even more moms than before! 

I have been having a tough time wrapping my mind around this ever since it happened (I'm ready to let it go, NOW!).  I realize we are growing, our children are aging, and we are all settling into a different season of life.  I just wasn't quite ready for that.  I wish I had devoted more time to the new friendships I was making then.   I  miss those days. 

To wrap it up:  I will limit my FB time, and try my best NOT use Facebook as a substitute for REAL LIFE, FACE TO FACE TIME.