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From Susan Merrill

The Blog

Marriage

Sorry Flowers

The sorry flowers delivery was ten days in the making. I moved on Friday, in the Florida, August heat, after a year of not seeing my stuff that was boxed by strangers after the flood and stored for a year. I unpacked, sorted, sifted, and purged for four days until 2:00 a.m. because the workman were demanding my attention from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and I couldn’t get in, out and around them to unpack. On day five, I loaded my daughter’s car, drove nine hours and for two days I moved her into her dorm. This time it was the Alabama, August heat. Could it be any hotter? We unloaded the overloaded car then we made two trips to and from a storage unit. Storage. It is a bad word for me. On the evening of day eight I returned to Tampa and I was… So So So Tired. The house was still teeming with workman, way too many of the boxes (there were 122) were still waiting for me and my superman husband was fired up to get me fired up to take over and finish. LaRue, my mother-in-law, bless her, was on hand and had been …

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Parenting

Every School Year Counts

Did you know that in the first 18 years of your child’s life 6.4 years will be spent in school? Over one third of the days you have with your child until they go to college will be spent in school. Your child’s education is important and every year counts. Having three children that began school at the age of 4, an adopted child who began school at 7, and another adopted child who didn’t start until the age of 9, I have had to be rather “creative” in ensuring that each of my children got the best out of every year in school. For my five children that often meant different schools for different needs, including public school, private school and home school. Regardless of where or how you choose to educate your child, making the most of every year will exponentially improve your child’s education. In this free e-book you will find everything you need to know so that you can start this year to make every year count. Download the full Ebook below. Lesson 1: How to be Organized Lesson 2: How to Manage Time Lesson 3: How to Behave in Class Lesson 4: How to Improve Grades …

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Encouragement

An Etsy Mom-ent

It’s midnight and my house is silent, so where else is a mom to go to find some action? Etsy. That’s where all the Proverbs 31 women hang out after midnight. Those girls are up all night! She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. (31:18) In fact, I am in a conversation with one right now and have been on and off all day. It’s a great way to make friends while your family is sleeping. This is how I met Rachel. Note that I am not particularly friendly but she likes me anyway and has a gracious and kind reply – all Etsies are like that, I am serious. They make great friends. She selects wool (brown gingham) and flax (tan gingham) and works with eager hands. (31:13) By now in the conversation, I am thinking we are well on the road to an inner circle friendship because look how she is accommodating me. I will probably stay at her house if I am ever in VA. We are so alike. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. (31:17) By Thursday!? That is in one week. …

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Encouragement

Clutter Catastrophe

122 BOXES of ???????? I really have no idea. It has been has been 441 days since I saw this stuff. The catastrophe part of my clutter catastrophe happened over a year ago when a black storm flew in off the Tampa Bay and turned my world box-brown. When I arrived on the scene of my flooded house, an emergency team, like an army of ants, had formed a line in and out of the front door. I stopped in my tracks when I realized that the load on the back of each little worker, as they exited my house, was my…stuff, my…junk, my…clutter. Shoes and chandeliers, lamps and letters, mattresses and magazines, pans and papers. Now over a year later as I plow through 122 boxes of stuff that I don’t need, I am overwhelmed with wonder. What was I thinking? Why did I have all this junk? How did I live with so much clutter? Just yesterday I heard a report in the news that living with clutter takes two years off of your lifespan. So far this month it has taken five days off of mine. For five days I have been sorting and purging clutter. Of …

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Parenting

4 Types of Parenting

Walt Larimore and I discuss the 4 different types of parenting: the eagle parent, the Labrador retriever parent, the grizzly bear parent, and the sloth parent.

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Parenting

Tracking with Tracey

My friend Tracey is quite the mom. In fact, she is a major inspiration for me because, well, we track. Do you know someone that just tracks with you. It doesn’t matter how long you go without seeing them because when you do you fall in immediately, as if you never had parted. That’s Tracey. We kind of live in similar worlds, far apart. Her husband is CEO of Family Life, my husband is President of Family First. She has kids about the ages of my kids. She was drafted to direct Family Life’s program for mothers – Mom Life. I was drafted to direct Family First’s program for mothers – iMOM. Tracey and I track. So much so that I just run in to her surreally. One minute I am talking to a host of moms at the MOPS Convention and the next I am being squeezed around the neck by my friend Tracey. She pops up everywhere because we are on the same track in life. It is comforting to see my friend and to know that I am not alone on my track. Tracey and I are tracking again into a new world. It is a …

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Encouragement

My Baby is a Big Girl Now! Sniff, Tears, Joy :)

Five years ago today we launched iMOM. What a journey, what a joy! I am deeply awed by the way God has brought so many women–5,000,000 this year to our site. It has been my deepest desire to find favor with Him and with moms. I am humbled by His provision of every single mom. He is good…so good.

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Encouragement

I Love MOPS Moms!

I love MOPS. I can’t help it, what is not to love? After 3 days of talking to thousands of mothers of pre-schoolers at the 2012 MOPS International Convention, one would think I would be worn out. I am the opposite of worn out, I am wound up! It is my desire and passion, as the director of iMOM, to inspire and encourage moms. MOPS moms fire me up to do my job with renewed fervor because: 1. They are Motivated to be the best mom possible. 2. They are Open to learning from other moms. 3. They are Purposeful in finding solutions to parenting. 4. They are Sacrificial in time and talent for the love of their children. …

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Encouragement

Cooking, Computers, Cows, Capitalism and The Constitution

I believe in the Constitution of the United States. Do you? Lately, I have been struck by the awareness that “We the People” have forgotten what “We the People” stand for. The First Amendment of the Constitution states: And Capitalism is defined as: Taking every advantage of our countries abundance of capital goods I am in the delightful process of remodeling our home. We were flooded and so the lovely goods we had were a wash. I love to cook and was somewhat inhibited by our rather small kitchen, so we took the opportunity provided by the flood and added on. I poured over new and improved cooking accessories and carefully weighed the benefits of each appliance against their cost. I landed on the good old American company of General Electric and supplied my kitchen in its entirety with the GE Monogram Line. The CEO of GE, Jeff Immelt, is the chair of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. My political preferences do not align with Obama. But I bought the GE products, giving no consideration to that, because I believe Mr. Immelt has a good product. To buy a lesser product because of the CEO Immelt’s First Amendment right …

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Parenting

5 Bad Habits Your Family Should Break

It’s easy to notice bad habits during the summer when your family is home, but here are the top 5 habits that you can easily kick. Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video. iMOM’s 25-Day You Can Do It Chart is a great way to motivate your children to form good habits before the new school year!

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