#SUMMER #FUN #NOELECTRONICS #GETOUTSIDE

By now everyone should have their little's out of school and home for the summer.  What an exciting time!  I wanted to share some really fun and easy ideas for outdoor play that we plan on trying out this summer.  Are some of them messy? Yes, but who cares, isn't that the point!?!  With a little shout and Mr. Clean eraser, you'll be back to brand spankin' new. Get those kiddos off the electronic teet, give them some sunlight and watch them smile.  
  

1.  DIY: Pool Noodle Race Track

http://www.ramblingsfromutopia.com

2.  Embellished Flip Flops

http://thediydreamer.com

3.  Rainbow Bubble Snakes

http://www.housingaforest.com

4.  Glitter Sidewalk Chalk

http://theimaginationtree.com

5.  Ice Excavating

http://gluesticksblog.com

6.  Lava Lamps

http://lilluna.com

7.  Splash Balls

http://www.momendeavors.com

8.  Sand Slime

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com

9.  Quicksand Play Dough

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com

10.  Kid Made Bird Feeder

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com

I Have One Job.

I went to see the movie Mom's Night Out tonight.  Cute movie, though it had it's moments of cheese and exaggerated drama, I'd say it was good.  It made me think though...

When I was young all I wanted to do was be a Wife and a Mommy.  I never really had another career that I wanted to take on. There were things I liked to do as I got older, but nothing that I wanted to dedicate 'all of that time to'.  I remember sitting with Sam while we were dating and talking about how I couldn't wait to have kids and write their names on their lunch boxes and write cute notes and leave them inside (life kind of took a turn there, huh).  When I worked in daycare in high school and some of college I would watch the Mom's as they would drop off and pick up their kids and wonder what their lives were like.  How fun it must be to have kids.  How exciting their weekends must be.  All the crafts you would get to do!!  Wowza, I was so young... 

Now that I am more seasoned in life and have two treasures of my own, I see the picture much differently. It's HARD!  In fact, it's crazy hard!  If we as Mommy's are doing it right, we are the glue that holds it all together.  We are constantly needed by someone. There is always a job to get done, a meal to be made, a scratch to heal, a bottom to wipe, a argument to referee, clothes to be washed and put away, errands to be run, groceries to be bought; you get the picture.  The Devil tries so hard to cloud our minds with all of the chaos and sweat and exhaustion of being a Mom that we tend to forget that there are also hugs to give, kisses to blow, hearts to mold and minds to teach.  This is our job!  A job given to us by the Almighty Boss. He chose our resume' out of thousands, no one else's.  He looked at us and found us perfect for this job, our job.  To be the one who our children would look up to, run to and hold hands with.  Us, Me, You, no one else.  

It's so easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to our friends, women at church, blogger Mom's, Pinterest and in my case homeschool Mom's.  There is always someone else who appears to be keeping the ship afloat, while we feel our's is sinking.  It's easy to lose ourselves in the fear, the denial and the suffocation of not doing our jobs well enough, or even perfect.  Comparison is at ticking time bomb waiting to explode some sweet Momma's nerves.  Satan is right there at all times trying to make us second guess ourselves. What if we started doing this job only for Him, our family and ourselves.  Not worrying what someone else is doing and how they are doing it.  If only there was the perfect book to guide us through this crazy season of our lives.

Oh wait, there is.  It's called the Bible.  Written by the most amazing parent ever known.  If we don't make the choice daily to find refuge in our Heavenly Father, how can we expect to be an amazing parent for our children to find refuge in?  The Bible is full of 'how to's' for parenthood, yet it is the most passed over book. Life is so much easier and clearer with Jesus. So much more peaceful and free.  When life is crazy and out of control if we would just stop and exhale, we will find Him.  Standing there waiting to wipe our tears, kiss our scratches and hold our hand.  We are never alone.  

When my kids are on their own grown, I want them to see me as a Mom who's faith led her, whose heart guided her, who's family drover her and who's God carried her.  It is important to me that I am doing my job to the best of MY ability.  That I am not putting others before my own.  That I am not taking this wonderful privilege for granted.  At the end of the day it doesn't matter how many things I have signed up to attend, how many parties I've thrown, how many church or community functions I have offered to help with.  What matters is my God and my family, period.  What matters is that I am fed by Him and because of that my family is able to be fed by me.  After that nothing else matters - not one single silly thing.  With Jesus on my side and in my heart I can be amazing, for me.

