Archives for November 2012

Oh My Goodness! I’m Just Like My Mother! {And My Kids Will Be Just Like Their Mother Too!}

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Whether we had the greatest mother in the world or not, most of us realize at some point that we are doing something that is just like her. That works for both the good and the bad things.  Seldom do we think about how our kids will be just like us.

There are things I don’t love about my life but I live with them because they would be hard to change. But when you tell me that these things are examples that my children are going to follow it makes me feel desperate to change them.

If I want my kids to value friendships then I really need to model for them making time for friends.  If I want them to stay close to each other then I need to let them see me making time for my siblings.  If I want them to stay connected to me then shouldn’t I be staying connected to my own mother as an example that it is important?

These are the workings of my mind lately.  I have an opportunity to model values to my kids that I want them to have.  It doesn’t mean I can control them as they grow older but that they have seen the benefits of my good choices and know how much the effort is worth.

Are there things you know that you would like your kids to value as they grow older? What are ways that you intentionally model those values for them?

Filed Under: Encouragement for Moms, Inspiration Tagged With:

For the Overwhelmed Mom Who Wants Off of the Crazy Cycle

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I often feel like the most overwhelmed mom who desperately wants off of the crazy cycle.  Occasionally I will think about the crazy busy life I live and feel like dropping everything and moving to some remote village in France.  I imagine it would be quiet and serene and life would be simple.  I would walk to the market and buy fresh bread, butter and cheese everyday.  My kids would wake up early and do chores and work hard because, well, that would be the lifestyle. I would spend my time, while they are at school, gardening and canning and preparing meals.  I would also make time for decorating our home. We would laugh together loud and live joy filled lives.  It would be simple and it would be a beautiful life.

Back to reality.

I wake up early ever morning with a to do list that is already a mile long. We rush to get through breakfast and get 5 kids off to 3 different schools. My days are filled with grocery shopping at different stores to find the best deals, cleaning a house that has toys scattered in every room, meal planning, running all over the place to find the supplies my kids teachers just asked for that they need tomorrow, paying bills, blogging here and there, taking kids to soccer and volleyball practice and games across town, all with my youngest in tow who doesn’t seem to care for any of it…

And the thought creeps in that I hate this busy life.  I really dread it every day.  There’s little joy in the doing and the details seem draining.

One day, while stopping at the 2nd store on my list and agonizing that there are 3 more to go, I had the thought: What if I could live the simple and beautiful life I long for?  What if being grateful and looking for beauty are the keys? What if stopping to survey the beauty and uniqueness of the fresh produce, beautiful flowers and wondering at the blue sky while I walk back to the car were all I really needed to make my life more beautiful and simple?

Summertime: Fresh Strawberries #1

What if I chose the things I love over the things I think I need?  What if I made my shopping excursions about what was available from the farmers market and had the guts to throw something together that night with my finds instead of meal planning boring casseroles & crockpot meals every single day?

What if I made cooking a more enjoyable by thinking of it as art by living in the moment?  What if I treasured the time I spent doing homework with my kids because it was time I actually had with them to invest in who they will become.  What if our car rides to and fro became beautiful because our conversations turned deep as the music was turned down?

We glorify a busy life now days.  We glorify a mom who “does it all.”  Especially if she still looks good and doesn’t seem tired.  But it is running us ragged. We are overwhelmed and listening to voices that keep us in this crazy cycle of being at whits end with no hope of ever not being there {with the exception of when it has all passed us by and our kids are raising their own kids and following in our example of crazy busy lives}.

I wonder at a life with margin; extra space that allows for beauty. It seems thrilling and hopeful and unachievable at the same time.

But it is possible.  It is possible in the laying down of caring about what anyone else thinks of you {and this is really the key}.  It is possible in becoming a hunter for true beauty and a purger of clutter {of things and appointments and tangents}.  It is possible in going after the great things and letting the good things just pass you by.

