{Not} Back to School Pics

We are just about to start our 2013 - 2014 school year on Monday/Tuesday, so we just did our {Not} back to school pictures.

This year Dude is in 1st grade:

Strawberry is in Pre-Kindergarten:

Linebacker is just along for the ride:

And we couldn't leave Boy Wonder out:

Then it was time for a group shot....let's just pretend this only took 1 attempt, haha.

The kids all picked their desks, and I have all their individual work setup in them, so they wanted a picture at their desks:

We are planning to start next Monday/Tuesday and I already know of one thing that will put one day on hold. I have only planned a 4-day week, so we should be able to get it accomplished. Did I mention we are away camping this weekend.......



For His Glory!



I am linking up with iHomeschool Network's Not Back To School BlogHop

Spotlight: Boy Wonder

It's been 4 whole months (actually, almost 5 now) since Boy Wonder was brought into our lives. Here he is now:

It is getting much harder to take these monthly poses since he is moving all over the place now. Boy Wonder is active....crazy active, it reminds me of Dude and he is just a fiery ball of energy....and we think Boy Wonder is even more active....yikes.

His smile will make you melt

He seems to be pretty laid back. I'm not sure if that's just his nature, or a 4th child syndrome and he has no choice but to wait or go-with-the-flow most of the time. Daddy was just saying tonight, "he is quieter then the others were", give it time Daddy, give it time. He will soon realize how to be heard.

Boy Wonder, like Linebacker, is a thumb sucker

It is a great tool for self-soothing, but I hear breaking the habit will be tough....for now though, I find it cute.

He sleeps through the night (so far, still waiting on the 4 month sleep regression that kicked my butt last time) and wakes up smiling almost every morning. He is starting to form some napping habits but we just go with whatever works that day.

He is adored by his siblings, here with Dude

They love making him smile and giggle. They make faces, jump around and laugh at him just to get a reaction from him. Linebacker (my blanket lover) is constantly getting a blanket for him and making sure he has one at all times.

I couldn't imagine life without this little man in it. He just lights up my heart and is such a delight. I am so glad he clung on and survived that scare (read about it here) and was able to join our family. I never knew how people could feel "done" having kids, it just seemed unfathomable. Now, I get it. Boy Wonder completes our family and I just love the dynamic our family has now.

I might be biased but.....isn't he just the cutest baby you've ever seen?

Our new chore set-up

I've decided recently to encourage and engage the kids in the running of our household. I've decided they are willing and finally ABLE to contribute to some of the cleaning around the house daily. I have pinned several "chore boards" the last while, but none of them seemed to fit our style or suit what I wanted. Most of them were focused on earning money, or reward tickets that after a certain amount they got a toy or prize. This was not the approach I wanted to take with our kids. I find, that despite our best efforts, the "Entitlement Generation" as I like to call it, is creeping into our home as well. I don't want my kids to help around the house with a monetary goal in mind because that is only encouraging selfishness, which in elementary/preschoolers is ever-present and something we are trying to teach them out of. I want them to help around the house because they want to be contributing members of our family and because they feel more confident in themselves as a result. We need to start young, so that by the time they are ready to start their own homes, they have all the skills necessary to run and manage their own homes.....and don't need to call and ask how to make scrambled eggs (Seriously, my sister has done this twice!!!). My goal for my kids (boys and girl) is for them to be able to do all the homemaking skills, I want to be able to say "your welcome" to my sons wives one day, beacause we have trained them to be thoughtful, helpful men!

Anyway, back to the "chores", I hate that word! It brings negative thoughts when you say it, or when completing them. If my own mantra in completing household tasks is Colossians 3:23 - "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people", than calling them "chores" just doesn't suit me well. I've been wracking my brain the last while trying to come up with an alternative, and finally it came to me....Contributions! That's what my goal is, to have them contribute to the running of the family, so it just makes sense.

Next, I had to come up with a system...Boards, and because my kids can't read yet, pictures it was! I went around the house taking pictures of things that they could do everyday. Everything was ready to create, so I went to Dollarama last night and browsed for supplies I could use....

This is what I found:

These cork tiles came in a 2-pack and they are thin, so I was able to attach them to the wall with pushpins in the corners.

Next I found these:

4-pack of self adhesive clips (I forgot to take the pic before opening). I stuck these clips onto the cork tiles:

Next, I printed a few copies of the pictures I took the other day:

Then, I busted out the Cricut to make the name labels and title area for the boards:

I stuck the names and title onto a piece of black paper, I used my paper trimmer (couldn't live without this). This is mine:

I was really happy with how they looked.

Now it was time to laminate everything. I couldn't imagine my life without my laminator. I have a constant wall file of "to be laminated" stuff...as you can see, I was laminating more then just the stuff for this project. This is the one I have here.

After cutting everything out, it was time to assemble the area. Here is the finished product:

I added a couple of boxes. One for the kids to put completed pictures into, and another for me to store the pictures in. Now, to see if our new system works......

Organization....it's my thing!

I have a confession, I'm an organization junky. I love to organize and find new ways to organize. I am actually known among my friends circle for being extremely organized. They have even asked many times for me to organize their houses, haha.

I like things neat, I like things minimal and would prefer my rooms nearly bare, both of these I have had to give up since having kids. Today, however, I thought I would give some of my organization tips and tricks ;)

First, I love tea. I was introduced to loose leaf tea a couple of years ago. Now, loose leaf entails more then just a box in the cupboard. So, the best I could come up with was to use my turntable cupboard in the corner. I moved the spices that were in there to a drawer, and it was now the perfect cupboard for tea tins!(note: the tins are 2 rows deep)

We don't have a lot of movies/CDs compared to a lot of people, but instead of spending more money on a DVD or CD shelf, we just bought a $50 bookshelf from Walmart and use that.

I had a really stressful time dealing with our front entry way. Coats everywhere, hats, mitts, sunglasses, raincoats, etc. I started with a coat stand, but the kids couldn't reach and they only hold so many. Then, tried hooks on the wall, but there was always too many items and snowpants hung too far and fell off because they were resting on the floor, and there was no place for hats or mitts. This past winter, I finally came up with a solution:

They just throw their stuff in and I put the lid on! Another tip: if your house is like ours, you can never find one of the mitts, they misplace them constantly, so, this past winter I went to Dollarama and bought a bunch of their mitts/gloves (not for playing in the snow) and threw them in the bin - this worked because my kids hands are close enough in size. There were always mitts/gloves to go out! The inside of the bin is a disaster chaos not pretty, but I can handle it because there is a lid and because the kids can access it themselves to get and put away their own stuff. The inside:

Books!!! Books get everywhere! The shelves never stay put together, the kids pull one book off and 6 others come with it. My solution that is working, so far, is book bins. I sorted the books by category, made laminated pics and labelled the bins and put the bins on the bookshelf and it stays organized! The kids take a book and return it to the bin, it works great! Our bookshelf (I should mention, the green bin in front is for our church library books):

Hats! My husband is a hat man. He always wears a hat and has several hats, I couldn't figure out what to do with them....My solution was an over-the-door hook "thingy" haha. It is on the outside of the laundry room door, right by our side door and his wallet and keys. It's hard to see in this pic but there are 4-5 hats per hook.

While we're by the laundry room, I have a few tips for organizing in there. The laundry room is where I keep my cleaning stuff. Long before Pinterest came around I had a few things in place. My most used cleaning bottles are hanging on a towel bar, really accessible to me.

Behind my door in the laundry room is a shoe pocket hanging organizer with all my other cleaning supplies.

Lost socks. I will never understand this phenomenon, but there are many. My solution? A "wanted" board beside the dryer:

Lego, Dude has TONS of Lego. We use the Trofast system from Ikea. It was sorted by colour at one point.

Clothing, don't you find that if you don't see it, you don't wear it? I do. I put our clothes in the drawers so that everything can be seen when you open the drawer. Everyone's drawers in our house are like this:

I also find the best way to store my pants is hanging in the closet, otherwise they take up too much space in my drawers.

With 3 boys, I store a lot of clothes for the next boy to wear. I have tried many ways...bins, but some sizes have more then others, bags but they were hard to stack... Finally, I found an idea that worked! I went to Dollarama and loaded a basket with "under the bed storage bags" they are cheap and some have ripped a bit, but even ripped a little they work great. They stack great in the closet!

A little tip (not life changing at all) I found worked in my bathroom was that rolled towels took up much less space then folded towels:

Lastly, I just want to be clear, I owned this before Pinterest (actually surprised people didn't realize this before Pinterest) I store bed sheets in the pillowcase for that set. Just grab and go! (middle shelf)

Just some of my little notebook tips, enjoy!




