Thursday, February 25, 2010
Amber is 11!
Happy Birthday! I am so proud of you. You have grown so much this year. You take good care of your sisters and are still as sweet as ever! I love watching you help at church and you are so good with the kids in the classroom! You enjoy being with your family and that means so much to me. Have a great day! I love you!
Friday, February 19, 2010
My fuse is short
It's hard to hear...
It's even harder to admit...
I've talked about how I'm serving at church, I've upped my work hours, I'm currently doing several girl scouts projects (anyone want to buy any cookies? My living room is filled with them!) and then there are the other curve-balls life throws (sometimes way-too-hard) at you. I've never claimed to be superwoman. Except... to my kids, still waiting to see if they've caught on or not. JUST KIDDING! I make sure they know it's not ok for people to behave like I do at times... And right now is one of those times.
You know... the quick fuse, the being pulled in so many directions I'm surprised I'm not walking sideways, the "I'm too tired to clean up!" (that comes from me, not the kids this time), the falling asleep when I sit down instead of putting the kids to bed, the feeling like a bad mommy starts becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, the ... um... yeah. That's me. I was wondering today WHY my kids were yelling at each other so much. Then I heard myself. UGH.
Some of you right now are being a little quick to judge. Yeah, you know who you are! The truth is... we all have our stressful times. When you see the reflection in the mirror, what do you do?
I'm going to step back. Start with the simple things.
Ever since Christmas, my kids have started asking me to get them up early in the morning. That has seriously cut into my Bible reading and prayer. But let's be honest... Even when I'm the only one up, if my eyes close, it's cause I'm sleeping... know what I mean???
What is my plan? Thanks for asking!
Back to my DAILY QTs.
I really want to use music as a calming mood change.
Then, when the fuse is quickly going... take a step back. and breathe. I've been holding my breathe for a while now...
God has been growing me a lot lately. I need to rest in Him.
It's even harder to admit...
I've talked about how I'm serving at church, I've upped my work hours, I'm currently doing several girl scouts projects (anyone want to buy any cookies? My living room is filled with them!) and then there are the other curve-balls life throws (sometimes way-too-hard) at you. I've never claimed to be superwoman. Except... to my kids, still waiting to see if they've caught on or not. JUST KIDDING! I make sure they know it's not ok for people to behave like I do at times... And right now is one of those times.
You know... the quick fuse, the being pulled in so many directions I'm surprised I'm not walking sideways, the "I'm too tired to clean up!" (that comes from me, not the kids this time), the falling asleep when I sit down instead of putting the kids to bed, the feeling like a bad mommy starts becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, the ... um... yeah. That's me. I was wondering today WHY my kids were yelling at each other so much. Then I heard myself. UGH.
Some of you right now are being a little quick to judge. Yeah, you know who you are! The truth is... we all have our stressful times. When you see the reflection in the mirror, what do you do?
I'm going to step back. Start with the simple things.
Ever since Christmas, my kids have started asking me to get them up early in the morning. That has seriously cut into my Bible reading and prayer. But let's be honest... Even when I'm the only one up, if my eyes close, it's cause I'm sleeping... know what I mean???
What is my plan? Thanks for asking!
Back to my DAILY QTs.
I really want to use music as a calming mood change.
Then, when the fuse is quickly going... take a step back. and breathe. I've been holding my breathe for a while now...
God has been growing me a lot lately. I need to rest in Him.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Secret Keeper Girls!
Secret Keeper Girls...
An amazing night!
A bonding night for mothers and daughters!
A night to open the door to discuss purity and modesty!
A night to celebrate being a woman created by God!
A night to remember!
All moms of girls, check this out!
http://www.secretkeepergirl.com
I only wish I had found out about this sooner! It advertises for ages 8 - 12 or 8th grade, but I think it is geared for 7 - 10 years old. The girls are growing up so much faster... It is an awesome introduction to the topics of modesty and purity. If older girls go through this, it needs to be followed with deeper teachings. The organization has one for teens, but since I haven't seen it, I don't want to comment about it. I really like that they have a section for guys in the teen teachings.
My heart is to lead girls in these truths.
I was able, at this event, to love on not only my daughter, but a daughter that has recently lost her mom. I will never forget her eyes as I held her in my arms. I am so thankful that I could be there for her.
An amazing night!
A bonding night for mothers and daughters!
A night to open the door to discuss purity and modesty!
A night to celebrate being a woman created by God!
A night to remember!
All moms of girls, check this out!
http://www.secretkeepergirl.com
I only wish I had found out about this sooner! It advertises for ages 8 - 12 or 8th grade, but I think it is geared for 7 - 10 years old. The girls are growing up so much faster... It is an awesome introduction to the topics of modesty and purity. If older girls go through this, it needs to be followed with deeper teachings. The organization has one for teens, but since I haven't seen it, I don't want to comment about it. I really like that they have a section for guys in the teen teachings.
My heart is to lead girls in these truths.
I was able, at this event, to love on not only my daughter, but a daughter that has recently lost her mom. I will never forget her eyes as I held her in my arms. I am so thankful that I could be there for her.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Out of my comfort zone
Out of my comfort zone... and it's not such a bad place to be...
I have been growing and stretching in ways that have gotten me out of my comfort zone. I have been challenged to grow and to lead and do things I usually shy away from. I am finding out that I can do so much more than I ever thought possible. And the things I am not-so-good at... well, I am learning that I need to be in a place that if it does fall on me to do those things, how to do it with a smile then trust God to let the pieces fall into place. When God is in the midst of you serving, it is not you, but God.
