Encouragement

Encouragement · November 21, 2011

New Year’s Eve…With The Kids?!

I love the holidays. I really think they should just skip Halloween – who needs it? Magazines should be filled with tantalizing Thanksgiving recipes starting in September and let’s deck the malls with Christmas in October. Every year, I can’t wait for the holidays. Until, I get to New Year’s Eve. It’s kind of an afterthought for me. I am somewhat of a New Year’s misfit. After Christmas day all the relatives take that “holiday feeling” home with them and my house seems…very unparty like. My homey visions of Christmas vaporize and are replaced by glossy visions of New Year’s Eve – a picture I just don’t fit in to. I am not glamorous. I am not raucous. And after Christmas, I do not have the energy to produce anything sumptuous! But I do like to celebrate and after holidays and days filled with family, it is fun to reunite with some friends. So here is my favorite New Year’s fit – a progressive party with the kids, kind of. Get together with a few other families. It doesn’t matter if the kids vary in ages a little. Hire the older children as sitters for the night. Then plant them all in the most child friendly house with lots …

Encouragement · November 15, 2011

Tool.Me Tuesday: A Thanksgiving Tool For Family Sharing

I love this tool. My children love this tool. My IN-LAWS love this tool. Need I say more? This is a free downloadable from iMOM.com. It is very easy to use and a great way to turn Thanksgiving into a delightful time of thanks. Consider this the whip cream on your pumpkin pie! Thanksgiving Story Cards These are the story cards. They tell the real story! Things I never knew about that first feast. Very intriguing. Everybody picks a card (there are 12) and so everyone has a part in telling the story. Did you know that the first Pilgrim to die was baby Oceanus? Do you know what “Pilgrim” means and how they got their name?

Encouragement · November 9, 2011

Say Yes To The Dress

I was asked for an update on the house. This is a tempting question for me because I am trying to stay out of the circle of Fear-Worry-Anxiety (see post below). And when I think about the house it is easy to fall into the circle. When one is abstaining from the circle of fear it is rather interesting what strange, happy thoughts might appear in the brain. For instance, I am mysteriously pleased, actually tickled about these two items that were not lost in the flood: my fireplace and my wedding dress. I cannot even remotely explain why they are even on the same page of my brain. Perhaps it is a strategy of some sort. Do you ever try to distract your child from something painful with something to delight them? You know – they fall and scrape their knee, you see their lip quiver and

Encouragement · November 7, 2011

The Circle of Fear-Worry-Anxiety

The circle begins with… Fear – a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, whether the threat is real or imagined; it is the condition of being afraid. When the fear is fertilized it feeds and grows into… Worry – To give way to fear; allow one’s mind to dwell on troubles. To torment oneself with disturbing thoughts; fret. When the worry is firmly rooted it consumes our thoughts and gives birth to… Anxiety – uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune that develops into a state of apprehension and psychic tension. And the circle is complete – happy with the knowledge that anxiety will only lead to… more fear…and worry…and anxiety…and round…and round…and round. And we are miserable in our state of apprehension and psychic tension. But we know this – we know that if we humble ourselves before God that He will lift us up in due time. Humble yourself. Do you mean that I have to admit that I do not have a solution? Give up my analyzing, searching, obsessing, planning? Do you mean I have to wait? Patiently? Trusting God to do what I think I can and must? I …

Encouragement · October 21, 2011

Do Not Disturb – Nesting Mama!

Every day this week – not exaggerating – Madison (see Belly Questions for an idea of what I am dealing with working with this girl everyday) has informed me that I have not blogged in 5 days…6 days…7 days… Enough already! Do you see this picture? I am nesting! Madison is trying to get preggers, as she calls it. She has not yet gone through the Jekel/Hyde transformation of motherhood. Which makes her completely unsympathetic to

Encouragement · September 27, 2011

The Elusive Quiet Time

It is a mystery to some and as easy as breathing to others. It can be a life long struggle or life saving comfort. My experience with the illusive quiet time has been…a rocky road. In the beginning I spent several years grappling with a nagging feeling that I just wasn’t quite doing it right. I was inconsistent in my timing, unsure of my content and often discouraged. I couldn’t find the peace and love for it that so many of my more mature acquaintances boasted about. The overachiever in me was frustrated.

Encouragement · September 21, 2011

Wanna Be: Like My Friend, She’s Crazy

This is my crazy friend. Her name is Leland and I love her because she makes me laugh. All the time. Every time I run into this woman she’s very seriously doing something crazy. The funny thing is she doesn’t think it’s crazy and that really makes me laugh. Her boys think it’s crazy, but she doesn’t. Her husband thinks it’s crazy, but she doesn’t. Here is an example of the latest crazy day in the life of Leland. We volunteer together for our boys high school football team. Last Friday we were preparing the pre-game meal for the players in the school cafeteria and Leland showed up to serve with a box that she had to plug into an outlet. “Susan, Susan,” she calls, “come look at my babies. I rescued them.” She anxiously unfolded a flannel blanket, as if she were unwrapping a sixteenth century Ming vase, to expose three tiny squirrels, eyes clamped shut, looking for all the world, like scrawny little ….

Encouragement · September 13, 2011

Techy Tuesday: ZipList – Best Grocery Shopping App

The grocery list. It’s on the bulletin board in the kitchen. Good place? NOT. It is never with me! I go to work, run late, need to shop on the way home and I NEVER HAVE THE LIST. Ugh, I hate that list. Or my sweet husband calls, knowing I am pressed for time and offers to stop at Publix, BUT, he wants me to READ him the ENTIRE list. Ugh, I am pressed for time remember? NO MORE! This is the best. My list is on my phone or his phone. Or it is online and can be printed from any computer. My list is everywhere I am. Ahhh, I love my new list. Better even than all that, is this: I can look up a recipe from any of my favorite websites and press a button and ALL the ingredients download to my list. The list, the list I now love my list! See, do you see my new list? It’s on my phone, too. Did I tell you how much I love my list? You can love your list, too with ZipList!

Encouragement · September 12, 2011

Tampa Remembers 9/11

Encouragement · August 10, 2011

What’s Your Deepest, Darkest Mom Secret? I Confess…

Today.com did a survey of 26,000 moms asking their deepest darkest secrets (about parenting). The confessions were all over the board from giving their child medication so they can have peace and quiet to being lonely. Being a mom can be overwhelming, lonely, and full of fearful anxiety. Knowing that all moms have feelings like these can bring perspective. Many of these secrets come from guilty feelings that we are not doing all we should for our children. There is great hope in that! If we didn’t care we wouldn’t feel guilty! So, today, I will bring my deepest darkest secrets of motherhood out into the light and celebrate the fact that I care deeply for my children. And I hope you will share yours so we can celebrate together! My mom secrets are…