For His Glory!

I'm linked up with:

Spotlight: Strawberry

Today I'm going to focus on Strawberry.


Strawberry got her nickname due to her red hair. She is 3 1/2 years old, but seems much older. She is the 2nd child and only girl, sandwiched between a bunch of boys. She can play hard but is also very (read: VERY) sensitive.

She is a caretaker of her brothers, whether they like it or not. She is always filthy, always. She eats with her hands, despite numerous reminders to use utensils, she is usually covered in marker and can't even look outside without being covered in dirt. Yup, she's our princess! Daddy and I often joke that in the future, she'll have to be in a pretty serious relationship before they ever do any type of "food date" just to be certain the suitor doesn't scare off too easily.

She loves her Daddy, she is definitely his little girl. She hates bugs, like really hates, she has a full on anxiety attack over a fly near her. She can be clumsy, and something always "hurts". We were in the van the other night, and just for fun I said, "[Strawberry], what hurts right now?" Her response, "Nothing.....just my knee a little". She likes to count her booboos, and says, "here is one, if you look really really close, it is just a wittle one".

She has Daddy and her brothers wrapped around her little finger. They would do anything to protect her.

Strawberry with her Knights in shining armour.

She is a sweet little girl and will be starting homeschooling this fall, she is so excited to do her own school, not just busy work.

She has a desire to manage a home already, she enjoys observing and helping me with the Stewardships (chores) around the house and I am trying to remember to train her in these areas.

It will be fun to see who she grows into, we have no doubt she'll be pretty sassy, though. Must be the fiery red-head in her!



For His Glory!

Spotlight: Dude

I was thinking that I would write a little bit about each of my kids. Then I realized this would be a good exercise for me, personally, to think hard about each of my children and what makes them who they are. This could be fun!

Today, I am going to focus on Dude.

He is our first-born, like me. He is 5 years old. He is stubborn and strongwilled, er...like me. He is full of Energy. All. The. Time. He has always been incredibly active. He started walking at 8 1/2 months old and has never looked back. He has his own way of doing things and is passionate about it (read: strongwilled). He is compassionate and sweet.

He loves playing with his siblings and has a special relationship with each of them.

His little sister, Strawberry, looks up to him and wants to please him and do everything he does. They are the best of friends....until they disagree.


He is a protector to his younger brother, Linebacker. When we went out to a store last week, he took it upon himself to hold his hand and get him in and out of the store safely. It was such a sweet moment.


He is just getting to know his littlest brother, Boy Wonder. He enjoys spending time with him and loves to work smiles out of him by doing crazy dances and funny faces.


Dude can be very difficult to corale some days, but I was listening to Focus on the Family's radio show last week and it gave me hope that this Strong Will is going to be a positive thing one day. We just have to get there.

Dude is going to be working at a 1st grade level this fall, he has a love for learning that we hope to maintain and build on. He is very inquisitive right now and we are doing our best to satiate his need for knowledge. I can't wait to get to know who this little man is going to grow into!


For His Glory!

Looking ahead

I have spent the last few weeks getting things planned and in order for the fall. I am really excited to do more formal schooling with Strawberry in addition to Dude and have 2 kids to work with everyday. I have a lot of thoughts for this coming school year, and I think we will have a lot more intensity this year. This year kind of worked as our prep year to get the kids used to doing some formal activities and to start some scheduled times during our day.

I have laid out all my plans and here they are:


I have laid out a plan of action for each child. Daddy and I have to have, what I hope will become, our annual goal setting meeting. We will sit down and make a plan for each child as to what we hope they will accomplish in the coming school year and set some goals for each.

Our plans:

* Contiue using our Children Desiring God curriculum with Dude and Strawberry and include Linebacker informally.

* Continue using Math U See Primer with Dude

* Teach Strawberry to recognize and write her numbers, if accomplished start her on MUS Primer

* I took the plunge and ordered All About Learning Press curriculum last night (already got the shipping notice this morning!!!). Dude will be using All About Reading level 1 and All About Spelling level 1. Strawberry will be using All About Reading pre-reading level. Now, I just have to wait patiently for it to arrive....and check the tracking obsessively.

* I plan to use The ABCs for Godly Children (which was included in one of the e-bundles I've purchased) for Dude and Strawberry.

* I am going to use Expedition Earth (all included in the e-bundle) to help teach some geography

* I want to work through a book list with the kids and have some comprehension questions to go with them.

* There was a good resource in an e-bundle I have about notebooking, and so that is in the plan as well.

* I am going to work in some LOTW and RRSP activities for Strawberry.

* I want to prep some lapbook games and busy bags for their workboxes as well. That way I can plan one child doing a game/activity independantly while I work more intensely with the other one.

* I am also going to try to have a bit of a totschool routine with Linebacker

* I want to include Darlene's prayer cards for children into our morning prayer time. I have them printed and 1/2 cutout, just need to laminate and put on a ring for each child.


I can't wait! I have a lot to do to prep for the year, but I am an organizing junkie who loved school, so that shouldn't be hard for me. I am so excited to get in our new schoolroom with all our new plans and start....Hopefully the kids will be excited, too.


For His Glory!

Laundry, Dishes and Mopping....oh my!

I was one of those people who's house was spotless before having my children. I enjoyed cleaning, and my house was so clean I would have to make a mess on purpose or invent something just so I could clean it. Fast forward 6 years and I can barely keep up! My house is "clean" but keeping it "tidy" is a different story. I am constantly picking up toys, books, socks and pieces of food all over the house. I needed to come up with something to keep me on task or I would spend everyday doing this repetitive motion without ever getting to the real cleaning that needed to be done.

A couple of weeks ago there was an e-bundle that a group of homemaking bloggers put together and had on sale for a couple of days. As soon as it was advertised, I was sold. I wanted it! Well, the day came and it was available. The price was really good, but I hesitated for a few minutes....I had to resolve within myself that I couldn't just purchase and download and read this bundle, but that I would actually implement it. I decided that I was going to get more productive with my time, I had too, I was falling behind.

During the beginning of skimming this e-bundle, I also discovered an alternative to the Home Management Binder. This was exciting to me because I have tried more then once to start and use a Home Management Binder and it never worked for me. This new system was perfect for me! It is the File Crate System and I love it! I didn't set up the file folders exactly like she does, but fairly similar with what I wanted to include each week. I found enough free printables online to use and it was very easy to pull together. It works so well for my day-to-day cleaning and homemaking, but also will be very beneficial to our homeschooling scheduling. I am a list person, so this setup is exactly what I needed.

I am able to list what I want to accomplish each day, keep track of it all, have my weekly meal plan, weekly calendar and my weekly blogging schedule (that should keep me regular finally) all in one place. Aaaahhh, I feel functional again!

Housekeeping comes easy to me, I love it, so that is not a huge problem. My problem comes when I just bounce around doing a little bit here and there and not actually finishing anything. Now, though, I have a plan everyday and I make it my mission to check off those little boxes.

I have found the key for me is all about the laundry. I hate laundry! I mean, I do it because I have to, but I would prefer not to have to :) I have to stay on top of the laundry to be successful. I am not the person who can do it all in 1-2 days and be done. I have to do 1-2 loads everyday or I won't bother. I start the load as soon as I come downstairs in the morning, then fold while the kids are playing together. Once they are occupied at the table for lunch, I head upstairs and put it all away. I have tried other methods such as assigning each person a day and doing all their clothes on that day, but if we are not home on one of the days, I am behind and can't catch up easily. This way I just wash everyone's together and your clothes are back in your drawer 12-15 hours after wearing them.

It's funny, but the laundry sets my cleaning *mood* for the day. If I get the laundry done first thing, I just feel more productive. So, the key to it all......is laundry? really? I guess for me, it is.

Since downloading the Homemaking e-bundle I have cleaned and purged my entire kitchen, the junk closet, the downstairs bathroom and what will be our new Schoolroom (I'll share about that tomorrow). I feel good, there is no clutter on our main floor where we spend most of our time, and that takes a lot of the stress away.

A key to completeing these mundane tasks for me is this verse Colossians 3:23 - "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." (NLT) I keep this in my head all day and keep thinking it when I get frustrated with doing these tasks. I have a friend/mentor who actually has a white glove that she puts in her pocket whenever she has the wrong attitude as a way to remind herself of who she is serving. I may steal this idea from her, just so I keep remembering why I am doing this.

Well, have to get back to my list and check some more things off.....Colossians 3:23......Colossians 3:23.....Colossians 3:23

For His Glory!

Introducing.......

Introducing the newest member of our family.........