My confidence has been growing. It has even started showing up in other areas of my life. Yesterday, I was treating myself to Starbucks (thanks, those of you who provided me with gift cards for Christmas!). I was running around after work and did not know HOW I would stay awake for Wednesday night services. While I was waiting for my coffee, the barista asked me if I was having a good day (did I look that tired?) and I actually engaged in a conversation with her. This is something I usually do not do. But I did. It was good. I walked away determined to keep taking those little steps out of my comfort zone... and just see where they lead.
Skip to church...
I am helping lead the children's Wednesday night services. I enjoy it. It is magical for me... I am so exhausted on Wednesday nights. Getting everyone ready and up to church can be a struggle. But once I'm there and see the kids, it all lifts. I am energized, headaches go away, and words just seem to come. God is there. God uses me. Me! He takes this person, who constantly doubts herself, who doesn't know what she is doing, who is not comfortable in front of people and allows her to take part in His work. I am constantly amazed.
I had thought that me doing so much more serving would be hard on the kids, but they love it. Their faces light up when they see me with the microphone. My face lights up when they tell me I did a good job, and I've even heard "I'm proud of you, mom!" It has given me so many opportunities to grow closer to my family, form wonderful relationships with others, but more importantly, to grow closer to God.
... and it feels good!
I have been growing and stretching in ways that have gotten me out of my comfort zone. I have been challenged to grow and to lead and do things I usually shy away from. I am finding out that I can do so much more than I ever thought possible. And the things I am not-so-good at... well, I am learning that I need to be in a place that if it does fall on me to do those things, how to do it with a smile then trust God to let the pieces fall into place. When God is in the midst of you serving, it is not you, but God.
My confidence has been growing. It has even started showing up in other areas of my life. Yesterday, I was treating myself to Starbucks (thanks, those of you who provided me with gift cards for Christmas!). I was running around after work and did not know HOW I would stay awake for Wednesday night services. While I was waiting for my coffee, the barista asked me if I was having a good day (did I look that tired?) and I actually engaged in a conversation with her. This is something I usually do not do. But I did. It was good. I walked away determined to keep taking those little steps out of my comfort zone... and just see where they lead.
Skip to church...
I am helping lead the children's Wednesday night services. I enjoy it. It is magical for me... I am so exhausted on Wednesday nights. Getting everyone ready and up to church can be a struggle. But once I'm there and see the kids, it all lifts. I am energized, headaches go away, and words just seem to come. God is there. God uses me. Me! He takes this person, who constantly doubts herself, who doesn't know what she is doing, who is not comfortable in front of people and allows her to take part in His work. I am constantly amazed.
I had thought that me doing so much more serving would be hard on the kids, but they love it. Their faces light up when they see me with the microphone. My face lights up when they tell me I did a good job, and I've even heard "I'm proud of you, mom!" It has given me so many opportunities to grow closer to my family, form wonderful relationships with others, but more importantly, to grow closer to God.
... and it feels good!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Homework tip
Spelling Pre-tests.
I've done them every week with my kids. Sometimes there are tears. I often hear "but my teacher didn't say to do this!" or "It's not on my planner, I don't have to do it!" or other things I won't relive by writing down. We've done creative things, writing in sand, chalk, eraser boards, you name it, we've probably done it. BUT those really cool ideas take time. Now I do FOUR pretests at the same time. That takes talent, people. So we stick to pencil and paper. Until this week with my genus idea!
Nintendo DSI Pictochat!
The kids now all have Nintendo DSIs. There is a chatroom feature. The chatroom capability reaches from our house to a few steps from the back fence. And the kids LOVE it! How cool is it to chat with someone in the same room with you?! It totally cracks me up! But they love it. And now I do too! Why? Because it has saved my Thursday nights!
I get on one Dsi and the kids get on the others and we do the pretests. They all get to chat the words to me. I give them time to set up different colors or backgrounds, so I know who writes what word easier, then we start. I know immediately if they spell a word wrong and I mark it on the list. At the end, if they only have a few words wrong, they get to write it on the chat feature. If it has been a not-so-good pretest, they have to use the old fashion way of pencil and paper. The only problem, we only have 4 Dsi's instead of 5... (HA! "only 4"! Not to long ago, I never thought we would even have one!) someone has to wait until Angela finishes her test (she only has a few words) to start on theirs.
Try it! Or another creative way to do spelling pretests and let me know!
I've done them every week with my kids. Sometimes there are tears. I often hear "but my teacher didn't say to do this!" or "It's not on my planner, I don't have to do it!" or other things I won't relive by writing down. We've done creative things, writing in sand, chalk, eraser boards, you name it, we've probably done it. BUT those really cool ideas take time. Now I do FOUR pretests at the same time. That takes talent, people. So we stick to pencil and paper. Until this week with my genus idea!
Nintendo DSI Pictochat!
The kids now all have Nintendo DSIs. There is a chatroom feature. The chatroom capability reaches from our house to a few steps from the back fence. And the kids LOVE it! How cool is it to chat with someone in the same room with you?! It totally cracks me up! But they love it. And now I do too! Why? Because it has saved my Thursday nights!
I get on one Dsi and the kids get on the others and we do the pretests. They all get to chat the words to me. I give them time to set up different colors or backgrounds, so I know who writes what word easier, then we start. I know immediately if they spell a word wrong and I mark it on the list. At the end, if they only have a few words wrong, they get to write it on the chat feature. If it has been a not-so-good pretest, they have to use the old fashion way of pencil and paper. The only problem, we only have 4 Dsi's instead of 5... (HA! "only 4"! Not to long ago, I never thought we would even have one!) someone has to wait until Angela finishes her test (she only has a few words) to start on theirs.
Try it! Or another creative way to do spelling pretests and let me know!
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