Quiet Mommy Momments

You are reading the title of this post and thinking, "I have no idea what she is saying." Or others are like, "yes, they are vital!" In all practicality we (Moms) all have these moments, they just vary in frequency and duration.

Being a parent is the highest career title I've always dreamed of . . . Yet over each year, it is proving to be the most challenging job/blessing/dream I could have ever imagined. You know? My perception was so far off! Like way off. Raise kids to know who Christ is, disciple and love them, were my key goals. But there is so much more. Taking care of the necessities, the extras, sharing the GOSPEL (which involves a life-time ministry to our kids), discipline, getting to the heart of their actions/attitudes, making the hard decisions, standing against culture norm, being a spiritual mentor, being a living example, loving, guiding, supporting ... and the list goes on. I'm just finding this season of my life with kids ranging from (almost) 10 years old to 2 years old, to be exhausting. Are you there? Well I have found a few sanity tips that have been so vital during this time in my life, I call them 'Quiet Mommy Moments'.

First off, we are night owls! Even my kids enjoy staying up late. But for MY SANITY it is crucial they go to bed at a reasonable hour. Sure there are exceptions, but it is not the normal. Our bedtime goal for our kids is 9-9:30. That means they usually wake up between 7-8 o'clock. And after they are in bed it usually leaves me with several hours of down time. Now sometimes I just crash from the days vigorous list of things-to-do. Or lets face it just surviving. But more than not, I'm up until the wee hours. I have time to do some much needed Jesus time. I work on various volunteer things I got going on. Occasionally I read a book, while catching up on my shows. And there is a slight chance I might have an opportunity to work on a hobby (scrap-booking or crocheting).

I break away every week (for about 2 months now) to meet with a friend (a woman, of course) for a couple of hours. This starting out with the intentions of being spiritual mentors and accountable partners to each other. And it has! But I for-see a life long friendship! I can not express the need for everyone to be feed spiritually. May it be in a bible study, small group or just another person to be your spiritual mentor. And some may require more than others.

Now there are several times during a day that I try to have a quiet moment. I've started feeding my boys lunch first. After lunch I put my youngest down for a nap. Then I let the older ones go outside in the backyard. Then I make my lunch, sit at my table, eat alone, and watch them from my window. That's right eating my lunch alone! No 'mommy can you get...' or 'oops I spelt ...'. Just silence. Afterwards, I usually start with some house chores. But even doing them, without constant interruptions seems like I accomplish so much more.

It is a family tradition of ours to take Sunday naps, given the opportunity. Get home, eat lunch, and the youngest is ready for a nap. We allow the others to stay in living room and relax. So they can watch a movie, color or something else quiet. Then my husband and I take a nap in our room, with door open (it is right there, opening into living room). And when the youngest wakes up, we get up. It is so refreshing! And truth-be-told sometimes I have to fight the urge to fill my afternoon with busyness.

I take prolonged bathroom breaks. Yea I know ... weird. I just sit there a little while, serf the web. These are not long breaks, but I need it. I need a moment of distraction ... nothing to do with current situation.

When all the children seem preoccupied I sneak away to my room, and sit on my bed. Just close my eyes and take a breathe. Short lived, I assure you. But hey sometimes that small moment is what gets me through the day.

Sometimes I just simply ask my husband to do something with them. During the warmer months it might just be having them go outside while I work on something inside. Lately its giving them a bath/shower while I do some chore around the house. It seems meaningless, but it helps.

Find your moment. Stay sane. One day at a time.

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ'

You have everything you need to get through the moment. Ask God to help you use the patience/peacefulness/calmness/strength/self-control/love (and so much more) that He has already given you. 

Just Another Day

It is Saturday. Did I mention we have 3 kids in sports now, crazy I know. As you imagined Saturday, means game time around this house! My mother has been wanting to watch the boys play their games, and I thought this would be as good of a day as any. (Somehow those last words came back to bite me!)

First off my mother lives a little over an hour away. Which meant I had to get up extra early to pick her up, and be back before the first kid's game. She can not drive. She also watch's my nephew during the day, so he got to come along and spend the day watching his cousins play.

The night before my husband and I were talking and figuring out what time I would need to leave in order to be back in time for the first game. Now, I have a master game schedule which includes all three boy's game dates, times, and locations. Yes, of course it is color coded. As we recalled, the first game was going to be 10am in our hometown. Which I figured leaving soon after 7am would get me there, pick them up and be back before the game to began.

6:45 the alarm goes off. Huh, too early ... I push snooze. Okay the second time, I got up. Before my feet hit the floor, my precious little boy is at my bedside moaning. Which I know means, "Mom get me breakfast, turn on the cartoons and come sit with me on the couch." He speaks little (even at 2 1/2 years old), but we have this Mother-Son bond thing going on. Any who, I quickly give in to his demands so I can finish getting ready. As it appears no one else is up, and he is still insisting on me sitting next to him on the couch. Something with that Mother-Son bond, he is so attached. I begin to worry he will throw an all out fit if I leave and might even try to follow me ... So I decide I'll just get him ready and he can go with me. It is now 7:10. Then my oldest comes down stairs, and I feel at ease to go. I check the schedule, posted on our fridge, one last time before I leave. Checking times, and location. Guess what, the game is at 9am! AH! So I quickly go wake up my husband and tell him the game is at 9am not 10am. Which means he has to be there at 8:30 to warm up, with all four kids ready. And off I go ...

7:20 and I am thinking okay I can still be back and not miss much of the game. I can take more toll roads, there isn't much traffic on Saturday morning. Get there at my moms, just over an hour later. Heading back now, and I start to get texts from my husband. Like, "OMG, Jamie!" Oh no, I can just imagine what disaster is happening. After calling him, he tells me there is no one at the fields or any other fields in town. And our dear oldest son, almost 10 years old, forgot his game pants. Uh, the troubles ... these boys were suppose to have their bags checked and ready to go the night before. Where the heck is his game at, Travis texted his coach but had not received at response yet. GREAT! So now I am trying to look at emails to see if I can find the schedule from his team on there. I can't ... I tried texting his coach, nothing ... Finally I called, and his wife answered. Figured out it is at 9am but in the next town, and the following week it will be at our hometown. (Stop right there, I just want you to know that the individual game schedules are behind the master schedule which has been made quite some time. Anyone of us could have noticed the mix up, so I think it is only fair that the blame should be shared. Continue.) Then I received another text from my poor frustrated husband, they can not find his game pants. I called my husband again, and told him don't worry I will pick them up before his game. Travis arrived just minutes after game began. And we arrived shortly after that. (As I got to the game, I realized that my second to youngest was still wearing his day clothes he fell asleep in from last night. But hey they were day clothes, and I did get little dressed before I left. The older two got dressed themselves.)  Game #1

Game ends. I told my husband I'll go home get his game pants, if he will just take the other boys to park and play for a little while. And I will be back before the next kid's game begins. Okay I get home, looked around and found the boy;s pants. I went ahead and grabbed more water and a few more snacks. Thinking we would have to eat lunch sometime. At that time my loving husband text me to tell me that the next game is not is the town he usually plays in. Which I knew, but I presumed that meant he drove to the next town over and found that out the hard way. At that point I had left the house, and was headed back to the games. I thought maybe we will just grab some hamburgers since we already have snacks and drinks. I called my husband. Now, the kid that is about to play ... forgot his cleats. Again I revolt back to survivor mode and try to remain calm. Telling my husband it is okay. He can warm up with his tennis shoes, after I grab the hamburgers I'll go back home and find them. And I will make it back again before the game begins. On the road again back to the house ... So the cleats where in the hall closet. Grabbed them and off we went, again ... Made it just before game started, and he put them on. As we watched the game, we cheered him on, and ate our lunch. Game #2