Boy Wonder!!!! Born mid-March 2 days before his due date. I have nicknamed him 'Boy Wonder' because he is here despite all the complications we went through getting him here....he is my little miracle! God is so good!

He is such a blessing to our family and everyone is madly in love with him. Going from 3 kids to 4 kids has been an easy adaptation so far. I was used to being outnumbered already and Daddy and I were already using a zone defense vs. a man-to-man.

We have a pretty good routine going already, and even though he doesn't nurse at the same times everyday, he does go to bed at 10pm and sleeps until 6am every night for the last 2 weeks. Now, I'm not getting my hopes up too much; linebacker slept through at 6 weeks also, but we hit the 4 month sleep regression HARD and he was up multiple times per night until about 14 months old. So, I am excited that Boy Wonder is sleeping through but am prepared for what may lie ahead.

Other little known facts about Boy Wonder:
- He is my first child with dark hair like me
- So far he is the tallest child, but is long and lean
- He likes to be held (always a good quality for a 4th child)
- He is the 4th child, and 3rd boy
- He likes to eat!
- He is the first child I've had who actually gets upset because of a dirty diaper
- He is my 2nd thumbsucker (the other one is Linebacker)


We are so pleased with the way God has provided for us and blessed us with 4 amazing children.

(in light of some recent tragic events in our area that center around the online world, I have chosen to give my kids nicknames instead of using their real names. Just trying to be as safe and as careful as I can).


For His Glory!

Help! I'm becoming a Me-mom

Today I read chapter 3 of the book Be the Mom. This chapter was titled "Me Mom Trap". By the end of the chapter, I had come to realize this is me! I am a Me mom. Hmm, that's not a good thing. Oh Boy, I have a lot to meditate on today. It first hit me when I read:

"When we moms stomp around the house and mutter words that include lots of 'I's, its time to recognize that the Me Mom trap has been sprung."

Yikes, I find myself doing this almost daily. "I have to do everything" and "I'm the only one who ever...." are part of my vocabulary. I need to consciously erase these phrases from my vocabulary. (I have a feeling I will be further convicted on these in tomorrow's Martyr Mom chapter...sigh).

When the kids don't pick up the toys when I ask (er, command) I start to elevate my voice and the longer it takes for them to "obey" in my opinion the more irritated I get with them. Until eventually after hours of tiptoeing through toys everywhere, I basically throw a mom tantrum. When a baby cries because they don't get what they want (fed, changed, etc) or a toddler whines because they don't get their way we tend to see this as negative behavioiur and work hard to correct it and don't tolerate this reaction. How am I being any different? A perspective I had never seen before.

I have a big problem with cleanliness, not that I don't clean but that I want things clean at all times. News Flash: young kids don't share this same view! Shocking! and it is taking me a long time to realize this. What's a few toys on the floor or hundreds it seems? I need to let go of my expectations for cleanliness. My house is clean (dirt free) but not necessarily tidy *gritting teeth* and that's okay. Eyster is right I am not raising robots,

"I am raising uniquely designed children who thrive best when they're encouraged in big ways"

Yesterday (before reading this) I let the kids fold the kitchen towels and face cloths while I was preparing dinner, this is a big step for me, they are usually rolled neatly and placed in the drawer, but I let go of that control and let them do the job! They did fantastic!

I need to encourage them more about the jobs they are completing rather than harping on the few things they missed.

Our children need to be encouraged. They are constantly learning, especially when you are homeschooling because you are intentionally looking for learning moments all the time. Children will learn how to do things through experience, and we need to make that a positive experience not just barking orders at them.

I am changing my attitude as of now. I usually spend a good portion of the day handing out commands and giving them things to fix or clean up. I need to go back and re-evaluate what the important lessons they are learning out of this are. I need to stop arguing over measly toys on the floor and decide to "pick my battles." Daddy and I actually use a different phrase when it comes to our parenting. We always talk about "What issues/behaviours/values are we going to die on." Are we going to have a stand off over eating their potatoes at dinner? No. It's not something worth dying on. When our 5 year old back talks and is dis-respectful? That we are willing to die on.

I really liked Eyster's words:

"it's important that our focus be on helping them improve in the task at hand, not getting things done our way."

This is truly convicting for me, I want everything put away in its place and with young kids, unless I do it, it doesn't work that way. They will put things away but not necessarily "straighten them up". Oh well. They will understand one day how to clean up themselves....right????