My calling as a mom is shifting.  I used to feel called to just survive but now I feel called to thrive.  I’m just beginning to figure out what this means but I am excited because it’s nothing less than a life lived more deeply with much beauty along the journey.

Do you feel like you live on the crazy cycle?  Want to step off with me and discover the path to a more beautiful and fulfilling life?

Filed Under: Encouragement for Moms, For the Weary Mom Tagged With: ,

10 Fun Ways to Make Memories with Your Kids this Thanksgiving

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Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?!  I don’t know about you but I am thrilled that my kids will have the week off and I am busy planning out some fun activities for all of us to do. I thought I would share some ideas with you.  Here are 10 Fun ways to make memories with your kids this Thanksgiving:

1. Create a Grateful Journal

Use a journal they already have, buy a notebook and use construction paper to decorate the cover, or make your own journal by folding several sheets of paper in half and stapling them in the middle

Use the journals every night before bed to record what you are grateful for that day.

{Source: iloveitallwithmonikawright.com via Dawn on Pinterest}

2. A Thankful Tree

Find a branch outside {boys especially will enjoy the hunt for the perfect branch}, then create tags {free printable from Jones Design Company here} or cut leaf shapes out of construction paper,have each child write {or draw} what they are thankful for on each leaf and use a string to hang it on the branch.  Emily’s looks beautiful but yours doesn’t have to be perfect.  The kids will have fond memories of the tradition regardless of how great it looks.

3. Decorate with Leaves

Have kids create animals, shapes, cars, or whatever they can think of with different shaped leaves you find outside. Glue them to paper and display them proudly as art.

{Source: kokokokids.ru via Kristin on Pinterest}

4. Include them in the baking & cooking and enjoy the time

Give yourself extra time when planning your cooking and baking for Thanksgiving to allow time for your kids to help out.  Play some fun music, give them an apron {or towel} and let them create.  Perhaps even let them pick an item to make and simply oversee their creation {this one could be the start of a happy life of your kid doing more cooking and you doing less. wink. wink.}

5. Play a Family Game of Football Outside

Again this doesn’t have to be perfect and little ones can be included.  Make the rules age appropriate and just have fun getting active.

6. Light a Fire and Roast Marshmallows

You can do this indoors or out.  Kids LOVE this and it is a great memory maker.

7. Make Hot Chocolate & Share Favorite Memories

Take a break from the busy days of preparation and make some hot chocolate to share with your kids.  Ask them what their favorite memories of the holidays are and take note.  This could be a great way to make note of traditions they love and that you want to continue in your family.

8. Head Outside for a Photo Shoot

Pile up the leaves, put on the cute scarves and clothes and snap away at your kids having fun.  Take lots of pictures that aren’t posed but just of them having fun.  I bet you’ll have some amazing pictures at the end of the time and you may even have them posing with perfect smiles and asking you to take pictures of them.

9. Read About Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims Together

Perhaps while sipping hot chocolate share some exciting history together by reading aloud the stories of how it all started and why we even celebrate Thanksgiving today.  For older kids try the book  Of Plymouth Plantation and for younger ones try Thanksgiving, What Makes It Special? or for the whole family try Thanksgiving (A FamilyLife Book): A Time to Remember.  If your kids are not crazy about the idea of reading then make sure to include them in it. Ask them questions, have them help read, read it yourself first so that you can read it in an exciting way.

10. Relax

Give yourself and your kids the gift of a relaxed and refreshed mom this holiday season.  Purposefully schedule time in your busy schedule to relax, have fun and rest.  It is an opportunity for you to be an example to your kids of the importance of taking care of themselves. Teach them that it’s important to take breaks and have fun in life.  They’re watching you and will do what you do.  I’m pretty sure you’ll be really glad you made time to enjoy the holidays!

Have a WONDERFUL & Happy Thanksgiving!!

Filed Under: Make Memories with Your Kids Tagged With: