Teachable Moment in the Strawberry Patch

As the kids and I were weeding the strawberry plants we talked about why it's important to get the weeds out of the garden. Then God gave me a teachable moment, and even in the summer! Lol.  

We started talking about what kinds of "weeds" we need to pull out of our lives. They came up with several types of "weeds": unforgiveness, pride, jealousy, hurtful words, hitting, etc.

They made the connection that if we don't take care of these "weeds" they can, like in the garden, grow big and take over the good "fruit".

I LOVE how God teaches us so many lessons from nature. I love that some of the most important learning takes place not at a desk or in a classroom, but just as we go about our day together. 

Healthy Baby: Making Healthy Baby Food

Making Baby Food

Baby’s first food and best food is breastmilk. I am a strong breastfeeding advocate. I encourage all moms to breastfeed well into the second year if at all possible. If you go longer, more power to ya! There are many many health benefits for baby and Mommy by extending breastfeeding into the second year. My first baby breastfed exclusively until she was a year old. God designed our bodies to provide everything baby needs, the breastmilk changes as baby does. God is so amazing! (Make sure you take care of your nutrition too while breastfeeding). My daughter weaned around 2 ½ years. Different Mothers will introduce solids at different times based on their convictions, influences and also depending on their baby. My youngest is 8 months old and he is pretty excited about eating with the family. We are just now introducing different foods in small quantity.

We start with very ripe bananas (peel is brown) pureed. We will also introduce brown rice, cooked and pureed. I will breastfeed him first and then introduce the babyfood. I want him to fill up on the best food first. At this point he is just taste testing and having fun being a big boy while the rest of the family eats their food. The quantity is very small, maybe a couple little spoonfuls. He may just taste tes one of these once a day at first. We slowly introduce other fruits and veggies like avocado, carrots, zucchini, apples, plums, peaches, etc. We start by only introducing one thing at a time to make sure he has no reaction to it. We stay away from acidic foods too. We may just let him taste those initially. 

Organic Brown Rice: cooked, pureed, and ready for the freezer.

Tip 1: Fruits & Veggies: Organic and in season. We try to buy all our produce organic and from local farmers.  If you choose to not buy organic (I strongly recommend you do, even if it’s only for your baby), please peel everything. 

Organic produce from local farmers: Abundant Harvest

Tip 2: Cook veggies lightly. Don’t kill all the nutrients by over cooking. Fruits don’t need to be cooked. 

Tip 3: Puree everything when baby is just starting with solids. You can buy different kinds of baby food processors if you want or you can simply make bigger batches and use your bigger food processors or blenders. 

Tip 4: Make baby food when you are cooking for your family. So if your family are eating carrots for dinner for example, set a little aside for baby and then puree them separately.

Tip 5: You can thin any fruit or veggie with breast milk if you have any expressed.

Tip 6: After puree feed to baby and pour remainder into ice cube trays and freeze. Fresh is best but frozen organic food is second best. You can buy ice cube trays that have lids (more expensive), or use your regular ice cube trays without lids.

half banana-half zucchini   

Tip 7: After fruits or veggies are frozen take them out of tray and store in a labeled baggy in the freezer. If you have empty ice cube trays on hand it will make it easier for you to continue to prepare baby food as you make your family meals. If you store them in baggies it's faster to get to when you want to feed your baby. The easier you make it for yourself to get from the freezer the more likely you'll be to continue to make baby food.

Tip 8: When you are preparing food for the rest of your family pull out one or two baby food ice cubes to thaw. Everybody can eat at the same time.

Isaac eating fresh organic zucchini. Straight from our garden.

Happy Baby Food Making!

Streamline Errands

Summer is here and so is the dreaded errands in the heat! Ugh, I feel sticky just thinking about it! One tip is to try to beat the heat all together, go early or late, but if you cannot avoid doing some errands in the heat, try to streamline your errands. I have recently discovered a way to keep my sanity while running errands in the summer.

The other day I had to pick up chicken feed at the feed store. Usually this is a 6 step process. Go in, order, pay, get back in car, drive to loading dock, get my purchase. This time I called them on the way there. I knew just what I wanted and asked if I could pay for it over the phone and just go straight to the loading dock. They said, "Yes"! I gave them my credit card info over the phone and when I got there the guy was waiting for me with my order and loaded my van. I didn't even have to get out of the car! This meant I didn't have to get the kids out and back in the car either. I drove up, they loaded, I left... happy! Now that's what I call "Streamline Errands"!

Today I was on my way home from a friend's house, kids all hot and tired. Hubby called and asked if I could stop on the way home to pick up some shock for the pool at the local swimming supply store. My first thought was, "Ugh, tired tired, don't wanna" but then I had another thought, "Will the pool place let me pay over the phone too and have my order waiting for me at the front counter"? I called on my way and they said, "Sure"! Yahoo! I parked right in front of the store, ran in and signed the credit card paper and ran back out. My order was already in a bag at the counter when I got there, all I had to do was sign and run. In and out all in less than 1 minute! Thank you Jesus!

Streamlining your errands may still necessitate going into a store with kids, but all the shopping and payments are taken care of ahead of time so the trip inside is shorter. The other benefit to shopping this way is you are not tempted to buy compulsively. You get just what you need, nothing more.

Another sanity saving tip is try to combine errands into fewer places. This may mean you going to one of the big box stores, like Target or Walmart so that you can get 10 items at one store instead of making 5 stops at other stores. Even if you have to spend a dollar more on an item to do it this way, it will save your time and your sanity, especially if you are lugging small kids in and out of vehicles.

One last tip, do your hardest errand(s) first, that way it's done and over with while you have the most amount of energy.

Errand Streamling Recap:
1- Avoid heat whenever possible: go early or late
2- Ask if you can pay over the phone & if they will have your order waiting for you at the front.
3- Consolidate multiple errands into fewer stops/shops.
4- Hardest errands first.

Hope this helps you keep your sanity while running summer errands! Happy Streamlining!

New Mother's Day Tradition

As I was laying in bed this morning God gave me a great idea for a new Mother’s Day tradition. I then prayed He would bring to mind all the wonderful things about each of my children and my husband. At breakfast as we were all gathered around the table I told each of my children how honored I felt to be their Mother. I could tell each of my children were eagerly awaiting it to be their turn, knowing that they were going to be affirmed, wondering what their Mother found uniquely special and wonderful about them.

My oldest daughter, Hannah (9) had tears in her eyes as I spoke into her little heart. Things she thought went unnoticed, indeed were noticed, appreciated and celebrated in front of the whole family. The treasures her Mother found in her made her sit a little taller and made her smile grow a little bigger with each affirmation. My husband listened intently, thinking the affirmations would stop at the last child. I could tell he was proud of what was taking place and agreed with the gold I had found in each child.

Then I turned to my husband and began, “And I am so thankful and honored that you are the Father of my children because…” He sat there quietly, not daring to interrupt. Receiving everything I offered. I realized at that moment I don’t do this nearly enough. He was hanging on every word. These wonderful, beautiful people I come in contact with every day of the week, who see me at my best and definitely at my worst and still love me, do they hear enough why I think so highly of them?  No, not nearly enough. But today they will.

The looks on their faces! Little hearts like sponges for words of affirmations, soaking up every morsel of sweet truth about how wonderful they are. What an incredible breakfast we shared this morning. I don’t know who’s hearts were more filled, theirs or mine. You know, a powerful thing happens when you concentrate on people’s strengths and you put those strengths on display for all to see and honor. I found myself more in love with my children and my husband today after thinking on and verbalizing these unique qualities they each possess. What a gift, I gave to them. What a gift, I gave myself.

The wonderful thing about this Mother’s Day Tradition is that I don’t have to wait until next Mother’s Day to do it again. Do you want to have a “Happy” Mother’s Day today? Maybe you can try our new Mother’s Day tradition and make it your own. You will be blessed and your heart will be full. You will look back on today and see it as a truly Happy Mother’s Day. God bless you friends! God bless you Mothers!

The Healthy Marriage: Finding Gold.

Catch him in the act of doing something good and praise him for it!!!

Okay so no one is perfect, I so get that. I could easily, sooo easily say that about myself. We, wives are not perfect and neither are our hubbies. Let’s face it some things they do can down right bug us. You know what I’m talking about clothes on the floor when the laundry basket is at arms reach, leaving hair clippings on the sink, tracking in dirt on a clean floor, or maybe something more serious like not talking to you respectfully, etc. Keep this in mind when you find yourself getting annoyed with your husband 1) It doesn’t take a genius to find the faults in another human being, look for the gold in him instead. 2) Catch him in the act of doing some thing you like and then 3) Praise him for it!

For example, if you are frustrated that he forgets to pick up something of his on the floor, instead of nagging him to pick it up catch him when he is putting the clothes away and praise him in a sweet and sincere tone like this, “Wow, I really appreciate you picking that up, thanks!” It can be as simple as that. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have open communication about hurts or frustrations, but if you’ve already talked about it and you haven’t gotten the results you are looking for try this technique.

To recap: Stop nagging, catch him in the act of doing what you like and praise him!

Men really desire praise and adoration from their wives. If you praise them, they will start to find ways to be praiseworthy. Try it and see for yourself.

The Healthy Marriage: Freshen Up!

Most men spend a lot of time away from home, providing for you and your family. If you are a stay at home mom, this is even more important: Dress for your man! The way he sees you before he’s off to work is the last image of his bride before he hits a plethora of decisions. He is surrounded by others, women who are dressed and fresh, putting on their best face for who knows who. So you may not be all together in the morning but if you are freshened up when he comes home from work, it helps make up for the afro in the morning. When he comes home and is greeted by someone who cares enough to put herself together for her man, what a difference that makes to him.

Now I'm not saying men are superficial and they are gonna go out and have an affair simply because you are not always put together, I'm just challenging you make yourself something desirable to come home to. Remember marriage is about giving.

My thought, totally secure in the love of my marriage is this: I want the image in my husband’s head of me to be lovely.

It’s not hard, no matter what season you are in, to get dressed, put your hair up and put a dab of lipstick on, and don’t forget the perfume. If you don’t wear makeup, you probably have a little clear lip gloss somewhere (or get some and get a little mascara while you're at it). If you are truly al natural rub some coconut oil on your lips (while you’re at it rub some on your arms and legs too. Smooth silky skin is always a nice touch). You may love those comfy sweat pants but change them right before he walks through the door!

There is obviously plenty of time to let your hair down and to lounge together. I am simply encouraging you to honor him by attempting to look pleasing when he walks through that door. Put yourself in his shoes, would you like to come home to a man who looks sloppy and excuses it with all the drama he has faced during the day? I think not, I wouldn’t. So don't look haggard, even if you feel that way. You'll feel better when you put yourself together, I promise.

And one last tid bit...take a shower before you go to bed. You'll sleep better for one, but for two, it's so much easier to cuddle and be intimate when you feel and smell fresh. Also a shower can help wake you up a bit if you're tired or have had a long day. It's kinda a bummer when you are trying to have intimate time and you fall asleep. Ouch! Perfume is a nice touch before bed too. It helps make you feel fresh and sexy and it can help get his attention too. And one final thing, brush your teeth; make your breath fresh. I know that's like, "duh" but still, had to say it. Who likes to kiss someone who has bad breath. Not me!

Leave the excuses out of it, and fresh up. You’ll feel better about yourself and he will too! :) Love you Ladies!

The Healthy Marriage. It's all about giving.

I am passionate about marriage! I want everyone to have an amazing marriage and I want to see those who don’t, be healed and restored. I want those who are contemplating marriage to be as prepared as possible.

My blogs about marriage are going to be all about challenging you to be the best spouse you can be, regardless of who you have to live with.

A word for today for those who are single: Marriage is about giving. If you are not ready to give, then you are not ready for marriage. A good marriage is hard work but the rewards are incredibly satisfying!

A word for those who are married: Marriage is about giving. Don't fall into the trap of counting who's giving what, you start. Healthy giving has boundaries. I'm encouraging you to be a healthy person who gives within healthy boundaries. Work on being the best person you can be. Would you want to be married to you?

Giving can take many shapes:

• Get freshened up before he walks through the door (this means get dressed, tidy your hair and throw some lipstick and perfume on. He's your man, you still need to woo him).
• Give him a sweet smile when talking to him; give him a happy wife.
• Give your time by genuinely listening to how his day went, without dumping all your daily drama on him the second he walks through the door.
• Give him a tasty dinner; food (many a cranky man is just hungry or thirsty: feed the poor guy!)
• Give him affirmations, honor and respect (afterall, you chose him above everybody else).
• Give him "guy time" without manipulation or guilt.
• Give him a few moments of "unwind time" after a long day of work; don't put him to work the second he walks through the door.
• Give him a nag-free wife (turn that finger back to you and start there first), this includes sometimes just being quiet when all you want to do is criticize.
• Give him a clean house; pick up after him without complaining (view it as a way to love).
• Give him intimate time (many men are simply starving for this).
• Give him caresses as you walk past him; give him sweet, loving touches.

Challenge: Pick at least 1 way to give, from the list above and do it today!

Up for a bigger challenge? Pick something from the list everyday and practice giving intentionally for at least a week.

A good marriage is hard work, but you CAN do it!

You are awesome, now let him see that! :)