Our children:

"model behaviour they learn from us."

Ain't that the truth? I've seen that time and time again when I over hear the kids saying "I'm sick and tired" or "this is just ridiculous". I am on a mission to change! I can't do it alone, I know that. I need the strength from God to lose my perfection ideal and to let the kids be kids and do things a little different than I would. To help me with this I think I will be reciting these 2 verses in my head:

Colossians 3:21 - Fathers[Mothers, too], don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying.

Ephesians 6:4 - Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.

These instructions in Scripture should help me stay on track. I just have to catch myself whenever things "don't measure up" to my expectations.

Now, let me leave you with another Scripture to ponder:

Proverbs 14:1 - A wise woman builds her house; a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands.

Lord, please help me to be a wise woman and mother and not allow me to tear down my own house.

For His Glory!

The Mom Trap

I came across a book awhile ago, mentioned by a friend, I ordered it and it has sat on my shelf for a couple months now waiting. Recently, I have found myself struggling a little in the "just a mom", poor me role. I felt convicted to start reading this book. Instead of reading it through in a day or two, I've decided to really take my time and study this book each day. Every night during snack before bed I sit at the table with the kids and read a chapter from a book (we are reading the last chapter of The Magician's Nephew tonight). We only read 1 chapter a night because otherwise it is more than they can retain in one sitting. Hmmm, if I follow this with my kids, why shouldn't I follow the same logic when it comes to my own study? So, I've decided instead of simply reading Be The Mom I would actually study and meditate on it each day. I also found out there is a website that goes along with it so I will have to take a look here too. We'll see how easily I stay on task....

Today was Day 1. I read chapter 1: My Momlife Journey. I made notes on some of the things that impacted me while reading and I then went to scripture to give myself the scriptural basis I need to do these things. So, here are my notes/convictions that came out of Tracey Eyster's book, chapter 1.

"Parenting isn't for the faint of heart, because parents bear enormous responsibility for the life and future of their children." Oh man, really? Stink! I have a lot of responsibility outside of making meals, teaching school, laundry, bathing, changing diapers. I am impacting them daily. I need to hear this, especially when the everyday life seems so mundane. I really do have a purpose to serve, and it doesn't matter if I'm the only one who notices that. Well, off to Scripture I went (no offence, but I need to hear this straight from God, too.) Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These Commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. That's heavy, atleast for me. I need to constantly be impressing the love of God onto my children. Convicted.

"The entire momlife journey is filled with moments of greatness and moments of great failure." Ain't this the truth? There are days when you really think you did something positive in your child's life. Then there are days when you are pretty sure you just yelled all day and constantly disciplined..... This is an area I need to work on. Realizing it is okay to fail some days, or atleast appear to fail, but then at the end of the day my 3 year old can recite an entire Bible verse we only introduced the day before, and it puts into perspective what is important.

"There is a reason motherhood is referred to as the hardest and most important job in the world." I don't think anyone would argue that it is the toughest job, but important? I know this, I have been told this many times, but as for actually feeling that when you haven't showered in 3 days, your kids disobey you at every turn, and no one likes dinner it is a little harder to accept. I just have to remember that I am doing God's work by being their mother and by staying home to care for them and teach them. Proverbs 22:6 says Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. We can't rely on others to teach our children these values and they are definitely not going to learn proper values in the "real world." I am in MY career as a Wife and Homemaker, and that it has value, despite what society will tell you. That is what makes it harder, in my opinion, the lack of respect and value placed on the stay-at-home-mom by society and even other mothers.

"I quit" thoughts. These do go through my head sometimes, actually a lot less than they should strangely. There have been days where I think it would be easier for me to send my kids to public school for 6+ hours a day and get "a break" from them, but in the end that would do more harm than good. It may seem appealing at times but it is not what Daddy and I want for our family and in our view it would be detrimental to our family unit. In the end, I could never send my kids away for the day (school or daycare), I just couldn't have someone else be an influence on my kids more than myself and Daddy. They need their mother home raising them and homeschooling them. These thoughts actually aren't too often because we have such strong convictions about it.

"Surely I was put on this earth for something more important than this!" Nope! There is nothing more important than being the mother of my children. Titus 2:4-5 says Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. My husband and my kids are my world, they are my career and they are the reason I was put on this earth. They are my ministry and my job is serving them.

In the end, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love them all more than they will ever know.

For His Glory!


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