Now we loaded up for the home stretch, one more game. As we are figuring out who is riding with who, I noticed my oldest is wearing is long sleeve under-armor shirt. Now here in Texas on this October morning there was a slight chill breeze, but it was warming up. And the oldest is in tackle football with pads, I thought he is going to have a heat stroke. As you guessed, he did not bring another shirt ... So I made the next oldest take off his game shirt turned it inside out so the oldest could wear something short sleeve under his pads. Then I let the 2nd oldest wear the 3rd son's shirt, and the 3rd son wore his game jersey. (Really the second boy is small and almost wears the same size as his younger brother, so it wasn't a big deal.) Problem solved. We arrived with a few minutes to spare. Travis decided to stay in van until game started, so little could finish a short nap. The rest of us waited a few minutes, put some sun block on and was ready to go. So we head out. Oldest is warming up with his team, we grabbed some snacks and drinks. We sit in the only shade until game starts. Then as my 3rd son keeps asking me for more food, I realize he did not eat lunch. And the worst mom award goes to ... Me! So I grabbed him a hotdog, and he was happy. Game goes on, kids play on stands. We try not to get toasted. Right as the game ends, my nephew laying down on one of the bleacher seats falls off onto the next seat. Blood is coming out ... and he is not happy! My mom holds him, and I just attempt to find the wound and apply pressure. Husband goes to concession stand, gets ice and band-aids. After every person stops and ask if he is okay... bless them. We clean up the blood, find sight of the wound. It really doesn't look bad. After few more minutes the blood stops, and of course band-aids won't stick. So we load them up. Game #3

Travis takes our boys home. I have my mom and nephew. We stop at nearest CVS. I got Motrin and liquid band-aid. Gave it to him, and he was fine. Even that night my mom said he didn't bleed much and the next day they didn't need to reapply it or give him Motrin. Thank goodness. Bless my awesome husband was cooking dinner when I got home. And we just rested what was left of the evening. Exhausted ... what a day! 

                                                                                         

       

Just another day in my life ...

Matthew 6:34 NIV 'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'

Ain't that the truth!

Who Says Boys Aren't Sweet?!

First, get over the fact that I used the word, "aren't" ... It is a word! I'm from Texas and that is what we say, plus this is not a formal essay. Now, we can move on.

I just have to share how precious my little boys can be.

It was my birthday. Yeah ... another year older, whoo-hoo. My boys kept asking, "What are we doing? What are we eating for dinner? (We enjoy birthday dinners, were whosoever birthday it is they get to pick what they want for dinner.)  What are you going to Get?"

I tried to explain. The only thing a mom wants is not to cook dinner on her birthday. As you get older you don't usually get gifts. It is just not a big deal. After the persistent questioning, I could see there was no reasoning.

It was Friday. We had to get up early and travel to our Co-op. Going through our classes. And of course, since we are in-town we make our stops for groceries. By that point it is past little's nap time. Then we get home, I put little down for a nap. And start the process of unloading the days mess from our van. Luckily, older kids do help.

While I'm putting away the food, the boys go off into another room.

Soon they come in with these beautiful handmade bookmarks. All saying, "happy birthday", with hugs and kisses. How sweet! I do enjoy reading, and said, "now I can use these bookmarks for my study book, Bible, and this book I just got." They used some of my favorite colors (blue and purple), and some of theirs (blue or orange). Sometimes it is the little things ...

 

My day did not end there. I like to also add, my husband brought home purple flowers and cards. Plus he ordered a really cool picture frame collage for me! Then he let me take a nap while he made dinner. Then we went to see his niece play in the varsity band during football game. NOTHING better than the simple genuine love from my boys (and my Man!).

Meaningful Prayer with Kids

We want to share our faith with our kids. I truly believe it is my greatest calling to pass onto my children my faith. From who God is, what the Bible says, what it means to be a Christian to knowing how to have a personal relationship with Him.

There are several ways to pass on faith to children. Today I want to scratch the surface on the topic of prayer. Even before their own salvation, there is so much that can be taught on prayer. And what a vital thing to teach our kids, as it is our life line to our Great Creator.

Again there is numerous ways to go about this, I am just sharing a few methods that we have and our currently doing with our young children.

Learning about Prayer in the Bible.  There are several great prayers already written, as well as a lot of information about prayer in the Bible. On either a special occasion that relates to the prayer given or just because we will look up some of these. Read them, talk about what was going on at the time, what is important about that particular prayer.

A Prayer for Guidance - Psalm 5 (I really like verse 3 and 4)
A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress - Psalm 6
Prayer and Praise of Deliverance - Psalm 7 (I really enjoy verses 11-17)
Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Lord's Righteous Judgements - Psalm 9 (see verses 6-9)
The Model Prayer - Matthew 6:5-13 (also Luke 11:1-4)
Forgiveness and Prayer - Mark 11:25,26

Jesus Prays for Himself - John 17:1-5
Jesus Prays for His Disciples - John 17:6-19
Jesus Prays for All Believers - John 17:20-26
In Everything by Prayer - Philippians 4:6

Pray without Ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 Do more than just read these verses, engage them to dig deeper. Was there a particular word that you could put into a simpler term? Ask them questions about the passage. Talk about why prayer is important. Teach them how much God loves to hear them pray. Much like a parent knows their child loves them, but how great it feels to hear it from their mouths.