Psalm 62:5-8

New Living Translation (NLT)

5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will not be shaken.
7 My victory and honor come from God alone.
    He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
8 O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge.

Please Remind Me...

Sometimes it is hard to remember to do things when we don't view that 'thing' as being important, or to pep talk ourselves when we are feeling down in the dumps. 

I have mentioned before that I am a planner person. Without Greenly (that's right, it/she has a name), I would be seriously lost.  In my planner I have a lot of things, but one thing that I really enjoy looking at each day is my wife/homemaker insert. 

I came across this information last month in a book that I was reading.  I really liked the concept, but didn't want to have to refer to the book all the time as a reminder.  So, I decided to turn the info into my own print out.  I changed the wording just a bit and added some cuteness and this is what I came up with.  I like having it quickly available so that I can remind myself, when need be, why God gave me these roles.  

It is so easy as a Mom and Wife to get wrapped up in the depressing and mundane and exhausting parts of our roles, but God tells us in so many areas of the bible that we have been given a very important job and that we are to do all things as unto the Lord.  Well then, when you put it that way...
I wanted to share with you these reminders so that when you are feeling a huge weight on your shoulders or feeling negative toward your husband, you can remind yourself of your role and what the Lord requires of you. 

When we train our minds to think certain thoughts, it makes it much easier to tell the devil to take a hike when he tries to convince us that our jobs are worthless or our marriages and husbands aren't worth the effort.  He is constantly looking for ways to sneak in and change our mind set.  I challenge you to look at these each time you feel less than joy about your amazing roles.  

Remember, God chose you to do your job - nobody else.

 (I printed these out in 5x7 format so that I could put them back to back in my planner.)  

A Crown or a Trophy Wife?

Some days I look around and can’t help but think that I don’t measure up. Don’t we all?  I'm not a soccer mom, a trophy wife, Paula Deen or Beth Moore. I’m just me. 

Even though I am tall in frame, I still look up to other women in more ways than one. I still have this feeling that if they divided the women in my neighborhood into two teams, I’d be the last one picked. I’m not the life of the party. I’m the introvert who struggles to socialize while others throw their heads back in laughter and chit-chat with ease.

I’m not as skinny as I would like to be.  I don't run as fast as I would like to.  I question whether I am teaching my kids enough.  I still spend more than I'd like on my grocery bill.   I have a messed up back. And I wake up with the craziest hair that needs to be tamed.

Don’t get me wrong–all of these things are great goals to work towards changing. What isn’t so great is the insecurity that sneaks in when we can’t change it all - RIGHT NOW!

Insecurity is a lie that Satan wants each and every one of us to believe. We aren’t perfect, and he’s sure to point that out to us every single day. He’ll never show us our importance because in doing so we wouldn’t realize our importance to God, which is why we must keep our eyes off of the world and on the One who perfects us through grace.

Moses didn’t believe that he could be used by God because he wasn’t eloquent enough. How many times are we held back because we’re not good enough either? How many days are we discouraged because we don’t realize the extent of God’s grace?

I am by no means a perfect wife, but I cling to the verse in Proverbs 12:4, “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.” 

I would much rather be a crown to my husband than a trophy wife.  And I would certainly rather have virtue over vogue.  

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. – Proverbs 31:10

We’re so much more than just another pretty face, a fancy outfit or a great handbag; we are so deeply loved by a God who has numbered each and every one of the hairs on our head.

If we surrender our life to the Lord, it is amazing who we become through His grace:

A friend: Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. – John 15:15

His children: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. – John 1:12

Joint heirs with Christ: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. – Romans 8:17

Free: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. – Galatians 5:1

Redeemed: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace… – Ephesians 1:7

A New Creation: So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away–look, what is new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Seated with Christ: He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus… – Ephesians 5:6

And the list could go on…

Seriously–can any of this compare to a bad day, or what what people might think about you? Do people point out your flaws, your mistakes, your past? WHO CARES about that! Who you were can never compare to who you are in Christ.

Remember that you were bought, you were purchased, you were redeemed, you were set free, and you–yes YOU are loved by an almighty God.