Change it up. I love the simple prayer my kids had learned in church to pray over their snack in class. But it started to get repetitive and the kids would just speed through it. So yes during our meals we ask God to bless the food and the hand who prepared it, and may it be nutritious to our bodies. But now we ask them to pray for something they are thankful for in addition to what they learned. Also switch who prays for the meals, including yourself. At a time we have had them pray for 3 things they were thankful for, for every one thing they asked for. It often sounded like this, "God please let us win our game tomorrow, thank you for the candy we got to eat today, and thank you for Daddy having safe trip home, and thanks for letting the sun come out so we can play outside. Amen."

Pray for others. Is someone sick, or needs healing? Is someone going through hard time with something? Is there a friend that they are thinking about? Is a brother going to have a game, or a doctor's appointment, or test coming up? At bedtime we have asked them to think of someone they want to pray for. How heartwarming it is to hear.

Pray over them, so they can hear. A good way to teach is by example. We pray for their health, that they may come to know Christ, pray for their future wife, and thank God for something special for each child. It might sound something like this, "Dear God, please help these boys recover from their allergies, I pray that they sleep well tonight, that they come to know you and grow in faith, please be with their future wife and keep her safe and that she will also know you and have a personal relationship with you, thank you for giving me Josh who is so caring and helpful, thank you for Matt and the laughter he brings into our home, thank you for Sam and the hugs he gives, thank you for Daniel and joy he brings, Amen."

Ask for request. Sometimes they don't want to pray, and that's fine. But I often ask if they have anything that they want me to pray for them. This might be for help in a certain area where they fall short in, forgiveness with a sin (like hurting one of their brothers), or over someone that has been on their mind. I find the younger ones seem lost for words at times, but still have some input on what they want to pray for.

Pray for forgiveness. So here lately we have been letting each one (not including Daniel, who still doesn't speak much) pray. They pray for at least one thing they are thankful for and one thing they need to ask God to forgive them. At the end of the prayer if it has to do with forgiving of an action to someone in the room (like hitting or being mean to one of the brothers) I tell them they also need to ask forgiveness of the person who they hurt. Or they could ask help for something. This has more or less been the case with my oldest. He ask God to help him control his anger. To help him to not exaggerate over things.

Prayer is so basic that everyone almost takes it for granted. Passing your faith down generations to come takes effort. For them to know why we pray, who we pray to, and what can we pray about is fundamental to their spiritual growth.

Psalm 55:16,17 (NKJV) 'As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.'

As parents it is our job to disciple our kids. So in the next few post I will be sharing how we do that in the most practical ways.

Homeschool Snow Day!

So this post started with a little conversation with my oldest son.

Oldest- "I hope it snows tomorrow so we can have a 'Snow Day', and we don't have to do any school work!"

Me- "What? Oh, no. We are having school tomorrow. I would rather do school on a snow day than a warm day."

First thing the night before we decided to declare the day a "Pajama Day," some did and some of us ended up changing anyways.

We even decided to do extra school work since there would be little playing outside time. Which lately school has become a bit of a chore with the oldest one, I think he is ready for warm weather and more play outside. Guess what, he did all his work, plus extra, under 2 hours. AMAZING! I think he realized school is coming to an end (so is this cold weather) so the faster he gets done with school the more time he will have to play outside when it's warm.  

We brought out play-doh, which is not an everyday thing. I personally am not a supper fan of play-doh but kids love it.

We made special treats, my boys love to help bake. Homemade chocolate chip cookies and rice crispy treats.

We brought out the water paints and just let their imagination go. Matt of course drew then painted his favorite TMNT, Ralph.

And of course they did play in the ice/snow! Homeschooling means we are together already for normal 'school days'. 'Snow Day' for us as homeschoolers doesn't mean no school. And we are okay with that. We would rather continue with our school schedule, plus more, and when it's warmer we will have a 'Warm Day' where we ditch school work for playing outside all day!

Hope y'all have a blessed day!