Taming the Tupperware

Ever since the founding of Tupperware in 1945, women all over have been trying to tame the madness in their kitchens.  This genius invention seems to be the rise and fall of all kitchen organization.
Since April is Spring Cleaning month, I decided to tackle my own black hole.  The common misconception is that you can never have enough storage containers.  WRONG!  You can always have too much, but the even bigger problem is when none of your containers have a top and bottom that match.

In our house we have a drawer that is designated for plastic containers.  Clearly the way that I had it set up was not working.  I had a lot of tops and bottoms and yet many of them had somewhere along the way lost their mate.

STEPS TO SORTING:
1.  Take everything out of the storage space
2.  Decide what you need/use
3.  Out of what you chose to keep make sure that it all has a top and bottom mate
4.  Throw away or donate what you are not putting back into the space

An easy way to keep your containers separated in your space is to put them in groups.  The easiest way to do this is by putting the groups in baskets or bins along with their tops and bottoms.

In my different sections you will see that I have the bottoms stacked together and the lids along the sides.
For the little (easy to get out of control) containers, I put them in a separate bin with their lids attached.  By doing this, it eliminates having to keep little lids and little bottoms in similar order like in the other bins.

Don't get frustrated if your finished product doesn't look exactly like this. Everyone's space is different with different circumstances.  This is, however, a good guideline to set you in the right direction to find your calm in your dark hole.

Happy Sorting!

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Why I Divorced The Real Housewives.

Let me just start by saying that God is amazing.  I have been on a serious spiritual journey these past couple of months and I love how the Lord has a way of helping us get to where we want to be if we just ask Him. What's great about asking the Lord to guide your journey is that He goes a totally different direction than where you would have ever chosen to go.
A few years ago I, along with many other women, found myself hooked on The Real Housewives of 'where ever'.  I faithfully tuned in each week to see what new drama would arise and fill up an hour of my life (usually twice a week).  My husband has NEVER been a fan of these shows and would remind me over and over that what I was watching was filled with absolutely no moral fiber and it wasn't teaching me anything. My response was always the same, "I know, I'm not watching it to learn anything."
I am ashamed and embarrassed to admit that it took me until about two weeks ago to realize this- it was teaching me something. It was teaching me to not be happy in my season of life.  That is was okay to treat people with disrespect and anger.  That taking the Lord's beautiful name in vain was like wearing your favorite accessory.  That using four letter words is considered stylish. That being catty and sometimes violent got you more attention than being kind and forgiving.  That sitting around gossiping about your 'friends' and disrespecting your husbands to the world was acceptable.  That spending money that you didn't have to be like everyone else was satisfying.  That fighting with family is approved of.  That being selfish is our right.  Needless to say, for the past eight years, I have not been learning how to be a Godly wife or mother, and to say that it didn't hurt me and my family would be a lie.

I was noticing that every time I would watch these shows my attitude would change.  I would get angry, act sassy and disrespectful and by witnessing the negativity of others I was becoming a very unappealing person - at home.  As women we tend to be easily influenced by our peers and what we see is what we start to mimic.  I was doing just that.  The Lord tells us to be in this world but not of it and though I wasn't 'in the show', I certainly had allowed myself to have a front row seat.
I decided that I didn't want to allow things in my life that weren't a reflection of Jesus.  The bible tells me that my job as a wife and mother is to be a witness of the gospel to my family and those around me and I was being anything but that.  I wasn't showing a true picture of Christ in my attitude.  You might find this extreme, but for me during that 'time slot', I know I was holding hands with the devil.    
I think about the many times that I have not allowed my kids to watch certain things that their friends were allowed to see specifically due to the content and language.  I didn't and don't want them to be a witness to such trash and yet every week I was giving the devil a backstage past to my heart.
Like I said, the Lord is amazing beyond any comprehension.  He finds ways to show us what we need to see if we just ask for His help.  He gives us grace and forgiveness in ways that we don't deserve and allows us another chance when we've done nothing but wronged Him.  I wish that I would have come to this conclusion long ago, but it's never to late to find the peace that the Lord so desperately wants us to experience.
I can honestly say that divorcing the housewives has allowed me to see life more clearly and to love more passionately on both my husband and my children.  The only real housewife around here is me, and I'm really starting to like her.