Psalm 113:3 (New American Standard Version) ' From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised.'







                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

What to do with that Ham Hock from Christmas

That winter weather has come back again around these parts. It had us craving something hot! I knew there was a ham hock from Christmas in freezer. So the hubby and I went searching for a recipe. And of course what happens when you look for something online ... there were a lot of recipes! So I took what I liked from this one, added a few things from that one and this is what I came up with.

Ham Hock and Bean Soup in Crockpot

Ingredients:
Ham Hock (ham bone with some meat on it), cooked and defrosted
24 oz can of beans (any kind, I like pork and beans)
4-5 stocks of celery, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
32 oz of chicken broth
8 oz can of tomato sauce

Directions:
Put everything in crockpot. Can cook low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Great with cornbread!
I love Ree Drummond's recipe for cornbread, you will have to look it up.

One Little Moment ...

Before I write a post I usually take time to cogitate it over, and this one has been weighing on my heart to share. Let's just face it, life is crazy. It's busy. I believe we all can fill our day with stuff! From school, house chores, hobbies, sports, games, family, friends, events, field trips, co-ops, shopping, church, church events, ... the list goes on. Now, some of those things are very good. Some are obviously necessary. Somewhere to the very top of the list, should be spending valuable time with your kids.

I know, duh. The key word is VALUABLE time. And that is the challenge. An added challenge is when you have more than one child. Some times I do things that I think the kids are just going to love, guess what .. it doesn't always work out. Just for an example I made a project where we were going to make paper mache globes. Thought they would love getting their hands dirty and building something, turns out not so much. Also each child can have different wants and desires. That might mean diving into an hour long project with one child, or as simple as cuddling with another. I'll give you some of the things I do with my kids that seem valuable to them, and how that is different for each one.

First child (9 now) - he loves science, art, music, sports, board games and video games. I also know he is a very loving and caring kid with at times a sensitive heart. He needs verbal affirmation. When he talks about wanting to make something I have to take careful notes, at times that means helping him see it through and encouraging him along the way. When he is really passionate about something, trying to equip him with materials he needs to explore that desire. Gently pushing him forward when he stumbles on something he sees as a challenge. I have found the most powerful thing I can do is to tell him I love him, no matter what. Imperfections and all, encourage him to do his best and sometimes that won't be perfect.

Daredevil (days away from turning 6) - creative, mechanical, loves sports, playing with others, not sure he knows the line of fear from fun. He works well with others and needs physical touch that shows he is loved. This kid is not picky about what we do as long as we do it together. It could be watching a movie, sitting beside each other. Or building legos together. He also is the one that doesn't like restrictions on his creativeness. Give this kid some water paints and paper and let him blow you away with his imagination. Which also means not freaking out when he wants to turn my leaving room into a fort. Taking every couch seat and blanket. To be so independent, he surprisingly is the one kid that a tries to sleep with us. I am convinced that he wants that cuddle time to feel loved. Although we do try to discourage that from occurring regularly. A simple hug seems to convey love best to this one.

Love Bug (3 years old, but will be 4 in May) - silly, playful, sensitive, theatrical.  Loves to help others and desires physical touch. These middle two kids are pretty similar. Except one is mechanical and one is more sensitive. So he also enjoys just doing things together. Lots of cuddles and hugs. I do have to be more cautious of his feelings. He wants to be included, and sometimes the best thing is for me to just hear him out and give a good hug. If I go somewhere he wants to go too, if I am working on something he wants to do it too. I guess you can say this one fits the title of 'momma's boy'. Although I can't always take him or always include him, I do as much as I can because that is what this boy truly desires.

Crazy (in a month he will be 2) - playful, tough, independent, mechanical, loves cars and blocks. He likes to help momma with chores, and play with big brothers. He is still growing and his own personality is still coming out. As of now he is almost a mixture of the older three. He likes to be included in everything we do, even if it may be difficult for his age to do the same thing. He also desires a physical show of love. That means lots of hugs, and playing together.

No matter what chaos the day brings, I have to ask myself did I give my children at least one little moment of valuable time. Did I show or say I love them? Not saying every day I think I did well, but it is definitely a goal. Time is short and our kids grow up fast.

Ecclesiastes (NKJV) 9:12 'For man also does not know his time; like a fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.'